“I’m always armed. Sometimes I carry a weapon.”

That saying has become something of a motto for Colby Taylor, a local Krav Maga black belt and founder of Covenant Defense, a faith-based security organization in Traverse City. The company — which offers consulting, self-defense training, firearms training, and the like — does work with businesses and even families, but Taylor says the focus is on a niche typically left underserved by the professional security market: churches and schools.

As Craig Manning writes in this week's Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker, Covenant Defense opened in 2013 with a focus on schools and churches and a faith-driven mindset that was decidedly different from other security companies. Citing security risks and client privilege, Taylor will not reveal the names of any schools, churches, or organizations with which he has consulted.

“We do what we do because we believe life is a gift from God, and it’s something that should be protected,” he says. Taylor says that security, in many cases, is driven by ego. From private security contractors to security guards in schools, he thinks many of the people working in his industry are “tough guys who get a charge from the adrenaline rush of combat.” Covenant Defense focuses on eliminating ego and the “action hero” delusion, preparing trainees to make smarter, safer, and more sensible decisions in dangerous situations, according to Taylor.

Taylor’s expertise is grounded in Israeli methods, which he describes as the best in the world for security and defense applications. He did his Krav Maga training in Israel, with the founder of Israeli Krav International. He also underwent extensive training in counterterrorism, VIP protection, and close-quarters shooting. In Taylor’s view, equipping people in schools, churches, and other vulnerable spaces with these skills is vital to preventing the next wave of shootings and attacks. Many, he says, are trying to solve the issue in the simplest, cheapest way. Often, that means “throwing guns at the problem,” whether in the form of armed security guards or individuals with CPLs (concealed pistol licenses).

“Simply giving guns to people and saying, ‘You’re good’ is ludicrous,” Taylor says. “Simply putting a church security team together based on who has CPLs, and that’s their only training, is a recipe for disaster. To handle a situation in a crowded environment with a gun, when you don’t understand how you need to use that tool to protect life, is only going to make things worse.”

Covenant Defense offers firearm training only after an organization has gone through at least 20 hours of training on how to address threats and solve problems without guns. The key, Taylor says, is making sure that a gun isn’t the only tool in someone’s toolbox if or when a threat arises.

Read more about Colby Taylor and his Covenant Defense company in this week's Northern Express story, "Security for the Sanctity of Life." The Northern Express is available online here or at one of nearly 700 spots in 14 counties across northern Michigan.