The pastor at a Baptist church in Kentucky decried the spread of “misinformation” after his house of worship drew criticism over a viral video showing staff members leading a mock firing squad in front of a group of children.
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The video, posted on Reddit, shows men in military-style costumes marching down the center aisle at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Lexington and pretending to open fire on a person in a black outfit on the steps to the altar. The children seated nearby can be heard chanting: “Take him out. Blow him up.”
The costumed men then carry the person in black outside, and an explosion can be heard.
Pastor Dewayne Walker addressed the “firestorm” over the video clip in a Facebook post Monday. He said he was “befuddled” by the outrage.
“The misinformation out there is sad, and I guess it’s a part of what this generation has become,” Walker said in part.
He said the viral video showed an event that was “nothing more than a small part of our vacation Bible school,” adding that the church has held similar rituals for more than 30 years.
“We have characters every year that represent good and right and God, and we have characters that represent evil and wrong and that which should be avoided,” Walker said, describing the “skits” as an attempt to make church “fun.”
“Every year, for 32 years, we’ve had this evil against good [ritual] in our vacation Bible school. The last several years, we’ve had the commandos for Christ,” Walker said, adding in part: “The clip you saw was simply killing the Devil.”
“You may think we went over the top,” Walker added. “You may think it was a little bit extreme, and maybe you’re right, but don’t you believe that the devil is really using extreme measures in this generation.”
Mt. Olivet Baptist Church did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
The viral video drew criticism in part from the Kentucky chapter of Moms Demand Action, an organization focused on preventing gun violence. In a statement to the Lexington Herald Ledger, a volunteer for the group characterized the clip as “unbelievably disturbing.”
“Vacation Bible School and our churches should be safe spaces for children,” Crowe said in the statement, according to the newspaper. “Subjecting kids to a full-scale simulated tactical raid and firing squad is just an appalling abuse of that space, and a major breach of trust that can’t go unaddressed.”
Moms Demand Action’s Kentucky chapter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The viral video likewise led to an outpouring of criticism on Reddit, with one user describing the skit as “depraved.”
“There’s not enough context in the world to make this okay,” another Reddit user wrote.
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