On today’s Personal Safety, Bob Boilard and Rick Olson, from Defensive Strategies, joined Lori to talk about church safety through Sheepdog Training. They started off talking about how Bob and Rick devote their lives to keeping people safe. They highlighted how Sheepdog Training and Defensive Strategies are partnering to help churches assess safety issues. They also told us about a terrorist confession that revealed lists that target certain groups for violent acts, including Christians.
Next, Rick told us how he got started in Sheepdog Training. Lori added how some Pastors who weren’t interested in church safety have since changed their minds. They continued about differing views about security, and the need for Life Safety Teams. Rick then illustrated the needs based assessment process he uses depending where a church is located. He added how people want to feel safe in church, then shared scenarios of how church staff might respond to violence.
He also shared about daycare centers in churches, and how staff might react in domestic issues surrounding them. Bob then told us how police often get to the scene of tragedies after an incidents have already occurred. Rick challenged us to consider how we can be proactive, stay lawful, and deal with negative fallout. He also mentioned other concerns in a church communities, such as, alcohol, depression, and suicide.
Bob expounded on what the Sheepdog Training program covers, such as fire safety, child molestation, and all aspects of what church leaders need to know and deal with. Then Lori mentioned her concerns about being lackadaisical about safety and protocols that need to be put in place. They mentioned other institutions who could benefit from this program, such as schools and organizations who are responsible for the safety of groups of people.
Rick then told us about a book by Carl Chinn, a member of the Life Safety Team from New Life Church, where James Dobson of Focus on the Family attends. Chinn was directly involved with an incident with a gunman and tells his story in Evil Invades Sanctuary: The Case for Security in Faith-Based Organizations. He makes the argument to have some kind of plan for each church to figure out what there needs are and how to address them.
Finally, the conversation highlighted all the areas Sheep Dog Training covers for church leaders, and the mindset needed to create a Life Safety Team. Listen in and hear more about it!