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After serving in Vietnam, Bobby Richards thought he’d left the jungles and adversaries behind, but becoming an Oakland cop proved to be a life-altering career choice. The world had transformed during his time spent in Southeast Asia. The poodle skirt was replaced by the mini, work jeans had become flowered bell-bottoms, and the beatnik had morphed into a hippie. The foliage was replaced with concrete and the bamboo with high-rises. As a cop, Bobby encounters the best and worst of humanity. Later in life, as he reflects on his career as both a cop and a prison chaplain, he knows that his greatest challenge is yet to come- facing Death Row inmates inside San Quentin State Prison.
With a decade of law enforcement experience in the San Francisco Bay Area, three years as a volunteer chaplain at San Quentin State Prison, and a lifetime of friendship with those who protect and serve, author B. F. Randall has seen these characters firsthand. Through Three Gates to Hell, Randall hopes readers “see the compassion that truly resides in the hearts of most police officers and that they are real people facing conflicts each day that most will never experience in a lifetime.” He adds, “When trouble comes our way, the first two we call upon are God, and then a cop, and not necessarily in that order. Three Gates to Hell presents a story of how God can work in those who are expected to be the final answer… This book isn’t about superheroes, it’s about men and women compassionately protecting their community, and bringing order to those in the midst of the chaos.”
Randall is an award-winning author, graduate of the University of San Francisco, Global University (ICI), Berean Institute, and an attendee of Golden Gate Theological Seminary. He was licensed and ordained by the Evangelical Church Alliance in 1984 after serving ten years as a police officer in the San Francisco Bay Area. He founded and pastored New Hope Christian Fellowship, an evangelical Christian church, and served as a volunteer chaplain at San Quentin State Prison. As a police chaplain, Randall is a trained hostage and critical incident negotiator and counselor of law enforcement personnel. He has spoken at numerous churches, conferences, seminars, retreats, and global missions. He also produced and hosted a weekly radio show that reached across the Bay Area and wrote editorials, articles, plays, and skits. His dramatic monologue from the book of James brings the Scriptures to life as he performs “A Man Called James.” Read more about Randall’s latest release, Three Gates to Hell, at shop.ironstreammedia.com. †
