The Power of the Holy Spirit and the Simple word "Hello".

Over the past several years I have seen an increasing demand for verbal de-escalation training. Much of that training includes teaching the FBI's Behavioral Change Stairway Model (BCSM), which uses the five steps of Active Listening, Empathy, Rapport, Influence, and Behavioral Change. I also include scripture with each step because God’s Word supports many of the principles behind effective communication.

Even so, I have always struggled with using military or police tactics when training a church safety team. Is a model designed for crisis negotiation really the best place to begin when training church safety teams? The BCSM has proven itself for law enforcement, but how often is a church safety team called to negotiate with a suicidal person, a barricaded subject or someone holding hostages? Most conversations on church property are not crises. They are ordinary human interactions.

Church safety is a constant evolving ministry that should have its own category on teaching what works in a spiritual mindset. This is where I prayed for an answer and felt that we as a church safety team need to approach this from a Jesus point of view, in other words “What would Jesus do?” What would Jesus do alone gives safety team members a structured way to prepare for the kinds of situations they will encounter every day when they are called to serve, an easier way to think about this, is we need to teach our safety team members how to be evangelists.

The first thing any safety team member should do when preparing to be the watchmen on the wall is to pray. We pray that our hearts are right with God, because if it is not, we will not see God’s direction because we will be too involved in our own. Sounds a little harsh but if we do not place God first, “His will be done,” then we are using our own devices to handle the day in front of us which could be a recipe for disaster.

The second thing we need to do is look at every person we encounter through the eyes of Jesus. Jesus had the unique ability to see into a person’s soul, but He did not leave us without help. He gave us the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us, strengthen us, and help us discern what is happening beneath the surface.

When we combine a Christlike view of people with dependence on the Holy Spirit, our perspective changes. I do not mean that we become physically supernatural, able to fly or immune from injury or death. What I mean is that, from personal experience, when I approach a situation this way, I often see things differently, sometimes in ways I cannot fully explain after the encounter is over.

Most Christians do not understand the power of the Holy Spirit. I will be honest, until about three years ago I didn’t either until we did an intense study on Charles Stanley’s book “Relying on the Holy Spirit: Discover Who He Is and How He Works.” Doctor Stanley states “ Unfortunately, for many believers these feelings of wonder come about as a result of puzzlement instead of adoration. But the truth of the matter is that the role of the Holy Spirit does not have to be a mystery in our lives, and we will miss out greatly on God’s power if we choose to ignore His Spirit.”

The gifts of the Spirit are specific endowments or supernatural abilities given by the Holy Spirit to believers for the purpose of building up the church and advancing the work of God. These gifts wisdom, knowledge, faith, and discernment are given according to the Spirit’s will and are intended to serve others and glorify God.

If we are right with God, looking at things through Jesus’s eye and are leaning into the power of the Holy Spirit, any one of the gifts given to us will help us see when a person we do not know has either come to worship, are in need, or that wolf in sheep’s clothing. Not only will we be able to see if someone's behavior deserves closer attention, but the Holy Spirit will also give you the words to say.

An example of this is on June 22, 2025, Deacon Richard Pryor was running late to his church, CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Michigan when he witnessed a vehicle doing donuts in the parking lot. When the truck stopped, Pryor pulled up in his truck and asked the driver ‘Hey, boss, are you okay? Everything all right?’ Instead of being confrontational, he asked the suspect “are you okay?” There is no doubt in my mind because of the words Pryor said the shooter’s first shots were at the church building and not Deacon Pryor.

But the story does not end there. Pryor said, “he felt a divine call to act,” and ran over the shooter, incapacitating the shooter allowing safety team members the opportunity to react and handle the situation. Deacon Pryor was not a part of the safety team, if we had the chance to ask him, I would think he has never been to a church safety training. But this is what Deacon Richard Pryor was that day, he was right with God, and his first interaction with the soon to be shooter was one seen through Jesus’s eyes, he began with an ordinary human interaction, not judgmental, not condescending but concern.

So what must we do as safety team leaders? First get our own house right with God. Acts 20:28 gives us clear guidance on how to start the process “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” You are Spirit picked to be in this most important ministry. Never underestimate the importance of your position with God and the church. This position is never to be taken lightly. You are the ambassadors of your church.

My next recommendation to the safety team leaders is that if you do not understand who the Holy Spirit is, how can you teach others? Do a Bible study with your members. I found Charles Stanley’s book “Relying on the Holy Spirit: Discover Who He Is and How He Works.” an easy one to start with. Starting a Bible study with your team not only builds relationship among yourselves, but it also builds the bond between your team and the Maker and helps develop the evangelist they need to become.

When I say, look at people as Jesus would, I think of John 10:2-4, Jesus talks about the shepherd of the sheep. “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Do the members of your flock know you by what you do or do they know who you are personally? Do they know your voice or are you just that person over in the corner with the radio earpiece on? If they know us, they are far more likely to respond to our direction during a crisis.

In John 10:14-16 He says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” When a good shepherd sees the wolf or bear coming against his flock, he puts himself in between the flock and the possible threat, protecting the flock. In this manner, when I say we must look at everyone through the eyes of Jesus, I never said we must be meek, but if we use the power of the Holy Spirit and the simple word hello, maybe the wolf will see this is not the flock to scatter but either join or go to another flock.

Church safety does not begin with radios, weapons, or tactical plans. It begins long before an emergency ever happens. It begins with a heart that is right with God, eyes that see people as Jesus saw them, and a willingness to trust the Holy Spirit in ordinary conversations. Sometimes the most powerful tool a safety team member possesses is not a piece of equipment. Sometimes it is the simple word, 'Hello'.