Their website says he is the police Chaplain. That's awkward. I do believe that the demonstration could be done safely, but if it is against the law I guess it's not worth the trouble.
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Last edited by tstew; 03-20-2009 at 11:55 AM.
Reason: added
Ok sounworthy I am going to act like i did not hear that do you know that arrow could of lost a fletching and went off coarse and really hurt someone..
A Sheboygan Falls pastor and parishioner were issued municipal citations Thursday for firing an arrow during Sunday's service as part of a sermon illustration.
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About 120 people were attending the evening service at Pentecostals of Sheboygan County, 621 Broadway, when the Rev. John Putnam had Jason Wilke, 26, draw and fire a steel-tipped practice arrow across the front of the church.
Putnam called it a "teaching tool."
Police call it illegal.
Wilke, of Sheboygan Falls, was cited for using a missile indoors, and Putnam was cited for aiding and abetting that ordinance violation. Both will be fined $109.
But Kohler Police Chief Bill Rutten said no criminal charges will be filed.
"Our department did not feel that it rose to the level of endangering safety," Rutten said. "Anytime with bows and arrows or firearms, there's always that chance for a malfunction to happen, but nothing did happen aside from the firing into the target, so we're thinking that an ordinance violation is appropriate in this case."
Rutten said Wilke, at Putnam's direction, stood on the far left side of the occupied front row and fired at a foam target on the right side of the stage, shooting the arrow across the congregation but slightly away from them.
"Even if their had been a malfunction, the likelihood of something bad happening (is slim)," Rutten said.
Putnam, 30, defended the illustration when contacted at his office on Thursday.
"We use props all the time for messages," he said. "It was a completely controlled, choreographed demonstration."
Not all churchgoers agreed.
One man stood up and objected as Wilke drew the compound bow, telling Putnam firing the arrow was unsafe and illegal, according to two parishioners. Putnam told the man to be quiet and sit down, which he did until Wilke drew the bow again.
The man objected a second time, after which Putnam said he asked the man to leave. Putnam said the church will seek a restraining order against the man, who he said was yelling and "causing a disruption."
The man then reported the incident to Sheboygan Falls police, who responded to the church and spoke with the pastor. The incident was turned over to the Kohler Police Department on Monday since Putnam is the former chaplain of the Sheboygan Falls Police Department.
One woman in attendance described the scene differently from Putnam, saying the man's objection was "very gentle and very respectful."
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said church leaders closed the rear doors of the church after the man left, and Wilke then fired the arrow.
"Our family was a little scared," she said. "They can easily ricochet and kill a person. That's happened."
Putnam said he was challenging churchgoers to be active in sharing their testimonies with others. He was elaborating on a passage that details spiritual "equipment" given to Christians, such as the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit and the belt of truth.
"I used the practice arrow just as the fact that an arrow by itself — your testimony by itself — is no good, so you have to have a bow, and the bow is that equipment," Putnam said. "And you have to have a target, and still with all that if you never pull it back and release it then it still does not accomplish its objective."
He said the illustration — which was practiced in the church basement before the service — endangered no one.
"Was it completely safe? Absolutely — it was completely safe," Putnam said. "If I knew it would cause this kind of problem, I certainly would have reconsidered."
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The man was probably looking for trouble. As long as the arrow wasn't aimed at someone it was no big deal. I heard of a church that had some masked men come in at offering time and took the offering. The pastor was demonstrating the idea that men will rob God. Stunt went over like a lead balloon.
Yep and they are lucky someone in the congregation didn't have a gun on them and pull it out and shoot on of their "own".
Most likely the Pastor didn't realize there was a law against this. However, with the increase of using "props" for messages, especially weapons, ministers should always verify their use against local ordinances.
Pastor, parishioner cited for shooting arrow during church service
SHEBOYGAN FALLS, Wis. (AP) — A pastor and parishioner have been cited by police for shooting an arrow during a church service in Sheboygan Falls.
Rev. John Putnam had Jason Wilke shoot the arrow across the front of the church during a recent service at Pentecostals of Sheboygan County. Putnam says it was a "teaching tool" used during his sermon.
As Wilke prepared to shoot the arrow with his bow, one man stood up and objected, telling Putnam it was unsafe and illegal. Parishioners say Putnam told the man to be quiet and sit down.
When the man objected a second time, Putnam asked him to leave. He did and called police.
Wilke was cited for using a missile indoors. Putnam was cited for aiding and abetting. Both were fined $109.
THIS IS FUNNNNNNNY!!!! ISN'T PUTNAM THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT!!!!
He appeared to me to be a very arrogant person, but I could be wrong!!!
Kudos to the man who turned him in. I would have done the same. He should have known better!! Safety for the people should always be the first concern.
THIS IS FUNNNNNNNY!!!! ISN'T PUTNAM THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT!!!!
He appeared to me to be a very arrogant person, but I could be wrong!!!
Kudos to the man who turned him in. I would have done the same. He should have known better!! Safety for the people should always be the first concern.
TJ, I think that the fact that they tried it first in a controlled environment shows that safety was an issue for him. Was it ill-advised? Certainly, considering it turns out to be illegal. However, in this day and age where people use motorcycles jumping ramps in the sanctuary to illustrate things, it's not completely crazy.
I don't think it should have been done (particularly knowing that it is illegal). However, they tried it and deemed it to be safe...and apparently it did go without any problems during the actual illustration.
__________________
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
TJ, I think that the fact that they tried it first in a controlled environment shows that safety was an issue for him. Was it ill-advised? Certainly, considering it turns out to be illegal. However, in this day and age where people use motorcycles jumping ramps in the sanctuary to illustrate things, it's not completely crazy.
I don't think it should have been done (particularly knowing that it is illegal). However, they tried it and deemed it to be safe...and apparently it did go without any problems during the actual illustration.
Understand what you are saying Stew, but this guy is the District Official. The fact that someone raised questions about it and then was escorted out was enough to make you think, "Maybe this isn't the best idea"!
Of course, they had to say the man, who was escorted out, was making a scene! Com'on! I would have been making a scene!!! Just a few Sunday's ago there was a pastor killed!
We don't know the attitude of the man complaining. He could be the nicest man in the world who was truly concerned for the safety of the congregation or he could be a total jerk who looks for the least excuse to cause trouble.
Putting him and his actions aside though it does seem like a rather dangerous "prop" to use so close to a congregation during a service. It seems like this pastor may lack some common sense or good judgement at best.
In a large church where the shooter and target could be isolated completely away from the congregation it might be appropriate but based on the description I read this was way too small and confined an area to be shooting a compound bow amongst a group of people.
__________________ "I think some people love spiritual bondage just the way some people love physical bondage. It makes them feel secure. In the end though it is not healthy for the one who is lost over it or the one who is lives under the oppression even if by their own choice"
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"We did not wear uniforms. The lady workers dressed in the current fashions of the day, ...silks...satins...jewels or whatever they happened to possess. They were very smartly turned out, so that they made an impressive appearance on the streets where a large part of our work was conducted in the early years.
"It was not until long after, when former Holiness preachers had become part of us, that strict plainness of dress began to be taught.
"Although Entire Sanctification was preached at the beginning of the Movement, it was from a Wesleyan viewpoint, and had in it very little of the later Holiness Movement characteristics. Nothing was ever said about apparel, for everyone was so taken up with the Lord that mode of dress seemingly never occurred to any of us."
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