Kerby Anderson
“Owning a home has long been considered the quintessential American dream, but the path to those white picket fences is far from smooth.” That’s how a recent survey by Lending Tree opened its article. The survey found that 84 percent of Americans said they’d like to own a home one day. A majority (51%) of those who don’t own today worry they’ll never get there.
Glen Beck, in his book Dark Future, confirms that “after decades of homeownership being an essential part of life in America, a trend has developed that’s transforming the United States into a nation of renters.” Part of the reason is increasing cost. According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, the average cost of buying a home at the end of 2022 was more than $152,000 higher than it was just two years earlier. The National Association of Home Builders found in their 2021 study that regulatory costs for new homes across all levels of government increased by $94,000.
A significant majority of Americans own their homes, but the future trend is not as promising. The number of first-time homebuyers declined to just 26 percent in 2022, which is the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking data. That figure also represents a significant drop from 34 percent one year earlier.
Owning a home is an important part of building wealth for most households. But being a homeowner also provides freedom. Landlords can impose all sorts of requirements and regulations if you are living under their roof. Renters face prohibitions against pets, parties, smoking, and alcohol. You may have the constitutional right to own a firearm, but a landlord can ban you from possessing a weapon while renting a dwelling.
We aren’t a nation of renters yet, but the trend is in that direction.

Kerby Anderson
A shooting earlier this month in the third largest church in America should have been a wake-up call for churches to evaluate church security. Unfortunately, many merely hit the snooze button. The secular media moved on, perhaps because the shooter (a 36-year-old Salvadoran woman) didn’t fit the media narrative. And many Christians merely took the news in stride without considering how to protect their congregation.
In the past, I have written about the need for church security. One of the people I interviewed is Jimmy Meeks, who works in the area of church security. In fact, he and his wife were married at a church (Wedgewood Baptist Church) that was the site of one of the first church shootings. He has documented hundreds of violent deaths in churches and other faith-based facilities.
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council recently interviewed church security consultant Tim Miller on his radio program. Perkins talked about the increase in incidents in churches and said his organization documented more than 500 attacks on churches from 2018 through March 2023. Tim Miller added, “We’re seeing not only the frequency, but the severity of these attacks continue.”
Tim Miller explained, “Security is about being wise and prepared with a plan.” Proverbs 22:3 warns, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.”
He drew two principles for church security from Nehemiah 4:9, which says, “And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.” He says we need to first pray to God and then we post a guard.”
This is a wise admonition that I believe all churches should follow.