Skip to content Sheepdog and Shepherd: Joel Henry Missed Getting Killed By Six Seconds Mar 8 · 20 min ...more
Sheepdog and Shepherd: Joel Henry Missed Getting Killed By Six Seconds
March 8, 2026 · 20 min
Explore Jonah's story and how submitting to God's will brings protection and purpose.
Series Sheepdog and Shepherd: Season One Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
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From Bedtime Stories to Badge: Joel's Journey into Policing 0:00 Wife kind of talked to me about the city or the story of Jonah and Nineveh where God has called Jonah to an evil and wicked place and Jonah tries to do what he thinks is best and avoid that evil and wicked place0:12 and it ends up bringing him down a darker path. But when he ultimately submits to God's will, there is a protection and there is a certain level of favor that comes to that. And although he's going to a wicked0:23 evil place, he's able to fulfill God's will. So I took that and that started kinda planting those early seeds of, yes, this is an evil wicked place. I mean,0:35 violence just skyrocketed murders every week. It was we're a busy metro department, but just submitting back to God and saying these same stories that I heard0:47 growing up going to that Lutheran school, these Bible stories turned into reality.1:31 Down to the river.1:36 Hi. I'm Von Kleem. Welcome to another edition of Sheepdog and Shepherd. I'll be your cohost with Kyle Reyes. I think you all know Kyle, but Kyle, why don't you say hi today?1:43 What's up, everybody? If you don't already follow this show, the entire concept behind it is we talk about God's hand in law enforcement because law and order is biblical in its nature, and so we meet some incredible1:54 guests around the world. They come out and film with us. Today, we are filming in the beautiful but ridiculously expensive state of Connecticut, and our guests came in all the way from Missouri. Did they2:06 ask you to pay taxes when you landed at Bradley International Airport today?2:10 Fortunately not. But you can you can tell it's a little more pricey up here for sure.2:14 So who are you and what caused you to reach out?2:16 Yeah. My name is Joel. I have been a police officer since about 20 19, so coming on about 6 years now. Also, end up starting a company called Civic Hire that helps police department with2:28 recruiting. So kind of always ran those parallel. I've always been an entrepreneur ever since I was a young kid. I'd sell stuff on eBay, you know, flipping stuff. In high school, I2:40 ended up starting a cell phone repair business, to where I was fixing, like, 50, 60 phones a week, had some employees. Now my dad was also a police officer in the eighties and2:52 nineties, so I'd kinda go to bed hearing these, like, cool cop stories. So it was always this parallel of, do I chase money and business, which kind of have a3:04 knack for, or do I some do something maybe with a little bit more purpose, in law enforcement. So, ended up moving out to Missouri to go to, college out there and was kind of3:16 I had a business degree for a week and then I changed to criminology and I made that decision, you know, I'm gonna do something with some purpose. So, went out to college there. At the same time my3:28 buddy was flipping some cars and I kinda helped fund that first 1 for him. So, at the time, I met my wife at the same time and we kinda jumped right into starting a car dealership,3:40 at the same time. So I funded that car dealership and kinda grew and end up doing that for the last 5 or 6 years at the same time of being a police officer. So stayed full time with those.3:51 You know, I always said that I like hiring entrepreneurs because they get it, right? And then I realized that I don't like hiring entrepreneurs because they're always going to wanna go do their own thing.4:03 So I I like hiring people with an entrepreneurial mindset because they don't wanna go do their own thing, but they're creative and they're innovative. And so I remember hiring this kid at 1 point, and he was like, I've4:14 been an entrepreneur since high school. I used to sell stuff. I crushed it, and and he worked for us for about a year. Then I realized something was a little bit off about him. So I finally said to him 1 day, you were an4:25 entrepreneur in high school. You said you sold stuff. He goes, yeah. I said, what'd you sell? He goes, I sold weed all through high school and I was like, I probably need to refine my hiring process here a little bit.4:35 But in in this day and age, and I understand that you went into law enforcement before things went sideways in 20 20. Let's talk about the transformation that you've seen because you help with4:47 recruiting too, which I have to imagine has gotten more difficult.4:51 Yeah. Yeah. With I almost felt like I always ran 2 different worlds. You know, in the law enforcement world, you see a lot of pain and suffering, and in the business world, you see a lot of, you5:03 know, wealth and success to that. So I felt like I was kinda live in 2 parallel worlds. With that, you know, I started right before all the events of 20 20, all the5:14 events of what went down. So I felt like I had a few months of my career kind of being cool, kind of that exciting stuff. Like, I'd heard the bedtime stories of from my dad.Trials of 2020: Faith Renewed Through Jonah's Call 5:27 But then really early on, we actually had a mass shooting event. I was the first officer on scene. Second officer gets killed. Third officer gets shot. And I read the report and I missed5:39 getting killed by about 6 seconds. So that was tough because right after that, the the funeral for the officer was completely, like, minimized5:51 because COVID had happened. It was, like, probably day 2 or 3 of when COVID came out, and then all the events of Black Lives Matter and this anti cop movement. So it6:03 felt like I was kinda gaining some good momentum in business, which provided some balance outside of work, and then also seeing some success in the law enforcement world. And then that just got quickly shut off to where6:15 you had no motivation to be proactive. You had no motivation to do the job. And then they also came out and told us, don't make traffic stops. So we had this period of a few6:27 years of just morale, crazy, crazy low.6:32 How do you take that and, you know, moving back into the recruiting world, 1 of the 1 of these most important parts of recruiting is to be able to cast a vision for that recruit, for that candidate.6:46 What vision are you casting in that in that environment?6:49 You know, I think that's a challenge that all of law enforcement is facing right now is nationwide police departments are short staffed, but how can you you're exactly right. How can you recruit for a career that you7:01 don't even believe in or maybe has got disillusioned to the reality of what it is? So through my own personal journey, you know, at the time it was really tough. We're running a car dealership, which no 17:13 likes used car dealerships. Even if you're trying to do the right thing, have integrity in your business mixed with work in graveyard shift, dealing with all this, kinda fallout from7:25 everything. But really through my faith and through my wife, being able to support what that looks like and it was just a journey, to get to this point.7:34 Let's talk about your faith. Did you grow up with it? Is it something that came on later in life?7:39 Yeah. So I grew up, going to a Lutheran school. You know, it's very, religious. So there was, like, rule set. You heard the Bible stories, but there was never that relationship7:51 aspect of things. So I kinda felt like I beat the game in a way where I grew up going to a good Christian school. I didn't do anything too crazy. You know, I knew law enforcement was at least on the horizon8:02 so keeping that in my background. But then by the time I got to college, it's like, well, what else is there? Yeah. I believe in God. I believe this exists, but what happens8:14 next? And that's when I think I started kinda falling away from my faith. And then through that active shooter event, all the events, it just got pulled to like a darker and darker place.8:27 What pulled you out of that or are you still is that still a journey you're on?8:31 No. I mean, really glory to God. I mean, it's, my wife and I, we ended up, we were dating at the time and we end up breaking up, you know, just dealing with everything and we took a little bit of a break. And that8:43 after a few month break we got back together and went to dinner that night and my wife kind of talked to me about the story of Jonah and Nineveh. And that resonated with me8:55 because the last place that I saw those 2 officers, alive and uninjured, was in this certain beat of the city. So for a few months I completely avoided that beat. I had nothing to do with9:07 it because I was allowed to go anywhere in the city. But my wife kind of talked to me about the city or the story of Jonah and Nineveh where God has called Jonah to an evil and wicked place and9:19 Jonah tries to do what he thinks is best and avoid that evil and wicked place and it ends up bringing him down a darker path. But when he ultimately submits to God's will, there is a protection and there9:31 is a certain level of favor that comes to that. And although he's going to a wicked evil place, he's able to fulfill God's will. So I took that and that started kind of planting those early seeds9:43 of, yes, this is an evil wicked place. I mean, violence just skyrocketed murders every week. It was we're a busy metro department, but9:54 just submitting back to God and saying these same stories that I heard growing up going to that Lutheran school, these Bible stories turned into reality. We're like, this is what God was10:06 talking about. This is what he meant is submitting to yourself and actually serving a wicked place for God.10:12 I think that's interesting because going isn't going isn't sufficient, right? I mean, I think you'll agree with this. You go to that evil and wicked place, you have to go with God. Like you that's that's a place10:24 you avoid when you try to when you try to manage it on your own devices, and it's overwhelming. Right? And he says go back and go in obedience, and I think we sometimes forget the next part, Owen, go with10:36 me. Right? And it sounds like that's what you ended up doing.10:40 Yeah. Yeah. You're not alone.10:44 Well, I think also having a a good group of guys that you can trust is crucial. My pastor talks about having mat carriers. I've never asked him to be 1 of mine. I just assumed that that he's carrying 110:56 corner of that mat. It's the story in the bible where the dude gets all messed up and bring him up on the mat onto the roof, cut a hole in the roof, throw him down to Jesus to be healed. And and my pastor basically said11:07 every man needs 4 mat carriers, 1 for each corner who's willing to say, I don't care what you've done. We're just gonna get healed. And I think that that's so important. I'm in a a men's disciple group.11:19 We do every week. We get together for half an hour for camaraderie, and then the next hour is just bible study. And just having those dudes who are not afraid to call you out, who you can trust to call you out11:31 in love, I think, is is super important. Have you found that in law enforcement, or have you found that that you're the 1 who's often carrying people's masks?11:41 You know, I think the Bible calls us to be the light of Christ. So I think there is a certain level of taking that leadership role and it's been neat to see kind of that comfortability,11:54 you know, follow. You know, where sometimes you're able to share your faith and other officers are watching, and then in time they're able to share their faith. Because that's where to answer kinda12:06 your your earlier point was being brought out of that darkness. I'm hundred percent out12:11 of12:12 that because of God. You know? It's now it shows the reason for why we're called to this place. You know, it's why we're supposed to be serving people and it's ultimately12:23 serving God.12:25 Tell us more about the recruitment. How how does it work? How do agencies hire you? How do cops or or people who want to become officers hire you?Building the Future: CivicHire and Faithful Recruiting 12:35 So a big part of, I think, where I'm at in law enforcement career now is really simplifying everything because there's so much that we take in in this career. I mean, you see things that are12:46 unimaginable. You know, you experience things that are unimaginable. And even though I heard the bedtime stories of police work, I thought I had an understanding to actually get out there and realize, like, how evil12:58 people can be and how horrible things that to experience is a lot to take on, a lot of answers. So that's kind of tied into kind of my primary13:10 mission field of law enforcement.13:12 What's the website?13:14 Civic hire dot com. Civic hire13:15 dot com. You know, just to to give a little bit more, oomph to this, people can't buy their way onto the show. Right? We only bring on people and guests that that we believe in that have like minded values. With13:27 law enforcement today, we have partnered with Red Balloon, probably about 6 months ago to launch a law enforcement hiring platform to help cops find jobs in non woke agencies. I13:39 think if we were looking at this from a standard business model perspective, bringing you on the show, people would go, that's a competitor. We don't we don't view it like that at all. I mean, there is such a need to13:50 hire good officers and to help officers find a new home. Officers who are being beaten down and and who are more afraid, quite frankly, of their own administration stabbing them in the back than they are of14:02 the people who are out on the street. And so we're we're proud to be completely aligned and and values, and just love what you're doing and and proud to stand behind what you're doing.14:11 Yeah. No. We appreciate that. Think in the simplest form, civic hire really helps the police departments with their recruiting. There's really a big gap, between the hiring process14:24 and the recruiting process. So a lot of police departments have kinda got stuck in their ways of the way to recruit is just put a job posting up and hope that somebody applies. That's not the way we make14:35 any decisions in life. You know? I didn't go buy a new pickup truck because I saw an ad on TV, drive down to the car dealership, not talk to anyone, not research anything, not take it for a test drive, and then talk14:47 to the salesperson for 24 or 48 hours, that's where people are getting lost. So that's where CivicHire can come in and actually help these police departments kind of view their recruiting as14:59 a business, view their agency as a brand. Are there an agency that supports their people? What does the culture of the city look like? And kind of building that whole process in there. So when we15:11 come from a business background, we kind of are able to see that whole view of what that looks like. And then my cofounder, he was an infantry officer in the marine corps and then spent his last 4 years recruiting15:23 marine officers. So when he ended up getting out of the marine corps, we got connected and were able to blend the Marine Corps systematic recruiting methodology along with business, branding, and15:35 messaging, and systems, all together with that unique law enforcement twist and actually deliver a solution that's the full view of it, not just this flash in the pan type recruiting with15:46 fancy videos or more recruiting bonuses.15:50 The marine thing might resonate with you a little bit.15:53 Yeah. I think I think college athletes and military recruiters have a much better process for casting that vision. Right? I think they have to, 1, give a realistic16:05 perspective of what these people are applying for so you don't get them through all the training and have them come out the other end going, I did not know this is what I was getting into. Right? That's a waste of their16:13 time, a waste of a lot of money. So I think I think what's working, and I think I heard you say it, is you want them to understand on the front end the culture of the agency, the culture of the city, the16:26 personalities that they're trying to align themselves with, the values, and that's that's critical to it. So it's exciting to see that being put into action, and and good luck. I hope that hope that blows up for you.16:37 Yeah. Right. You're exactly right. It's it's kinda going after those people that have the right character traits that service above self, you know. I spoke with other law enforcement recruiters and it's like, hey, you16:49 know, you're part of a campus ministry at in college. Have you gone and talked to any of them? Do you think those 200 college students who are attending that might have an17:01 interest in law enforcement but had never thought about it because of the events that they had seen on TV a few years ago or maybe their misconceptions of the career? And this is where Civic Hire can kinda help these17:11 agencies tell that story either online or in person, just a face to face conversation and that relationship building.17:19 I've got a buddy of mine who, who does all the training for new recruits at an agency here in Connecticut, and he had a guy who was just going out on his his first day full time with him17:30 and they rolled up on a domestic and there's a couple that's beating the crap out of each other on the front lawn and he said, Alright, let's go. I said, What do you mean let's go? We got a call for backup. He goes,17:42 Call for backup? We are the backup. Let's go. And he goes, We can't go in. He goes he looks at him and he goes, Oh my God. You've never been punched in the mouth, have you? And he goes, No. I haven't.17:54 He goes, Well, you're going to be today. Let's go. He goes, I don't wanna get punched in the mouth. He goes, Well, it's either gonna be them or me punching you in the mouth, so let's go. That was his last day on the job.18:05 And and I think that there is a big generational difference here. Like growing up, man, like we got the belt, but but this current generation that's now moving into law enforcement, a lot of them have18:17 been keyboard warriors and have never tasted their own blood, and and the thought of that is really scary to people. We're of the generation that you either learn to fight or you learn to run really fast.18:29 And so I think that that has, sort of shifted the face of policing. You combine that with all of these, like, feel good initiatives. I'm all about officer wellness. Don't get me wrong. I think it's crucial. I'm all about18:41 mental health and wellness, But in Connecticut, they removed ground fighting from the academy because cops were getting hurt. Yeah. I mean, that's kind of the point. It's better for me to get hurt accidentally from18:53 rolling with this dude than the first time I get hurt is from a dude who's 6 foot 5, 350 pounds high on PCP, and I I don't know how to protect my gun or my life. So I think, I think19:05 you guys have your hands full, and I give you all the credit in the world, man. Love what you're doing. And 1 more time, shameless plug website. How can people reach out?19:12 Yeah. Reach out to us with civic hire dot com. Awesome.19:15 Yeah. Brother, thanks for coming on the show, man.19:18 Yeah. Great. Alright. Thank you. Yeah.19:19 Guys, thank you all so much for watching. Thanks for checking out the company. God bless you all, and God bless America.19:25 My name is Troy. I've been in law enforcement for over 20 years. I've worked in the Midwest. I started working with schools and safety, and once I had my own kids in middle schools and saw what some of the19:37 schools are doing, I heard about Clear Armor, and I had to come see it for myself. The products that can stop round after round after round, nothing I ever expected. Hitting it with a bat, a golf club, trying to19:49 force entry past the glass even with that 15 mil, nothing I couldn't even explain it.In this video 0:00 From Bedtime Stories to Badge: Joel's Journey into Policing5:17 Trials of 2020: Faith Renewed Through Jonah's Call12:26 Building the Future: CivicHire and Faithful Recruiting14.4K followers
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