Should’ve been dead on Sunday morning banging my head, No time for mourning, ain’t got no time.

— From “My own Prison” Mark Tremonti and Scott Stapp

Pain and bewilderment descended like wet cement on a tiny Texas town named Sutherland Springs. An entire Baptist congregation was gunned down as they worshipped a God of mercy and forgiveness.

Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, the villager who stormed First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs and shot 50 people, 26 of them fatally, is being described as an outcast who preached a vindictive form of atheism — he had a disdain for believers. Former classmates described Kelley as “creepy,” “crazy” and “weird.”

The Sutherland Springs massacre is especially disturbing because it could have happened anywhere — it just as likely could have happened here. Sutherland Springs is not part of the Islamic State. This did not happen in a distant, non-Christian realm like Egypt or Indonesia. It was in the buckle of the Bible Belt.

People gather to worship every week in every community across the country. In Butler County alone, there are hundreds of small and large church congregations.

Security at modern-day churches has rarely been considered an issue. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, worship — an act of faith — denotes a deep level of trust and welcome. “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares,” the apostle Paul wrote.

That will change by necessity now. It’s time to recruit a few brutes for the ushers detail; install security cameras in the sanctuary and maybe put a panic button in the pulpit. Maybe an unmarked squad car in the parking lot during services.

But at the same time, it’s imperative to remember that the church’s mission — its reason for being — is to save lost souls. That especially includes the likes of Devin Patrick Kelley.

A secondary objective is to cultivate self-control and order — the Roman Catholic Mass and similar Protestant rites are based on the Jewish Seder, or Passover meal, which Jesus celebrated with his apostles during the Last Supper. The Hebrew word “Seder” means “order.”

It was not enough for this madman Kelley to spout a atheistic posture. He apparently had had enough of a live-and-let-live existence. Authorities say he intended to die in a suicide-by-cop mission, and he intended to take some martyrs with him.

America grieves for Sutherland Springs. A small town lost a large portion of its best population — people who strove for self-control, mutual support, prosperity — and yes, for a deeper faith — in the order of their community.

In honor of these modern-day martyrs, Americans everywhere should strive to emulate their own versions of that same order in hometowns across the country.