My education was gained in a number of different “schools”—day-to-day street experience, academic theological study, pastoral ministry, military service, and teaching. The first was a whole career in law enforcement—in uniform patrol, as a field training officer, on a street operations response team, a tactical sergeant in metro narcotics, as an instructor in officer survival and street tactics, and eight years as a SWAT operator. Next was a degree in biblical studies from North Greenville University, followed by an Advanced Master of Divinity (a thesis degree in theology and apologetics) from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, including a summer seminar in the Middle East. I spent 29 years as a senior pastor before retiring in Jan 2021. The third was as a Military Command Chaplain at Joint Force HQ, Clay National Guard Center in Atlanta before retiring in Feb 2021. I still serve as a police chaplain and an adjunct university professor in Christian Studies.