After coming to faith in Jesus Christ, Shelley enrolled in Bible college to study pastoral ministry. He preached, taught, and even served as an interim pastor. But in the middle of a sermon on 1 Corinthians 4:2—“it is required of stewards that they be found faithful”—he realized that God’s call on his life was not to a pulpit, but to a patrol car.
Shelley went on to serve nearly twenty-five years in civilian law enforcement in both California and Oregon, including many years with the Los Angeles Police Department. His assignments exposed him to high-crime neighborhoods, citywide riots, major earthquake response, drug enforcement, traffic fatalities, and officer-involved shootings. Through it all, his desire was the same: to serve the Lord faithfully as a police officer, grounded in the Word of God.
At eighteen, with the Vietnam War underway, Shelley enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. Serving as a helicopter mechanic and air rescue crewman, he participated in countless search-and-rescue operations and helped save more than 200 lives. Those years taught him about sacrifice, courage, and serving others under intense pressure.
“Never Take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 32:35,
Shelley Alan Gale has been married to his high-school sweetheart, Dayle, since their late teens and is a proud husband, father, and a grandfather. Today, he writes and speaks to encourage officers, churches, and everyday believers to see their work, whatever it is, as a calling from God, and to “bear the sword” (or the toolbox, stethoscope, or laptop) not in vain, but for the glory of Christ.This is not just a book about crime and justice. It’s about purpose. It’s about wrestling with what it means to bear the sword in a world of brokenness, and to do so not in vain.
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall join to his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Matthew 19:6
