III – Be

The Nicene Creed Still Compelling After 1700 Years

The year 2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, from which the Nicene Creed was produced.

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

The gathering of bishops in Nicaea (now Iznik, in Turkey) in 325 was called by Roman Emperor Constantine to settle factionalism in the early church caused by Arianism, a heresy originating in Africa promulgated by the African cleric Arius, who said Jesus was not divine.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Every Small Decision Leads to Winning or Losing in Spiritual Warfare ]

As this RNS article states, in the late spring of 325 at Nicaea, 318 bishops deliberated on controversies on the nature of Christ, both human and divine, and agreed on a standard statement of faith still known today as the Nicene Creed. It defines God as one, manifested in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Secure Your Base (Your Soul) ]

Troublingly, Arianism remains alive and well today among evangelicals, as reported in this BreakPoint article by John Stonestreet and Glenn Sunshine of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Understand the Times and Know What to Do ]

The Nicene Creed, displayed below, is a reminder (just as SemperVerus is) that we must stay true to what is right and stay true to our aim in life.

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Self-Defense In Spiritual Warfare: Know Your Enemies

The resulting corollary of the 5 SemperVerus components is SELF-DEFENSE.

Practicing SELF-DEFENSE is the strategic, tactical, and intelligent ability to responsibly protect yourself from menacing spiritual and physical threats.

Notice the inclusion of the spiritual aspect that is often overlooked when considering self-defense. In the SemperVerus Brotherhood™, where we Stay True to what is right and Stay True to our aim, we are vigilant to be situationally aware (including spiritually aware) so that we’re prepared to ward off the enemies of our soul.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Situational Awareness: Spiritual Self-Defense ]

The pastor of Ada Bible Church, in Grand Rapids, MI, Aaron Buer, preached the 4-part sermon series titled Enemies of the Soul, which examines the reality and nature of spiritual warfare in our daily lives. He explores how attacks to our soul come from three directions: the devil, the world, and our own nature (the flesh). His final sermon explains that we defend ourselves from these threats by consciously and constantly putting on the armor of God. Watch each of the videos below to sharpen your everyday defenses and protect your soul.

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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 ]

Table of Contents

    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.”

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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.

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