He doesn't mention state Rep. Pete Worthington. Still, I understand Mr. McGaha's perspective. Life in rural America has changed. And we city folks are moving further and further from any understanding of it. There are no security cameras in their houses of worship, nor are there accounting systems to prevent internal theft, such as our churches have.
Little churches trust people more.
And sometimes, people let them down. In 1997, the sermon at a Knox County church was interrupted by a man wearing a mask and clenching ammunition between his teeth. Waving a gun, he ordered the 13 parishioners to drop their purses and wallets into a bag. In Gallatin County, Larry and Shirley Brock preside over tiny Unity Fellowship Church. There's a bar next door, and sometimes the patrons get mouthy.