Church Security and Having the Right Mindset Part 2

Much has happened particularly in Colorado and California in the past few weeks that has caused people to take a different mindset on their personal security in this country.  Although terrorism is a primary concern for many, the likelihood that you will encounter a terrorist is pretty slim.  The likelihood that you are going to experience evil in the form of a thug that you encounter when out everyday is much more likely.  This would hold true for our places of worship, ministries, and work.  We are in a world that evil, like what we have seen, can happen anywhere and anytime.  Do you have the right mindset to deal with the threat?  Do you possess the necessary training or are you just what I call a "Certificate Holder" that has the right to carry a gun? During training, I tell students that I am a really nice guy until it is time to not be a nice guy.  Are you able to not be a nice person if you are confronted with someone bent on doing evil?  Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, wrote “If you know your enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of one hundred battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”  Think about that and ask yourself where you might be in that statement.

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Do you train in a way that you realize that the bad guy has a total disregard of who or what he is going to destroy?  I read an article by Dave Spaulding that made some very good points.  Here is what he had to say on the subject.  "I told the instructor and the officers in the class, “Who do you think you’ll fight? An armed robber won’t always give up, and if he fights, it won’t be based on your agency’s force guidelines. He also won’t care who he hits. He’ll just want to complete his act and get away.” Now, how do you conduct interactive training? Is it reality or just a time to feel good about yourself? Is it training or entertainment? As role players we will act based on the training we have received which includes precise shot placement…is this what your opponent will do?"

Having he right mindset will help ensure that you come back home in the same physical and mental state you had when you left.  The right mindset will keep you in the fight with the intent that evil will not prevail.  A great quote that many of us have heard by Edmund Burke is very relevant.  "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."  I think that being prepared beyond just being a "Certificate Holder" is essential but I also think that if you are not going to invest the time and money necessary to be prepared to confront evil when it comes your way then it would be best that you do nothing so that you stay out of the way of those of us that have the right mindset and skillset necessary to save your life and our own.

Watching the news the other morning, there was a college student interviewed after a college officer shot and killed a hatchet carrying person after giving many warnings.  (But dealing with edge weapons is another day).  This person interviewed basically said that with all the training that officers receive, he didn't understand why they could not have just wounded him?  Other comments that I saw were saying that it was excessive force.  In the firearms classes that I teach it is amazing how often this thought comes up.  It gives me a great opportunity to educate more people of "Mindset".  Are you ready?  Do you really have the right mindset and the right training?  I know that this has caused me to do a little shift in the training that I do with individuals, ministries, and churches.

There are many questions that you should be asking of yourself, team, staff, etc.  Having an improper mindset can lead to liability issues for yourself, ministry and church as well as create unnecessary victims.  Get out there and get the necessary skills to have the right mindset or keep your gun at home.  Contact CorrValues if you are ready to acquire the necessary skills.