Prisoner 5239 was captured by the Nazis at just 19 years of age. Withered after five years of death camp incarceration, while on a forced death march in 1945, suddenly, without warning, the moment of decision came. It was a five second junction, a crossroads between life and death. As they rounded a bend, he glanced back, and realized the rear guard was out of sight – and, hurriedly looking ahead, it was the same. For ten paces or so, they could not be seen. He had a choice, and he decided. Turning to a friend, he hissed: “Quick! Run! Now.”
Nearly half of what we do, think, and feel in the course of a day is habitual. Our character is shaped in large part by the habits we cultivate. Good habits lead to good character; bad habits to bad character.
More than a century ago, psychologist William James speculated:
Our virtues are habits as much as our vices. All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits—practical, emotional, and intellectual—systematically organized for our weal or woe, and bearing us irresistibly toward our destiny, whatever the latter may be.
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David was sensitive enough to hear the whisper of God’s voice, “You will be the next king.” But as soon as the big moment was over and they turned out the lights, he was humbly back with his sheep. People had to actually pull him from the sheep to get him to do anything that was related to the limelight. In fact, I think that’s one of the reasons he was a man after God’s heart. He was always approachable, always believable, always authentic . . . and always faithful in the little things.
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Around 4 in 5 Protestant pastors (80%) say their church has some type of security measure in place when they gather for worship, according to a survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.
Almost 2 in 3 pastors (62%) say their church has an intentional plan for an active killer situation. The more people who show up to worship services each week, the more likely the church is to have made plans for a potential murderer. Pastors of churches with 250 or more in attendance (77%) and those with 100 to 249 (74%) are more likely to have an intentional plan than those with 50 to 99 in attendance (58%) or those with less than 50 in their worship service each week (45%).
Close to half of pastors (45%) say part of their security measures include having armed church members. Combining this with the percentages who say they have uniformed police officers or armed security personnel on site, 51% intentionally have firearms at their worship services as part of their security measures.
Invite SemperVerus to present its 5 life-changing success-generating components—prepare, aware, be, know, do—to your organization to inspire and motivate your members.
