“When Observation Matters: A Real-World Account of Behavioral Awareness in a Place of Worship.”
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When Observation Matters
A Real-World Account of Behavioral Awareness in a Place of Worship
From a letter shared by Mike Moore, Pastor of Shiloh Bible Church in Harrison, Arkansas
Threat awareness does not begin with knowing exactly what another person intends to do. It begins much earlier — with observation, recognition, context, and the willingness to pay attention when something does not fit.
A firsthand account from Mike Moore, Pastor of Shiloh Bible Church in Harrison, Arkansas, provides a powerful example of why those principles matter in the real world.
Something Was Different
Mike arrived early at his church one Sunday morning, as he routinely did, to make sure everything was ready for the congregation. A member of the worship team approached him about an unfamiliar man in the building who, for reasons he could not fully explain, made him nervous.
Mike, who also had law-enforcement experience, located the man and began observing him. He noticed several things: the way he was dressed, his blank stare, the backpack he carried, unusually long pauses before answering questions, attempts to change the subject, and aspects of his movement and gait.
“Being a student of Glenn Foster trained me to notice these things and more.”
— Mike Moore
Observe First. Do Not Assume.
One of the most important parts of Mike’s account is what he did not do. He did not claim to know the man’s intentions simply because his behavior seemed unusual. He continued to observe, maintained distance, and had someone contact law enforcement so the situation could be evaluated safely.
When officers arrived, Mike continued trying to understand the situation. He asked the man whether he had any weapons. After a long pause, the man acknowledged that he did and stated that he had a machete under his coat. Officers then escorted him from the church.
No one had to wait for an overt act of violence before recognizing that the situation deserved additional attention.
The Value of Behavioral Training
Mike credits training he received from D. Glenn Foster in identifying deception and reading people’s movements with helping him recognize that the situation warranted closer attention.
“If I had not taken Glenn Foster’s class on identifying deception and reading peoples movements, I may have never noticed this potential threat to my church family.”
— Mike Moore
That lesson reaches well beyond one church or one incident. Glenn Foster’s decades of work in behavioral observation and the principles developed through his professional training helped establish an important part of the behavioral foundation that informs Behavioral Threat Assessment Prevention — “BTAP”.
What This Account Teaches Us
- Context matters. Something can deserve attention without automatically proving malicious intent.
- Behavioral changes and abnormalities matter. Pauses, movements, responses, appearance, actions, and other observable details can help form a larger picture.
- Observation comes before conclusion. The objective is not to diagnose, profile, or investigate someone on your own.
- Knowing when to elevate a concern matters. Recognition becomes useful when it leads to an appropriate and measured response.
- People already present may notice first. Security personnel and law enforcement cannot be everywhere. Employees, staff members, volunteers, teachers, clergy, coworkers, and others may be the first people in a position to recognize that something has changed.
The Training Ends. The Awareness Continues.
“BTAP” is designed to help organizations strengthen the same fundamental capability illustrated in Mike Moore’s account: pay attention, recognize meaningful indicators, understand context, and know when a situation deserves additional attention.
Learn more about Behavioral Threat Assessment Prevention and how Kinesic Media can bring “BTAP” Training to your organization.
This article is based on a firsthand account provided by Mike Moore and is shared with his permission. The account describes his experience and the training he received from Glenn Foster. It should not be read as a claim that training can predict or prevent every threatening situation.