Think About it -- "It"

Resources Think About it -- "It"
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Carl Chinn

Oct 3, 2026

Some trauma is disturbing enough to cause one to remember life before, compared to life after, “it”.

A deadly force incident in a church will do that. We don’t expect to see blood, hear gunshots, smell smoke or feel the concussion of explosion in a house of worship. Our church is our sanctuary. When evil invades, that day marks the separation of life before, from life after, it.

Survivors from the horrific 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that left four innocent little girls dead will never forget it. The angry darkness of smoke replaced the bright futures of 11-year-old Denise McNair and 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley.

Think About It…

The perspectives we take away from such an event can change our lives and the lives of others. Will we let it destroy us or make us better? The choice really is ours. As David Works said, “When tragedy strikes, will you be left standing”?

David and Marie Works lost two innocent daughters in the attack at New Life Church. Their response is a model for all. Not only did they meet with, embrace and forgive the good family the shooter came from, but they wrote a book of encouragement I strongly recommend: Gone in a Heartbeat -- Our Daughters Died...Our Faith Endures

In 1981 John Walsh was a Hotel Manager. His response to the horrific abduction and murder of his 6-year-old son that year, led him into a lifetime of well-known crime fighting from the civilian side that won international acclaim. His America's Most Wanted was responsible for many criminal captures world-wide. Though it didn’t have anything to do with a faith-based incident, Mr. Walsh’s response is a model for those who have come through any such trauma.

As Faith-based security professionals we try hard to never let it occur at our place on our watch. But if it does, we still play an important role in managing it. We can’t promise security, but we can promise to be there and to be ready to protect and serve.

A criminal never thinks his act clear through. If he did, he wouldn’t do it. As mature men and women of faith, we must think things all the way through. No matter what it is, there will be an after.

Handle it with care.

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Lessons From the Farm (No. 1)

Having moved back to farm country (from where I continue to manage the Faith Based Security Network), there is also the reality of needed work to be done on the farm. Fortunately, there is not (yet) any cropland; the daily duties are centered around making sure the small cow herd is healthy and accounted for. It is rare that I can’t think of the applicability of some farm action to the realm of effective security operations. Such was the case this week when a neighbor called to see if I could help him out. Helping is just part of common rural hospitality. It’s called “neighboring.” When someone’s ox is in the ditch, you go help them. He owns no oxen, but he did have a few hundred acres of corn to get harvested in a narrow window of time. He needed to keep 3 semis continuously filled as drivers ran the harvested corn to the granaries. He had a 12-row combine working nonstop cutting the corn. The missing link was a man on a tractor to catch the freshly harvested corn out of the combine into a 750 bushel mobile grain cart, then transport that corn to the waiting semis. The inset picture shows the operation and equipment well. He set aside an hour to have one of his workers train me on the tractor and the mobile grain cart. After that I was all alone in a John Deere 8400, 4-wheel drive row-crop tractor. This wasn’t like driving Dad’s old 2-cylinder John Deeres 50 years ago. This $300,000 monster had a computerized cab more like a cockpit. At 30,000 pounds and 225 horsepower, it was bigger, more powerful and more expensive than any machine I’d ever operated. One hour of training. Think About it The great late Jeff Cooper said, “Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician” (another version quoted him as, “Owning a pistol doesn't make you a pistoleer any more than owning a piano makes you a pianist”). A few hours operating powerful machinery doesn’t make one a farmer either. Is your training commensurate with the tools and the needed actions? How much is a life worth? If you think an hour might be a little light for training on a monster tractor, how much is too light for your tools of protecting life?