This site is dedicated to developing and encouraging the kind of leadership God ordained and intended for use in both the Military and Law Enforcement professions. Those are the fields of missionary service upon which I simultaneously spent my last 40 + years. I spent those years actually working in those jobs and being impacted by them directly, and not, as some of you may be thinking as a by-standing Chaplain. Not until I had finished overlapping careers as a US Marine and a Deputy Sheriff and Police Officer and retired from both, did I see that God was calling me into service as a Police Chaplain with a secondary role of working with all first responders and especially those who respond to natural and man caused disasters. This includes our military responders as well. I realized when I tried to retire that we Christians have been instructed by Our Lord and Savior to make use of all the life experiences and accumulated knowledge with which He provided us, to make the path to "Salvation" more visible and readily accessible to others. We have also been directed to help others grow as Christians through "Discipleship". Sadly, while many congregations (there is but one church and Jesus Christ is its head) are doing an acceptable job of recruiting for God's army, all too few instill or even provide their members with true spiritual leadership and discipleship training. These "recruits" are often left trying to mature on their own. If this was such a great way to learn then we would let our children raise themselves and our cops, soldiers and the rest of the world train themselves as well. I would hate to think of the results of that course of action.
This section is where the books I have written will be highlighted. Any reviews of those publications will also be posted in this article whether from published sources or from reader feedback. When possible links to the publishers website will also be included. Other sources will be indicated for each book when available. Currently there are two books in print or eBook format. My second was released May of 2009. It is called "Are You Destined To Lead" and should be available through your local book stores and on the web.
"Ephesians: God's battle Plan For Spiritual Warfare" is available (see below) in paperback and eBook formats from iuniverse publishing. It is also available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble's website and Books-a-million's website and Book Stores or other locations in your area should be able to order it for you. You may also request ordering information via the contact tab onthis website.
The following article is based on a book review written by Wayne Ford of the Athens Banner Herald and published in the "Living" Section of that newspaper on 22 May 2006. It has been edited for composition but not for content, Click Read More to continue...
Like most of you, I have grown up
in a profession where there were roll calls or shift briefings before
we hit the streets every day, without fail. In fact never did I work
for a law enforcement agency that offered optional attendance at these
events. These briefings, often accompanied by short training sessions,
always prepared us for the daily grind by passing along the latest
information from the preceding shift and alerted us to any pertinent
BOLO's that we might need during the upcoming tour of duty. Sometimes
the information received at these briefings had little impact on my
shift and the incidents I handled, while on other shifts it had a
critical impact.
Recently there was a young boy kidnapped and within days, the
information passed along to some officers in Missouri, I am sure via
BOLO's, resulted in their recognizing a vehicle similar to one I am
sure they had been alerted to in a BOLO as being involved in the
kidnapping, and the final outcome was not only the return of the
kidnapped youngster, but the return of another young man kidnapped some
four years prior to this event. I would say that information had a
great impact on quite a few folks, wouldn't you?
To find out where I am heading with this and how it ties into our spiritual life keep reading...
In the last few years we have seen so many
examples of poor ethics displayed by almost every segment of our
society. Ethical battles are being fought daily and I am sad to say
that casualties are being taken on the political front, the religious
front, the corporate front, and the law enforcement front and now even
on the military front. Everywhere I look it seems that situational
ethics are being touted in order to keep from losing power, profit or
popularity. I attended a Memorial Day ceremony recently and was
troubled by a politician who stated that a group of protesters ( these
were religious fanatics who were in my humble opinion far from mainline
Christians ) should be insured their rights to protest against the
military, but indicated quite plainly would not be bothered in the
least if that insurance was delivered in a more physical than necessary
manner. God help us when we become our own worst enemy. There can be no
retreating from the ethical standards set by Jesus Christ.
Now Before you answer too quickly, I don't mean to refer to your geographical jurisdiction.
No, I am talking about the state of your heart. You see I heard a
couple of Christians having quite a discussion the other day about
legalism and grace and as I listened to them, I began to think they
were arguing as though they were from different planets and yet from
the same universe. Since I am always looking for opportunities to
express God's message in the simplest of ways, I of course began to
look for a transferable message in their discussion. To find out what I
found, click on "Read More" .
