I've been thinking about this thread for awhile...
A bunch of people bringing their own guns and doing their own thing doesn't make a security team any more than a bunch of people bringing their own instruments and each playing whatever song they want makes a band.
Along the same lines, if there is already a band, it's really not all that hard to understand why the band director might tell people who haven't practiced with the band to leave their instruments at home.
My feeling is that if you want to help provide security for the church (or any other similar organization), join the security team and be willing to "try out and practice with the band".
If there's no security team, see about forming one. Keep in mind that this isn't just going to be forming a club of people who have carry permits--there needs to be a real effort to organize things, to plan for various scenarios, assign tasks, to make sure you have backups to cover the inevitable absences, to train, etc.
If no one wants a security team except for you, think about what you want to do and can do on your own and take steps to make sure you can achieve your goals. Having a gun is just the first step--like buying an instrument is only the first step in becoming a musician.
Things can happen very fast, people need to be where they need to be, ready to act, knowing what they need to do, knowing that they can do it based on their training, knowing what others will be doing, etc. Team members need to practice in realistic situations. If they expect to be seated at the beginning of the scenario, they need to choose a carry method that allows them to draw rapidly while seated. They need to practice drawing from whatever carry/concealment method they will actually be using. You don't want a team member to get killed because they can't draw while they are sitting down and/or because they haven't practiced drawing from their actual carry/concealment rig. Training needs to be done with the guns and rigs that will actually be carried, not with the favorite range toy and an unconcealed competition type holster.
The training results are critical to determining what the capability of the team will be and that, in turn, plays into how to plan for various scenarios, knowing what to do and what not to do. Team members should be positioned so that if they need to shoot, the line of their shot has the least chance of hitting the people they are there to protect. Planning to stand up and shoot over the heads of seated congregation members who might also stand up in panic to run isn't the ideal strategy--just like using the congregation as a backstop isn't a great idea. Things like this need to be thought/planned out.
Now, am I saying that no one could ever stop a mass shooting unless they have professional training? Of course not. But this isn't about proving a point, there's an important goal at hand that goes beyond ego and that makes it worth putting in the effort to get things right.
Well, that is, of course, unless you're like me. Once I put on my gun, I gain superhero powers--I know the bad guy will always lose and I'll always save the day and get the medal.
