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The Road to Character

In his book, The Road to Character, The New York Times columnist and bestselling author, David Brooks, challenges readers to rebalance the scales between focusing on external success—“résumé virtues”—and, instead, elevate and value core inner principles.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Video: Let Your Conscience By Your Guide ]

The Road to Character is a reminder (just as SemperVerus is) that we must strengthen our character—our moral compass—to stay true to what is right and stay true to our aim in life.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The Door of Leadership Swings on the Hinge of Character ]

    Chapter 1: The Shift
    Chapter 2:  The Summoned Self
    Chapter 3:  Self-Conquest
    Chapter 4:  Struggle
    Chapter 5:  Self-Mastery
    Chapter 6:  Dignity
    Chapter 7:  Love
    Chapter 8:  Ordered Love
    Chapter 9:  Self-Examination
    Chapter 10:  The Big Me

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness Self-Defense: Seeing Temptation as a Threat ]

Quotes to ponder from The Road to Character

• “Character is built in the course of your inner confrontation. Character is a set of dispositions, desires, and habits that are slowly engraved during the struggle against your own weakness. You become more disciplined, considerate, and loving through a thousand small acts of self-control, sharing, service, friendship, and refined enjoyment. If you make disciplined, caring choices, you are slowly engraving certain tendencies into your mind. You are making it more likely that you will desire the right things and execute the right actions. If you make selfish, cruel, or disorganized choices, then you are slowly turning this core thing inside yourself into something that is degraded, inconstant, or fragmented. You can do harm to this core thing with nothing more than ignoble thoughts, even if you are not harming anyone else. You can elevate this core thing with an act of restraint nobody sees. If you don’t develop a coherent character in this way, life will fall to pieces sooner or later. You will become a slave to your passions. But if you do behave with habitual self-discipline, you will become constant and dependable.”

By semperverus
Posted on 03/10/202503/19/2025

Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents (Part 2)

This is the follow-up post to the first article about how Blue Arrow Consultants trains church security teams in handling Active Violence Incidents (AVI) in their houses of worship.

SemperVerus attended the two-day, more-than-six-hour training session at a Michigan church building with that church’s security team. It consisted of two hours of classroom teaching and four hours of live-action AVI scenario training with inert Glock blue guns and Glock 19X Gen5 Airsoft pistols and protective clothing.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents (Part 1) ]

The course instructor was Del Kostanko, police trainer and founder of Blue Arrow Consultants, LLC, who teaches that knowing how to assess and respond to threats can lessen the need for force, reduce the chance of physical harm, and minimize liability.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Disruptions during church services and events are generally benign, without violence, and can be solved using de-escalation techniques and skills.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

But, in the rare case of an AVI, church security teams must know how best to work cohesively to appropriately and courageously stop the deadly threat. SemperVerus highly recommends Blue
Arrow Consultants to expertly train your church safety team in the best practices of SWAT methods to properly prepare for when very bad times happen.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

The following is merely a small sampling of the excellent lessons Del taught, along with photos of some of the physical execution of those lessons in staged scenarios:

Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams

Gentle Response is the organization founded by John Riley, a retired police officer and certified crisis intervention specialist with the National Anger Management Association. He and his team travel all over the United States conducting Conflict De-escalation Training seminars.

SemperVerus attended this excellent seminar, held in Immanuel Church, Holland, Michigan, May 14, 2023. With Mr. Riley’s permission, here are notes we took during that seminar and scenario training:

• “A gentle response defuses anger” Proverbs 15:1 (MSG)

• Conflict de-escalation: lowering the intensity of an agitated person to minimize a potentially volatile situation from becoming a critical violent incident.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

• Peacemaking and de-escalating people’s anger is the goal, while staying alert to your own personal and public safety. When overwhelmed, stay safe and be an expert witness.

• Mindset Priority: Each church security team member must have a “ministry mindset” — Every contact (even eye contact) is a ministry opportunity to represent the mission of the church. Don’t let your actions be heavy-handed and damage that mission.

Terrorists Call for Attacks on Christians

A new Islamic State propaganda campaign is a reminder to church security teams to remain well-trained and keenly vigilant in the protection of their congregations. Take seriously the verse from Nehemiah 4:9, “We prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

The latest propaganda poster, published by the Al-Azaem Media Foundation, explicitly urges self-radicalized jihadists to strike without limitation or hesitation, according to the church security website, Christian Warrior Training.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Interview with Keith Graves of Christian Warrior Training ]

The message on the propaganda poster states: