1-3-17 I woke up thinking about the copies of Winning a Gunfight I wanted to send to the Dave Grossman seminar at the end of the month. We were still $457 short and needed to get the books ordered and sent quickly. After praying about it, I committed to send the books, believing the Lord would provide the money. Shortly after 3 pm an undesignated check for $600 was handed to me for the Strong Blue Line. Thank you, Lord; this living by faith stuff is getting kind of fun! I sent an email to Jimmy Meeks asking him where to send the books.
As mentioned in the December newsletter, one of Lt. Col. Grossman’s cohorts is Jimmy Meeks of Sheepdog Seminars. Jimmy is a retired police officer with a passion to train police officers and reach them with the gospel. Jimmy is my contact for getting books to the seminars he teaches with Dave Grossman and Carl Chinn. On January 12th, I received a text from Jimmy: “I’ve been passing out your books all day as I drive across the country. It opens up a whole other door because I see cops all over the place when I make these long trips.” Here’s a picture of Jimmy with an officer in Trussville, Alabama. Jimmy was traveling through several southern states en route to south Florida for the even there.
At the end of the month, Jimmy called and said he was out of books. By the time he reached south Florida he had more officers than books. His words were, “they scooped them up as fast as they could!” Jimmy even spotted an officer grabbing a book from the table when they bowed to pray!
1-4-17 Detective Joe Dubs (San Antonio PD) contacted one of his police academy classmates, the newly elected sheriff of Bexar County (San Antonio) Texas, Javier Salazar. Joe and his wife arranged a dinner with Sheriff Salazar and planned to share the book with him.
1-8-17 An issue that many officers (not to mention military personnel) struggle with is using deadly force against another human being. On January 8th, a retired deputy chief contacted me through the Strong Blue Line website and asked for Scripture references that address the legal and moral use of lethal force to protect life. The retired officer said a pastor told him that there is never any justification for using deadly force and that the use of lethal force is against biblical principles. I disagree with the pastor’s position. In Winning a Gunfight I address this issue, but in my earlier book Pistol in the Pulpit I devoted two entire chapters to the issue. I sent the officer a copy of chapter two, “What does Scripture say?” In case you’re wondering I’ve posted a PDF copy of the chapter, click here. Pistol in the Pulpit is available on Amazon.
1-12-17 Pastor Larry Cudmore of First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Idaho Falls invited me to share The Strong Blue Line ministry with several Lutheran pastors who were in town for a denominational meeting. My son Aaron (the model on the front cover of Winning a Gunfight) went with me to present the ministry. The pastors were open and expressed the importance the ministry.
Please consider supporting The Strong Blue Line ministry with a $10 monthly donation. By signing-up for our “Book a Month Club” you can get a copy of Winning a Gunfight into the hands of twelve officers somewhere in America over the course of a year. What better way is there to show your support for our nation’s police officers than by giving them a copy of this valuable resource that includes a clear presentation of the gospel? You can sign-up through PayPal or you can send a check to The Strong Blue Line ministry. To sign-up through PayPal or learn how to send a check, click on the “Donate” tab button, then on “Monthly Support”.
1-15-17 On Sunday evening, after the devastating Dallas Cowboys’ loss to Aaron Rogers and his Green Bay Packers, I received some much-needed encouragement. Jimmy reported 30 books given to police officers in Georgia and Tennessee.
1-17-17 I received a letter from Pastor Dennis Findorff of Chinook (Montana) Alliance Church. Pastor Findorff ordered a book to review and shared it a deputy who attends his church. The deputy, who is not an avid reader really enjoyed the book. Pastor Dennis wrote, “We would like to bless the law enforcement officers in our city and county with your book…. We’re praying that the seeds planted by your book will produce a harvest for God’s kingdom!”
1-17-17 Pastor Steve Millermon from Marsh Valley Bible Church in Downy, ID ordered twenty books for the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office.
1-18-17 I met with Pastor Dan Reinhold and church leader Justin Smith of University Bible Church in Pocatello, ID and shared the ministry. Pastor Reinhold promised to get back with me about purchasing books for officers in their community.
1-19-17 It “just so happened” that there were changes in my plans on 1-19-17 that freed up my afternoon. I decided to work a few hours with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, fulfilling my monthly commitment as a reserve deputy. After another series of events, I ended partnered with Deputy Chris Norman. On the way to our first call Chris told me he switched shifts so he could leave for Boise, ID as soon as he got off, where he was meeting his wife. Chris said his wife Rachel was hosting a conference in Boise for police officer wives. After further conversation, I found that Rachel started an organization called Walking the Thin Blue Line. The website says the Walking the Thin Blue Line team is “dedicated to providing the highest levels of support and resources to police families while partnering with like minded organizations to strengthen blue line marriages and families all across the nation.”
Chris said about 40 police officer wives signed-up for the event. I told Chris that the Strong Blue Line will donate 40 copies of Winning a Gunfight, if Rachel will give them to the wives. Rachel graciously accepted. Here’s the email she sent me,
“Hi Tim, My name is Rachel Norman, I am the wife of Bonneville County Deputy Chris Norman. You rode with him the day before my Police Wives Conference last week and so very graciously donated your book to all that attended. I wanted to tell you THANK YOU, so much for doing that. It truly means so much to me and I am excited to read it. I know that so many of the wives that attended were so grateful to receive a copy. I appreciate it more than you know.
“Also, Chris said that you were possibly interested on speaking at another one of our conferences. I would love to visit with you about being involved. I am planning another one to be held in Idaho Falls for either June or October. However, I do not have a firm date yet because I have been working on a book about Law Enforcement Marriage and I have committed to myself to having it completed before the next conference. I am hoping to have a date secured within the next month and then I can provide you with more details.
“I looked at your website today and I love what you are doing. It seems that we are on similar missions to provide, tools, resources and hope to the LE community. Thank you again so much for your servant heart and for being willing to help support our conferences. I hope that you are having a fantastic weekend and I look forward to getting to know you better. Thank you again for your generous donation. Chris and I both appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. Sincerely, Rachel Norman”.
I also received this note from the wife of an Ada County deputy who received a book: “Tim, Thank you for your donation of the Winning a Gunfight books to our Police Wives Conference…. Your gift is so gratefully appreciated; a book that my husband was encouraged to read. An honored gift, Shannon”.
1-20-17 Pastor Gordon Boyle of Watersprings Church put me in contact with Kelly Golden of Revelation Radio. Upon learning about The Strong Blue Line ministry, Kelly invited me to record an interview for Revelation Radio’s Impact interview, that aired Saturday, January 28th. Click here to listen to the interview.
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