Yesterday I had the opportunity to share a message about spiritual fitness with Minnesota law enforcement leaders. I’ve given this message for the past four years at the MN BCA “Enhanced Leadership in Law Enforcement” training program. I always come away from the event with mixed emotions. I am always pleased with the opportunity to share the message and express my feelings on the importance of spiritual fitness in law enforcement. But I always struggle with feelings of not presenting the message adequately. As my mentor, Captain Doug Menikheim, USN Ret., always says “You have 40 pounds of material and information you are trying to cram into a 10 pound bucket.” I have consistantly reduced the quantity of the message, but I still struggle to find the best “10 pounds” that applies to everyone in the class.
The training is hosted by the MN BCA, and conducted by the Center for Applied Leadership. The class has participants who are leaders in their organizations who have supervisory responsibilities or are aspiring to become supervisors. My goal is to create an awareness and provide some insights into the subject of spiritual fitness, and I get an hour and a half to do so. This year I came to the conclusion that I won’t be able to find that perfect “10 pounds”, but that I will always be throwing out a variety of ideas that everyone will receive differently. Again this year I was extremely pleased with the conversations shared after the class as well as some of the thoughts shared by participants during the class. Several people heard different parts of the message and applied the ideas to their personal situations. As always I learned a lot from hearing the experiences of cops on the job.
So once again this ministry brings me insight, success, learning experiences, frustrations, happiness, sadness…well, you get the picture. This ministry is like life, complicated but wonderful. Thanks participants, I always enjoy and appreciate the experience.
Take Care!
