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New Life Church ousts man who was wounded

By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 17, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated December 17, 2007 at 11:06 a.m.

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Larry Bourbonnais is escorted from New Life Church in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Bourbonnais' daughter said she thinks his removal is all "one big misunderstanding."

Photo by Darin McGregor / The Rocky

Larry Bourbonnais is escorted from New Life Church in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Bourbonnais' daughter said she thinks his removal is all "one big misunderstanding."

David Works

David Works

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Larry Bourbonnais, who was slightly wounded during last week's shootings at New Life Church, was ejected Sunday from the same church for alleged aggressive behavior.

"I took a bullet for members of this church," he was heard to shout as he was hustled out of the Colorado Springs worship complex by security guards.

The Rev. Brady Boyd said the church has petitioned for a restraining order against Bourbonnais, who tried to stop Matthew Murray's killing spree.

As the heavily armed Murray entered the church hallway, Bourbonnais, 59, reportedly called for a weapon and offered to "bring him down."

Jeanne Assam, an armed security guard, fired the shots that incapacitated Murray, who then committed suicide.

Boyd said church leaders had tried all week to meet with Bourbonnais, but he had refused.

When Bourbonnais canceled scheduled meetings with Boyd and others Friday and then again Saturday, the church leadership decided to seek a restraining order and alerted security to stop Bourbonnais from entering the premises, Boyd said.

Boyd said Bourbonnais hasn't explained why he feels aggrieved.

The pastor declined today to discuss the reasons for seeking a restraining order.

“We pastor people and care for people and sometimes there’s disagreements,” Boyd told The Associated Press. “And that’s just the nature of a family and a church.”

Bourbonnais' daughter, Sherry, who was with him at church Sunday, said her father would not comment on the incident.

"I think this is all one big misunderstanding," she said. "There is a lot of emotion going on."

Boyd said he would continue to reach out as a pastor to Bourbonnais, but he had some stern words for the way the church member handled the crisis.

"I appreciate he took the initiative (to stop Murray)," Boyd said, "But his actions last week probably did more to harm the process than help it."

Boyd said he didn't think Bourbonnais posed a danger or a threat, but the church didn't want to expose its already traumatized members to a disruptive scene.

Photographer Darin McGregor and staff writer Lynn Bartels contributed to this report.

Update: David Works

Shooting victim David Works remained hospitalized Sunday - a week after he and two of his daughters were shot in the parking lot of New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

His daughters, Stephanie, 18, and Rachel, 16, died in the attack.

David Works, 51, has undergone two surgeries and is expected to be released soon, a nursing supervisor at Penrose Hospital said.

Doctors remain concerned about shrapnel that may have entered David Works' body since one or more of the bullets from a high-powered rifle went through a car door, his brother John Works Jr. said Sunday.

A public memorial service for the Works sisters is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at New Life Church. The family also will hold a private service.

Checks to assist may be made out to The David Works Family Trust Fund and mailed to 999 18th St., Suite 3400, Denver, CO, 80202. Beginning today, a Web site, worksfamilytrust.org, will be available for online contributions.

- Julie Poppen

Comments

  • December 17, 2007

    10:16 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    rg writes:

    Ah, Forty Acres aka icdrjjxant, your diatribe seems to have exceeded the bounds. I always read your banter and never castigated you. Clean up your act and they will let you back in. I have to remain on topic so all I can say it is one heck of a test being administered by god when he sends New Life Church a Haggard and a murderer. Personally, I don't believe god intervenes in human affairs and the hierarchy is wrong about god sending characters to put the membership in harm's way.

  • December 17, 2007

    11:56 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ColoNative writes:

    Christianity has enough distractions from the core message to have to deal with the Soap Opera of New Life. Saying conservative Christianity is like New LIfe is like saying Don Imus represents all sportscasters. Just not the case. Let the New Life show discontinue from bad ratings.

  • December 17, 2007

    1 p.m.

    Jim writes:

    (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

  • December 17, 2007

    1:25 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Ottis writes:

    "Embarrassing lack of adequate security"? How much security do you need at a church? I've been to many and can't recall seeing any. There is something odd about this church, thatthey need an armed security guard, volunteer or no, and that a member "calls for a gun" in the crisis. Does the church have an armory?

  • December 17, 2007

    4:12 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jvb writes:

    Ezekiel says "They have slandered a man who did good, who also had the audacity to speak out truthfully about it on national television."

    Who is Eze talking about? Eze chides the Church and Religion cannot be chided enough, so I agree with Eze on denouncing the Church, a Christian church that has exceeded in wickedness the Muslim sentiment of flying airplanes into tall buildings. Over and over these comments say: "Religion is a mental illness," indeed, there are billions of mentally ill people on the planet. New Life Church claims some 13,000 such people while the Southern Baptists claim 30 million or so and the Catholics claim one billion point one with the Mormons trailing with some fourteen million and the Scientologists, a faith whose god is Jesus' brother, Satan (Job 1:6). It is surreal that the atheist is correct and the aforementioned are in grave error: I say "grave error" because they will always create headlines saying: "Christians massacre
    Christians." Or "Christians massacre Muslims." Or "Muslims massacre Christians." Or as in the Mountain Meadows Massacre (google): "Mormons massacre 165 in wagon train on its way to California as revenge they killed an elder." You will never see such headlines concerning agnostics and atheists massacre-ing in the name of religious dogma. Stalin massacred in the name of politics as did Hitler, et al.

  • December 17, 2007

    4:28 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    JCS1958 writes:

    Why would a church need security?
    I wonder if it from the church stepping outside a church's traditional role and stepping into politics.
    What kind of message is this place spreading that it incites hateful acts from current and past members?
    This is just sad.

  • December 17, 2007

    4:44 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    rgonza67 writes:

    I have the same thoughts as JCS1958, why does an institution of love and goodwill need Security and ARMED, Plainclothed, Security at that? I guess when you know you're speading that much hate around, even at your own kind, you're bound to have someone bring it back upon you. This church is known for is hatred towards those who live differently than they. They are also known for the Practice of, "Do as we say not as we do." style of spreading God's love. Remember Ted Haggard!

  • December 17, 2007

    4:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Oh_Wise_One writes:

    rgonza67- should then this church be worried about 'gays' bringing guns and shooting up the church? I'm sure that is an unintended directive that you make- "you're bound to have someone bring it back upon you". Who hates whom? It sounds like you have a lot of hate. That church is just protecting itself from people, like you, for instance.

  • December 17, 2007

    5:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    me2 writes:

    It is the type of church that is having the problems. This is like Pentecostal, one step from snake handling. They do not attract the most stable people in the community. When they have singing meetings that go on for hours, with folks throwing themselves around, someone may just pop loose their last brain screw.

    I have known lost of people who attend these New Age Christian churches and they are not the tightest bundles in the bag.

    They never have to worry about the outsiders, their insiders can come unhinged over religion, and cause enouth trouble.

  • December 17, 2007

    5:36 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    elm_mott_the_hoople writes:

    I've seen the argument or accusation that the New Life church must be messed up because they have security. I don't really understand their doctrine other than that they're Christian and apparently "evangelical," whatever that means, but it's irrelevant to this issue.

    That church apparently has thousands of people that attend each week. I recall reading that 7,000 were there at the time of the shooting, not much less than the attendance at the Nuggets game last night. Appropriate security is needed at malls, Broncos, Nuggets -- anywhere large numbers of people gather. No different for the church. Churches are not exempt, nor can they pretend that people with evil intent will avoid churches. Indeed, the fact that some madman with virtually no connection to that church (unless I've missed something) did what he did tells us that (a) security was needed, and (b) that need had virtually nothing to do with how the church treated those with whom it came in contact.

    That said, this is an odd story -- it doesn't say what the guy did to get escorted out of church. Has the rest of the story been reported?

  • December 17, 2007

    6:40 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    iluvdenver writes:

    Mr. Bourbonnais seemed like a blow hard soldier-of-fortune wanna be right from the beginning. He couldn't wait to get on tv and brag about his heroism. Putting down the other security guards who were on the scene was the icing on the cake.

  • December 18, 2007

    12:35 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    rockmebaby writes:

    OMG! This is the same church that Haggard the faggot was hidding for years. I did not know that! How can people call themselves Christians and go to a place like that?

  • December 18, 2007

    1:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    gwats writes:

    King David had an affair with the wife of one of his best soldiers. The wife became pregnant, and to cover his adultery, David arranged for the man to be killed in Battle. David was later exposed and was publicly punished for his actions.
    Here is the new Church, same as the old Church....weak and full of human frailties. Ted Haggard, stand up and take a bow. When the fish starts to stink, it starts at the HEAD!