With tensions, anxiety, stress and burnout levels high and on the rise all over, de-escalation has rapidly become an essential skill for many.
In times past, workplaces were mainly seen as hotspots for inducing stressful and anxiety-filled situations.
But nowadays, we can experience perturbation, mental and emotional strain in any arena of life, including churches.
That truth is the motivation behind Kennedy Meaders’ mission to educate as many people as possible on the benefits of de-escalation. The 31-year law enforcement veteran conducted a crisis intervention and de-escalation workshop at Indianola First Methodist Church on Saturday. “I just see a need for de-escalation, (and) not just for civilians, but law enforcement as well,” Meaders said.
He said that just knowing that people want the training and him being able to provide the training for churches does his heart good. “The more de-escalation we have, the less use of force we have to use,” Meaders said.
He is hoping that the information he provides gets passed on to others because regardless of the environment -– church, workplace etc. --- the first instinct should be to calm the situation. Meaders said, “If you know that you can help somebody, de-escalate a situation where no one gets hurt, I think that's a good thing.”
He provided several work models to promote the success of situations that require crisis intervention and de-escalation. He mentioned several things that should take place in any encounter with a person in crisis. He said the intervener should introduce themselves and try to get the person to share their name, assure them that you are there to help and repeat or paraphrase what the person in crisis is stating. Among other things you should empathize with them, but not sympathize. And don't make promises you can't keep.
Jim Whitfield, IFMC’s Director of Safety, invited Meaders to put on the day-long seminar as part of the on-going security education effort of the church’s safety ministry. He said they have quarterly training sessions. “It started out for our own safety team, but we’ve expanded and brought in/invited other churches,” he said.
The first half of Saturday’s seminar was a classroom presentation characterized by data presentation, questions and the participants’ responses to “what if” scenarios. During the afternoon session, participants were presented with one-on-one interactive roleplay situations to act out, while the other members critiqued their execution of real life situations.
Whitfield said, “If you look at church safety and security as a layered approach, we have physical security –- locks and cameras –- but being able to intervene personally with people who are going through a crisis, while it may not seem like a layer of security, it actually is; because we're able to help that person before they're able to become a potential problem to the church or their family.”
Whitfield said the church is planning to sponsor future trainings and continue to invite other churches to participate. In addition to IFMC’s safety and security ministry team, Saturday’s session included one other local church and another that traveled from Columbus just to hear Meaders’ presentation.
Meaders is currently a captain with the Columbus Police Department where he serves as an administrator and is responsible for training.
