So yeah....stealing her identity?? Just because I asked for some identification when I was filling out the trespass forms? So I called my boss, filled him in on the situation and let the dad talk to him. My boss was off for the day and wasn't about to come back to work. The dad was really ticked off and was ready to call the cops....my boss came to work. The dad wasn't about to deal with me anymore..."I can see I'm not going to get anywhere with you" he said to me. And he was right of course...so insightful of him. So my boss came out...by this time another dad had shown up. They obviously didn't get anywhere with my boss either. After about 20 minutes of debate...rather heated debate during which yet another dad showed up, the first dad that showed up got tired of dealing with my "uncooperative" boss and called the cops on me. Two cops showed up. One talked to the dads....and was argued with. The other got my accurate side of the story....and was laughing at the dads...not out loud of course. Both cops went over to the dads and told them that there was nothing they could do...I was well within my rights. Then the dads pulled their "ace" out. "What if they had been attacked and raped when this rent-a-cop (meaning me of course) sent them home without adult supervision! The cops said, "That's your problem. What were your kids doing sitting behind the mall without adult supervision??"
So since then I've only seen those kids and their parent around a couple of times...at first with adult supervision.....just to make sure I wasn't going to harrass them. But then that fell by the wayside and they're back in the mall again....without their parents.....go figure. You guy's didn't know I was working at a daycare did you? I didn't know either...I thought I was a Security Guard!
Ohhhh....the lawsuit? Didn't happen. Didn't see that coming...
Coming next time.....the second way to get sued.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
One of Three Ways to Get Sued
It was shortly after I began work at the Wenatchee Valley Mall as a Security Guard that I began learning more about this sue happy world. Here I am, a dedicated Security Guard, just trying to do my job and people want to sue me. This particular time, I was accused of identity theft when I kicked this guy's daughter out of the mall. Here's how it happened. I get to work one beautiful, early summer day; clock in; get my riot gear on (aka my badge and handcuffs); clock in and I start patrolling. Soon after I got to work, my boss decided to leave early. Not a problem. I'm cool with that. I got everything under control. As my boss was pulling out of the parking lot, he spotted a group of kids loitering behind the mall. My boss gives me a call and tells me to boot them. Cool. I get some action. I walk back there and I see them. Six juveniles all about 13-15 years old. Two guys, four girls. I walk up to them and say, "Hey guys, this isn't a spot to hang out. I need you all to leave the mall right now."
They comply...in a manner of speaking....with many muttered words that I am sure are blessings for my camels. I give them about half a minute before I follow them. By this time they have disappeared around the corner of the building. When I round the corner of the mall, the kids are nowhere in sight. Instantly my finely trained faculties kick in. "Eliminate the impossible," Sherlock Holmes would state, "and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." Now I knew they didn't have any jet packs or the ever popular skateboards. And I also knew there were only two places they could have gone to disappear so quickly. They could have gone around the next corner of the mall, which was unlikely because of the amount of time that it would take to get there......or, as was more likely, they reentered the mall. I quickly spotted two adult females standing at the entrance to Macy's. That was where they had entered...if they had entered at all. I walked up to the two ladies.
"Excuse me ladies," I said, ever the polite Security Guard. "But did you happen to observe a group of kids just walk into Macy's?"
"Yes," they replied.
Now there's something about me that you have to understand before I go any further. I am a patient man. I will give people a second chance and even a third chance, even when they don't deserve it. And I also give people the benefit of the doubt.
Because of these characteristics of mine, I did not reenter the mall in hot pursuit of these kids. Instead, I walked around the mall just to make sure that they had not exited some other place. They hadn't. I entered the mall on the other side not having spotted my juveniles. I walked in the door by Orange Julius. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the slight light difference inside the mall, I spotted them. They were ordering drinks at OJ! I walked up to them.
"Excuse me." I said. "I thought I just told you guys to leave the mall."
"Uhhh....ummmmm" they all stammered.
One finally found her voice. "We didn't think you meant it"
That was the final straw. What were they thinking?? A Security Guard walks up to them and tells them to leave and he didn't mean it? Of course I was joking right?
These kids needed to be taught a lesson and fast.
"Come with me to my office please" I said in a voice tight with anger.
They followed me quietly.
Lining them up I quickly processed the lot. I took their pictures and filled out trespass forms for all of them, banning them from the mall for two weeks.
"You are banned from the mall and mall property for two weeks" I informed them. "And I'm going to have to escort you off property as well."
I got them off property and returned to my rounds thinking the incident was closed.
How wrong I was, I found out about an hour later when a man walked up to me and said, "You're just the guy I'm looking for."
"Yes sir," I replied, "How can I help you?"
"I think you know" he replied, his voice taut with ill concealed rage.
I took a second look and noticed that the girl that was with him was one I had just banned from the mall.
"Great." I thought. "I've just ticked off some parents. Now I'm in for it"
"I want to talk to your boss right now and I want to see your Security Guard license" the dad said. "I know the law and I'm going to call my lawyer. You tried to steal my daughter’s identity."
to be continued
They comply...in a manner of speaking....with many muttered words that I am sure are blessings for my camels. I give them about half a minute before I follow them. By this time they have disappeared around the corner of the building. When I round the corner of the mall, the kids are nowhere in sight. Instantly my finely trained faculties kick in. "Eliminate the impossible," Sherlock Holmes would state, "and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." Now I knew they didn't have any jet packs or the ever popular skateboards. And I also knew there were only two places they could have gone to disappear so quickly. They could have gone around the next corner of the mall, which was unlikely because of the amount of time that it would take to get there......or, as was more likely, they reentered the mall. I quickly spotted two adult females standing at the entrance to Macy's. That was where they had entered...if they had entered at all. I walked up to the two ladies.
"Excuse me ladies," I said, ever the polite Security Guard. "But did you happen to observe a group of kids just walk into Macy's?"
"Yes," they replied.
Now there's something about me that you have to understand before I go any further. I am a patient man. I will give people a second chance and even a third chance, even when they don't deserve it. And I also give people the benefit of the doubt.
Because of these characteristics of mine, I did not reenter the mall in hot pursuit of these kids. Instead, I walked around the mall just to make sure that they had not exited some other place. They hadn't. I entered the mall on the other side not having spotted my juveniles. I walked in the door by Orange Julius. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the slight light difference inside the mall, I spotted them. They were ordering drinks at OJ! I walked up to them.
"Excuse me." I said. "I thought I just told you guys to leave the mall."
"Uhhh....ummmmm" they all stammered.
One finally found her voice. "We didn't think you meant it"
That was the final straw. What were they thinking?? A Security Guard walks up to them and tells them to leave and he didn't mean it? Of course I was joking right?
These kids needed to be taught a lesson and fast.
"Come with me to my office please" I said in a voice tight with anger.
They followed me quietly.
Lining them up I quickly processed the lot. I took their pictures and filled out trespass forms for all of them, banning them from the mall for two weeks.
"You are banned from the mall and mall property for two weeks" I informed them. "And I'm going to have to escort you off property as well."
I got them off property and returned to my rounds thinking the incident was closed.
How wrong I was, I found out about an hour later when a man walked up to me and said, "You're just the guy I'm looking for."
"Yes sir," I replied, "How can I help you?"
"I think you know" he replied, his voice taut with ill concealed rage.
I took a second look and noticed that the girl that was with him was one I had just banned from the mall.
"Great." I thought. "I've just ticked off some parents. Now I'm in for it"
"I want to talk to your boss right now and I want to see your Security Guard license" the dad said. "I know the law and I'm going to call my lawyer. You tried to steal my daughter’s identity."
to be continued
Saturday, January 10, 2009
I'm Back
"I have returned to blogdom." These words spoken by my hero General MacArthur have inspired many people since he wrote them in his blog from his laptop on board the PT Boat when he returned to the Philipines. Well...in a manner of speaking that is. This will not be a full length article as I do not have time right now. Suffice it to say...keep posted as I promise I will post within the next week or so. Promise...on my honor as a security guard. I swear it on the sword of my......uh.....actually I don't have a sword right now. Anyway, more to follow.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
To Make a Church...
There is a poem by Emily Dickinson that provides for a few thought provoking minutes. It is entitled, "To Make a Prairie." It answers the unasked question of what it takes to make a prairie and goes like this:
"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few."
In regards to the concept of church planting today, I'd like to present my own version.
To Make a Church
To make a church it takes a late model computer and softwar, a colored DeskJet or laser printer, a multi-drawer photocopier with a sorting feature and computer linkup capability, and a video projector, a desk, chairs, tables, filing cabinets, adding machines, an answering machine, telephone, white boards, markers, blank CD's, paper, paper cutter, digital piano, pulpit, communion set, offering plates, nursery equipment, sound system, and possibly song books.
The computer, printer, piano, copier, communion set, nursery equipment, video projector, offering plates, pulpit, and chairs alone will do if the rest is hard to come by.
That list of equipment is almost a direct quote from my church planting book. And yes it did say "possibly song books." The thinking today is that you should probably have the words up on power point cause the people sing better and it's just more practical in todays society.
I've recently been re-reading "God's Smuggler." Great book that everyone should have a copy of. It tells of persecuted Christians in Communist countries back in the height of the Communist regimes. You know what they had for church? A few had Bibles. Sometimes not even the pastors had Bibles. A few had some song books. Those that didn't have Bibles or song books sometimes had hand written copies of portions of the Bible or song books. And when they got to church, they held their copies up high so that as many people as possible could read them. No computers or pianos, no copiers or powerpoint, no up to the latest date software or sound system. No nursery equipment. Just a few scattered copies of God's Word and some song books. And like I said, sometimes the pastor himself even didn't have his own Bible! And yet we today have our lists of hundreds of must have commentaries, dictionaries, theology books, study helps, etc, otherwise we are not adequately equipped to be a pastor. Oh and did I mention that M. Div. you've just got to have? Now I'm thirty years old, I've got my degrees, I've got my books, and I've got all my equipment, and now I'm ready to go out and start a church or become the pastor of an already existing church. So I go out and say I'm depending on God to help me but my tendency is to turn to all my stuff to help me out when I come up against a hard spot. Now there is nothing wrong with any of the stuff listed above. But without it, you are reduced to utter dependence on God and God alone. And that is right where God wants us.
Let me put it this way. What tools do you give your young son first? The DeWalt cordless drill, Milwaukee circular saw, Rigid nail gun, laser levels? No, you give him that 20" Stanly hand saw, the small hand drill, the 16 oz hammer, the small level and tape measure and teach him how to use those. Then you give him the power tools later once he has mastered the basics. Then he is never tied to those power tools.
Transfer that over to the theological/religious world and what thoughts does that make you think?
Read these verses from John 16:7-15.
1. a thorough knowledge of it unsurpassed by anyone tied to commentaries,
2. being thoroughly right with God--no sin in the camp blocking access to the power of God
3. an awesome relationship with God because you are constantly talking to Him and He to you.
Now, when you throw yourself completely on the Holy Spirit and the Word, God will test you. He will deliberately put you through a dry time spiritually to see what your response will be. And you will be tempted to go to the commentaries and study helps. But you must not. First examine your life to make sure there is nothing hindering God revealing His word to you. Then once you have that taken care of, get on your knees and ask God to open your understanding. It may be that what you wanted to preach/teach on is not what God desires you to preach on. And He is trying to get your attention and turn it to what He desires you to preach on. Or maybe God is just wanting you on your knees before Him begging Him to open your understanding and show you His truth so that you can take it to the flock that He has entrusted to you so you can feed them. How awesome is that!! To be shown by God what a text means so that you can feed it to His flock! We cannot be tied to anything but God and His Word.
Now going back to the topic of making a church. We don't need all this stuff. We need the power of God. Matthew 16:18 says that Christ will build His church. Our programs, our Sunday School manuals, our nursery staff, our sound system, our worship leader, our track rack, our EE program, our ushers, our visitor cards, our advertising, our computers, our fancy copier machines, our power point and data projectors; none of these things are necessary for a church to be planted, grow, and mature. What is necessary is God and His Word and complete dependence on them.
2 Peter 1:2-4 says "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
It's not our books, Logos software, or anything else. It is the knowledge and power of God and Christ Jesus that gives us what we need for life and godliness. It is God's power that builds the church and it is through our (the pastor's) knowledge of God that He feeds the church. We often complain that we really don't know God. I wonder why? How do you get to know someone? Could it possibly be by spending time with them? When you are dating, you spend literally hours communicating with that special someone. And the result is that in a few years, you know that person really well. By spending hours with God and letting Him work in your life and transform it, you too can really get to know God and that will overflow out of your life and impact others. It's not about the stuff; it's about God and a relationship with Him. Get to know Him and that will transform your life and ministry. Really get to know God and the results will astound you.
Let's give God a chance to work again in the churches in America. Put away those distracting things. Put away the novels, the magazines, the movies, the TV, the computer, those things that aren't edifying and building you or those around you up in the Lord. It's time we got back to the Bible and God. So take your Bible and a pen and you and God and make a Christian and a church.
To Make a Church/Christian it takes the Bible and a Pen.
One pen and the Bible
And the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit and Bible will do,
If pens are few.
A. W. Tozer once said, "Take away the Holy Spirit from the New Testament church and ninety-five percent of what was happening would cease. Take away the Holy Spirit from today's church, and ninety-five percent would continue."
How about it? What do you think?
"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few."
In regards to the concept of church planting today, I'd like to present my own version.
To Make a Church
To make a church it takes a late model computer and softwar, a colored DeskJet or laser printer, a multi-drawer photocopier with a sorting feature and computer linkup capability, and a video projector, a desk, chairs, tables, filing cabinets, adding machines, an answering machine, telephone, white boards, markers, blank CD's, paper, paper cutter, digital piano, pulpit, communion set, offering plates, nursery equipment, sound system, and possibly song books.
The computer, printer, piano, copier, communion set, nursery equipment, video projector, offering plates, pulpit, and chairs alone will do if the rest is hard to come by.
That list of equipment is almost a direct quote from my church planting book. And yes it did say "possibly song books." The thinking today is that you should probably have the words up on power point cause the people sing better and it's just more practical in todays society.
I've recently been re-reading "God's Smuggler." Great book that everyone should have a copy of. It tells of persecuted Christians in Communist countries back in the height of the Communist regimes. You know what they had for church? A few had Bibles. Sometimes not even the pastors had Bibles. A few had some song books. Those that didn't have Bibles or song books sometimes had hand written copies of portions of the Bible or song books. And when they got to church, they held their copies up high so that as many people as possible could read them. No computers or pianos, no copiers or powerpoint, no up to the latest date software or sound system. No nursery equipment. Just a few scattered copies of God's Word and some song books. And like I said, sometimes the pastor himself even didn't have his own Bible! And yet we today have our lists of hundreds of must have commentaries, dictionaries, theology books, study helps, etc, otherwise we are not adequately equipped to be a pastor. Oh and did I mention that M. Div. you've just got to have? Now I'm thirty years old, I've got my degrees, I've got my books, and I've got all my equipment, and now I'm ready to go out and start a church or become the pastor of an already existing church. So I go out and say I'm depending on God to help me but my tendency is to turn to all my stuff to help me out when I come up against a hard spot. Now there is nothing wrong with any of the stuff listed above. But without it, you are reduced to utter dependence on God and God alone. And that is right where God wants us.
Let me put it this way. What tools do you give your young son first? The DeWalt cordless drill, Milwaukee circular saw, Rigid nail gun, laser levels? No, you give him that 20" Stanly hand saw, the small hand drill, the 16 oz hammer, the small level and tape measure and teach him how to use those. Then you give him the power tools later once he has mastered the basics. Then he is never tied to those power tools.
Transfer that over to the theological/religious world and what thoughts does that make you think?
Read these verses from John 16:7-15.
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (NKJV)
1. a thorough knowledge of it unsurpassed by anyone tied to commentaries,
2. being thoroughly right with God--no sin in the camp blocking access to the power of God
3. an awesome relationship with God because you are constantly talking to Him and He to you.
Now, when you throw yourself completely on the Holy Spirit and the Word, God will test you. He will deliberately put you through a dry time spiritually to see what your response will be. And you will be tempted to go to the commentaries and study helps. But you must not. First examine your life to make sure there is nothing hindering God revealing His word to you. Then once you have that taken care of, get on your knees and ask God to open your understanding. It may be that what you wanted to preach/teach on is not what God desires you to preach on. And He is trying to get your attention and turn it to what He desires you to preach on. Or maybe God is just wanting you on your knees before Him begging Him to open your understanding and show you His truth so that you can take it to the flock that He has entrusted to you so you can feed them. How awesome is that!! To be shown by God what a text means so that you can feed it to His flock! We cannot be tied to anything but God and His Word.
Now going back to the topic of making a church. We don't need all this stuff. We need the power of God. Matthew 16:18 says that Christ will build His church. Our programs, our Sunday School manuals, our nursery staff, our sound system, our worship leader, our track rack, our EE program, our ushers, our visitor cards, our advertising, our computers, our fancy copier machines, our power point and data projectors; none of these things are necessary for a church to be planted, grow, and mature. What is necessary is God and His Word and complete dependence on them.
2 Peter 1:2-4 says "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
It's not our books, Logos software, or anything else. It is the knowledge and power of God and Christ Jesus that gives us what we need for life and godliness. It is God's power that builds the church and it is through our (the pastor's) knowledge of God that He feeds the church. We often complain that we really don't know God. I wonder why? How do you get to know someone? Could it possibly be by spending time with them? When you are dating, you spend literally hours communicating with that special someone. And the result is that in a few years, you know that person really well. By spending hours with God and letting Him work in your life and transform it, you too can really get to know God and that will overflow out of your life and impact others. It's not about the stuff; it's about God and a relationship with Him. Get to know Him and that will transform your life and ministry. Really get to know God and the results will astound you.
Let's give God a chance to work again in the churches in America. Put away those distracting things. Put away the novels, the magazines, the movies, the TV, the computer, those things that aren't edifying and building you or those around you up in the Lord. It's time we got back to the Bible and God. So take your Bible and a pen and you and God and make a Christian and a church.
To Make a Church/Christian it takes the Bible and a Pen.
One pen and the Bible
And the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit and Bible will do,
If pens are few.
A. W. Tozer once said, "Take away the Holy Spirit from the New Testament church and ninety-five percent of what was happening would cease. Take away the Holy Spirit from today's church, and ninety-five percent would continue."
How about it? What do you think?
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Hold your horses...
I know I promised a post on my views of church planting. It's a continuation of my thoughts from a couple of posts ago. But I keep forgetting my book that I need to reference as I write the post....so hold on. I promise to write it before I virtually disappear from blogdome for the summer...sadness.
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