Showing results by author "Tim Rupp" in All Categories

Does physically surviving a gunfight mean you won? Not by a long shot. Many people survive gunfights. In fact, most people who are in a gunfight survive. But there’s a difference between surviving and winning. Surviving means you continue to exist. Continuing to exist and winning are not the same. Career police officer and author Tim Rupp has been on both sides of a gunfight—being investigated after being in a gunfight and investigating citizens and officers who have been in shootings. Drawing from personal and professional experiences as a patrol officer, homicide detective, and police...

America’s law enforcement officers are significantly more likely to die by suicide than being murdered in the line of duty. For years mental health professionals have come alongside officers with treatment, assistance, and counsel. Yet, the suicide rate continues to increase. Can this ever-increasing suicide rate among these warriors be stopped? In Suicide is Not an Option retired police officer Tim Rupp approaches suicide from a spiritual health perspective. His street experience as a patrol officer, homicide detective, and police supervisor enables him to relate the challenges faced by ...

Policing in America is dangerous—especially in recent years. Law enforcement officers need to be constantly vigilant. Danger lurks everywhere. But not all danger is physical or even mental. There’s a spiritual danger. Only now is this danger beginning to be addressed in policing. But who are the experts in this area? Who should take the lead? Physical health professionals tend to the physical. Mental health professionals tend to the mental. Who are the spiritual health professionals? Author Tim Rupp combines his experience and knowledge as a law enforcement officer, pastor, and chaplain...

Active Shooter—a term recently coined that sends chills up the spines of principles, teachers, parents…and now pastors and parishioners. The FBI defines an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area, typically through the use of firearms.” Active Killer is a more fitting term. What is the biblical approach to this threat? Christians are struggling with how to respond. Do we trust God and pray for his protection? Do we “turn the other cheek” and do nothing when someone threatens to kill us? Do we take...

“…I don’t have much patience and my hands are sweaty. I’d hate to shoot you by accident, that would upset me for a day or two, but I could live with it. You couldn’t”“Now there’s no need….”“I won’t say it again mister.” I cocked the hammer on the second barrel.Just when you think the adventure is over, you find it just began. Luke, Joe Ray, and Jack aren’t finished righting wrongs. The Civil War was tearing America apart and renegade Confederate soldiers were wreaking havoc in Texas. The outlaw soldiers made the mistake of thinking Luke was still a boy. He ...

“And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay”—Revelation 10:5-6 Since the beginning of time man has feared the end of time. Urgency is in the air. The end seems to loom on the horizon. When will the end come? When will God make all things right? The Apostle John is told there would be “no more delay.” God will bring human history to a close—soon! For ...

“At the time of the end…there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been” –Daniel 11:40a, 12:1b Since the beginning of time man has feared the end of time. This fear has become more prevalent in recent days. People have thought of all kinds of ways in which the world will end: Nuclear war, climate change, AIDS, the COVID virus or some other disease, or perhaps an invasion from another planet or galaxy. The list is endless. But God’s word has the answer for us. Funny how God seems to have the answers to life’s most important questions. War, natural disasters, and disease ...

Preaching is simple. It can be defined as, “Speaking God’s word to people.” However, preaching is also complex. It is both an art and a science. It is both a gift and a task. It will bring out the best or the worse in people. In this primer, Pastor Tim Rupp walks the student-preacher step-by-step how to write and deliver a biblically based expository sermon.

It was 1863, America was split by war. Texas farmer and former lawman, Levi Horn is called to serve for the South, leaving his teenage son to watch over the family. A band of outlaws led by a revenge-driven escaped convict attacks Horn’s family and farm. Torn between vengeance and justice, sixteen-year-old Luke Horn sets off on the trail of the outlaws.

Is there hope for America? Or are we “rollin’ downhill like a snowball headed for Hell”? There is hope for America! In a time when many Americans are losing hope, there is hope. No doubt, our beloved nation has undergone a significant transformation over the last couple of decades. But all is not lost. This isn’t the first time our country was on the brink of collapse. We came back from the Civil War that tore America in two. We came back after two World Wars and the Great Depression that threatened to end the American Dream. And we can turn back from where we’re headed. In Saving...

Life is a story. A good movie or book places us “in” the action. We feel like we can relate to, and understand the characters. We cheer for the hero and disdain the villain. Two-thirds of the Bible is written in historical narrative—stories about people. Jesus taught using stories. The stories in the Bible are replete with drama, mystery, and even humor. Like popular movies and novels, Bible stories have intriguing plots of love, friendship, betrayal, competition, murder, and war. Yet, many times they seem boring and we have trouble relating to the characters. Through first-person ...

Luke didn’t start it, but he was ready to finish it... “I bounded to my feet, spun, pointed the .44 at the man with pistol. His gun was still pointed at my bedroll I pressed my index finger, the pistol recoiled in my hand. Trusting that my shot hit its mark, I thumbed the hammer back and turned to face the other two…”

Action-packed page turner! “You’re going to let us go, are you?” Wilson asked, sarcastically. “Wilson, I haven’t had much sleep in the last couple of days. I’m tired, I’m thirsty, and I’m hungry. You can either ride out or pull that hog leg. Baker made his choice. It was a bad one. Fact is, I’m getting plum fed up with people trying to kill me,” I said, matter-of-factly… Forced from boyhood to manhood overnight, Luke Horn takes off on a journey to right a wrong. Luke’s battles are not only with men, but with his moral values. Go with Luke as he struggles with ...

Police and military chaplains are called on to minister to those who kill. Violence is shunned in our society, but justified violence is sometimes necessary to stop unjustified violence. Even the wise King Solomon said, there is “a time to kill” (Eccl. 3:3). While most of society recoils in fear at violence, some are called to enter that violent world and protect. There are warriors among us who take up arms and protect those unable or unwilling to protect themselves. But who helps the warriors? Chaplains are called to minister to the spiritual needs of these warriors. To be effective, ...

This is The Strong Blue Line's Cop Talk podcast. Retired cop, pastor, and author Tim Rupp is out to make the thin blue line a strong blue line by giving law enforcement officers the tools they need to win tactically, mentally, and ethically—or body, soul, and spirit. Cop Talk equips and empowers cops to not just survive but thrive at work and at home while serving in a profession that is becoming less respected and more difficult each day.