Last week, a couple of us from the North District campus had an opportunity to join an active-shooter response training led by a Lynnwood police officer at Maple Park Church. He emphasized three key points: Run, Hide, Fight. Whenever possible, running away as quickly as possible and as far as possible from an active shooter should always be the first action choice. If running is impossible or unsafe, then shelter in as safe a place as possible, ideally in rooms with lockable doors, or doors that can be barricaded quickly. If sheltering is also impossible, then fight the shooter with every means possible. Of course, people need to call 911, but he estimates that the initial first response arrival to be around 2-3 minutes in the Lynnwood area, so it still behooves everyone to be prepared to run, hide, or fight when encountering an active shooter.

I thought about similar instructions in the Bible. We are instructed to flee. Flee from idolatry, sexual immorality, evil desires; flee from the envy, strife, malicious talk, and evil suspicions resulting from people who teach against the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and are conceited; flee from the love of money embodied by people who think godliness is a way of financial gain. We are instructed to hide. Hide in the shadow of God’s wings, hide with Christ in God. We are instructed to resist. Resist the devil, resist sin, resist in the day of evil.

While the primary focus of Run, Hide, Fight is action, the officer stressed the importance of having the right mindset, which he explained as being mentally prepared to act quickly and decisively in dangerous unforeseen circumstances. Later, the officer showed me some specialized defensive gear and offensive weaponry in the police vehicle for responding to dangerous situations. I was reminded of the Bible’s exhortations on being alert and sober-minded and putting on the armor of God.

The odds of a mass shooting in a church in the US are extremely low, and we are thankful. But this training has helped me to reflect upon my odds of facing the situations described in the Bible, and whether I have the right mindset for those encounters.