IV – Know

The Importance of the Second Amendment Foundation

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) safeguards and promotes the fundamental civil rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure that the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, USA State Constitutions Providing for Armed Self-Defense ]

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Amendment II, The US Constitution

The following 22-minute video, Reflections: Five Decades of SAF’s 2A Advocacy, celebrates SAF’s 50 years of defending the Second Amendment and fighting legal battles in the courts for gun owners’ civil rights.

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The Bible TL;DR? Try The Concise Bible !

The English Bible is comprised of 31,152 verses, which take about 75 hours to read.

You know the Bible is an important cultural icon and you’ve heard people who’ve read it say it’s changed their lives for the better. But, with your busy days and all you have to do, do you find yourself saying “too long; didn’t read” (TL;DR)?

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness: How Long Does It Take to Read the Bible? ]

Here’s your answer: try reading in only about 4 hours The Concise Bible, published by Initiative.Global, available in print, online, app, and audio, and in 7 languages:

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Fewer American Adults Are Engaging the Bible

In a time when 90% of the world’s population has access to the Christian sacred text of the Bible, a declining number of adults consider it a foundation of their lives. “Today, just 1 in 10 Gen Z adults regularly engages with the Bible,” says John Farquhar Plake, chief ministry insights officer of the American Bible Society.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness: How Long Does It Take to Read the Bible? ]

Alistair Begg, author and senior pastor of Cleveland’s Parkside Church, laments the diminishing role of Scripture in congregational life, warning that modern churchgoers often arrive not with a sense of reverence but with a consumerist mindset and calls for a return to “serious engagement with the Bible.” He says, “I’m not sure that America understands just how deep the problem is, in relationship to biblical illiteracy. You cannot continue to make your journey through life without your Bible—not as a talisman, not as something just to be revered in a corner—but without the Bible as our daily source of knowledge and encounter with God.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness: Top 12 Acts for a Christian ]

America’s preteens are not being raised in an environment that honors the Bible or presents its message, according to George Barna, director of research at the Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University. The lack of such spiritual formation means “we are on the precipice of Christian invisibility,” he says. His research shows just 21% of preteens believe in the existence of “absolute moral truths” that “are unchanging and knowable.” Only one in four agree the Bible is the true word of God.

[ Read how SemperVerus encourages you to live all facets of your life with a biblical worldview ]

“Biblical worldview incidence has declined with each of the last five generations. During that time, the national incidence of adults holding a biblical worldview has plummeted from 12% to today’s 4% level.”

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Mental Health Toolkit: A Free Resource for Self-Defense and Church Security

Mental illnesses are common in the United States, affecting more than one in five US adults (57.8 million in 2021), according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Estimates suggest that only half of people with mental illnesses receive treatment.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security: How to Identify 25 Common Mental Health Behaviors ]

With your involvement in church security/safety, you’ve likely witnessed the growing struggles with mental health evidenced in unusual behavior by some in your services and among people in your congregation, since church is where broken people are drawn to find meaning in their lives.

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

Recognizing the signs of common mental health challenges is crucial for responding appropriately when disruptions occur.

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