North Carolina Pastor Disarms Vet During New Year's Service

NBC News ^ | January 3, 2016 | Tim Stelloh

[Kaslin]

Bishop Larry Wright had been preaching for about 20 minutes on New Year's Eve when he saw the front door of his North Carolina church swing open. In marched a young disheveled man whom he'd never seen before. In one hand the man had a semi-automatic assault rifle; in the other, a magazine.

He wasn't.

Wright, 57, is a City Council member. But he was also a career military man a former paratrooper and drill sergeant who retired in 1997 so his training kicked in as he descended the pulpit's three steps: Was there a bullet still in the chamber? Would he need to tackle the man? Would he need to subdue him?

Wright began with a simple question.

"I asked him, 'Can I help you?'" Wright recalled. "He said, 'Can you pray for me?'"

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Don’t assume all churches are “gun free zones”. I know quite a few who carry during service....but it’s not often mentioned.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thanks for encouraging us by posting that inspiring story. All of us are in that same boat, and heaven will be chock-full of saints who each have a story of how their Lord rescued them. I'm looking forward to yours.

Won't it be fun listening to billions of such stories?! That's just one of the many reasons we'll have for praising Him.

[Mastador1]

Thank God it wasn't Reverend Wright's church or it could have gone a whole different way.

[PAR35]

A Gun Free Zone (NBC Missed That)

Did they have a sign posted? I don't think churches are, by default, no gun zones in NC.

[srmorton]

Fayetteville, NC, is the home of Fort Bragg, one of the largest US Army Bases in the country. I would imagine some of the church members are active duty or retired military and are well able to handle a weapon.

[stylin19a]

NBC had to make sure - a “semi-automatic assault rifle”.

[MSF BU]

Probably quite a few. When I was stationed there I attended the comparatively small Maronite Catholic church in Fayettville and my guess is a quarter of the men in the congregation were active or former military, mostly soldiers.

[Candor7]

Obama needs to pass an executive order to prevent the mentally challenged from having assault rifles/S

Additionally Obama should pass an executive order which allows only Muslim Imams to relate spiritually to war vets so they can be transformed into jihadis./S

Allahwahoo Whackbar!

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[GOPJ]

And not just any church, but a church whose pastor had the life skills and training to cope with a very dangerous situation in just the right way.

The pastor was a sheepdog... that's one blessed congregation.