The meeting room in the back of One Accord Church on Baker Street is small, but it hasn’t stopped church members from lining the walls with Christian-themed decor.
Bible character posters hang on one side. The opposite wall is covered in bubble maps, outlining the qualities of a good Christian.
The single table in the meeting room is covered too — with guns. Over one dozen unloaded guns are displayed neatly across it, side by side.
Pistols. Shotguns. Revolvers. Guns used for hunting and guns used for target practice. Guns taken everywhere with a concealed carry permit and guns that, hopefully, never have to be used.
The weaponry belongs to the members of Plant City’s Born Again Gun Club, an NRA-affiliated organization that celebrated its third anniversary last month.
For the group of about 20, which meets once a month at One Accord Church, the club is a source of fellowship, with firearms replacing cookies and lemonade.
For Jeff Keene II, the president and co-founder of the club, the organization helps fill, what he believes, is a nationwide need: a club that jointly celebrates God and the Second Amendment while tackling the media-influenced fear of firearms.
Born Again
When Keene moved to Florida from New York, he noticed negative media attention surrounding events related to gun violence or accidents involving guns. He wanted to project guns in a better light while creating a positive, Christian-oriented community.
He knew it could be done. Years prior, he had served as a club secretary and a president for a now-disbanded NRA-affiliated gun club in New York.
He decided to recreate the club in Florida. Keene sought out One Accord Church pastor Randy Humphrey to serve as the new club’s chaplain.
“The pastor was also a firearms aficionado and former military,” Keene said. “The gun club died in New York and
was born again here. (The name) has a double meaning.”
Though Humphrey leads a prayer before each of the club’s monthly meetings, Keene emphasizes that the organization is not a church entity. In fact, potential members don’t have to be church members — or even Christians — to join. Club members include teachers, pastors, mechanics, retired military members, computer technicians and students.
The goal, Keene said, is to set a positive, Christian example in the community while disproving the negative stereotypes associated with gun ownership.
“We don’t cuss. When we travel to public places, we clean up after ourselves,” member Michael Harrell said. “Other churches have the bike clubs or the old car clubs. It’s the same thing. It’s fellowship.”
Harrell decided to join Born Again Gun Club because he wanted to connect with a group of Christian guys who had his same values.
“Some other gun clubs are rough around the edges,” he said. “I’ve made 15 to 20 new friends since joining, and I look forward to meeting with them.”
Safety and Sport
For the members of Born Again Gun Club, belonging to the club is about becoming better all around — as Christians and as gun owners.
As any members of the club will readily say, a big part of being a good gun owner is safety.
“We share or go over a safety tip at every meeting,” club member Mark Tanner said.
All members are taught how to clean a gun and shoot a gun.
Helping people eliminate the fear of guns, Keene said, helps bring them closer to God.
“If you don’t know something, you fear it,” he said. “All of that is anti-Christian behavior. We want to educate and
inspire. When you lose fear, you’re that much closer to God.”
While the target shooting and competitions are about sport and fellowship, proper gun safety teaches members what to do in dire situations.
“A common misconception is that only bad guys have guns,” Harrell said. “I have a concealed carry, but I’ve never had to use it. I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Now that I’m married, it’s my God-given duty to protect my wife. I know where they (guns) are if I need them.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.