Happy New Year from CLEF (aka TCM)

My Fellow Warriors:

First off, Happy New Year! Lots of us are on-duty tonight trying to prevent miscreants and scofflaws from running amuck and generally ruining the “New Year” for some unfortunate victim(s). My prayer for each of my brothers and sisters is that God will use us to make a difference tonight and send us safely home to our own families.

Secondly (especially for our Denver-Metro locals and visitors), we’re set to meet this Saturday for our 1st Bible study of 2009. Same time/place: 0900, Calvary Chapel South Denver, 9052 W. Ken Caryl Avenue in Littleton . Our first verse for the year is an appropriate one. God says, "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16. Accordingly, the plan for Saturday is to recap where we’ve been in 2008 and seek God’s guidance, goals and direction for 2009. We’ll also take a look at what the Centurion Law Enforcement Fellowship (CLEF) is all about and what we stand for based on our Biblical foundation. Please join us for a great hour of officer fellowship, prayer and profession-relevant Bible study. Remember that spouses are strongly encouraged to attend.

As promised in last week’s newsletter, the link below provides some great Scriptural resources from our discussion on whether or not CHRISTIAN officers should be using the same deception techniques that are generally accepted as SOP in modern policing. The discussion provided great “food” for thought and prayer along with some spirited (teehee) discussion from folks all over the world via Police Facebook (http://www.policefacebook.com/main/authorization/signIn?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.policefacebook.com%2Fforum%2Ftopics%2Fare-law-enforcement-deception). Both the discussion and corresponding Biblical references can be found at: http://flickr.com/photos/scaglia/sets/72157611379466205/ (yes, you may need to join – quick and free – if you have not already done so).

DPD OFFICER HAS BOOK SIGNING:
As readers may remember, Denver PD Officer Todd Gentry recently published a book (A Bulletproof Life) and had a signing earlier this month. Check out the pics at http://flickr.com/photos/scaglia/sets/72157611379466205/. Contact Todd at bpministries911@yahoo.com to learn how to obtain a copy.

LEOs IN THE NEWS:
The past couple of weeks have been particularly difficult for us in law enforcement here in Colorado . Several officer-involved shootings have dominated the local headlines and the public comments concerning these have been somewhat egregious. Thankfully, none of the officers involved were seriously injured or killed (God most surely had His hand in that) but they still face ordeals in terms of being cleared, potential civil suits, etc. Bottom line is that we need to rally around one another, pray for one another, and ask God to keep us from becoming embittered by what we see and read in the Media and deal with in our own agencies. See below for more!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
A major part of TCM’s mission is going to God in prayer for each other, our profession and our nation. Our Lord is the source of our strength and the basis for all law enforcement authority (see Romans 13:1-7). Given all we deal with, it is our position that it is IMPOSSIBLE to be truly successful or "return with honor" in LE without having Christ first in our lives. That said, please send me your prayer requests and praise reports and I’ll post them here and on our website as appropriate. I am also personally available for prayer as needed.

(1) The funeral for Chief Gottschalk’s father, a decorated U.S. Army veteran is set for this Saturday at 1300 hours at Heritage Christian Center , 9495 E Florida Avenue, Denver. An Army honor guard will be in attendance. See the December 19th entry (below) for details about Sergeant Major David Ralph Gottschalk’s service to our country. Diana and I plan to be in attendance to support Dave and his family. Please keep them in prayer during this difficult time.

(2) A former officer currently serving in Korea hopes to return home sometime this year and will be seeking to resume his LE career. Please keep this brother and his family in your prayers.

(3) As stated above, please keep each other in prayer. While officer deaths were down in 2008, our profession is becoming an increasingly hostile and litigious place. It is also harder and harder to complete a career without being fired, injured or ill. This is a major part of what that TCM is all about.

(4) Please keep me and TCM in your prayers as we seek to reach our own for Christ.

PRAISE REPORTS:
(1) Suzi, a Black Hawk (CO) PD dispatcher, reports that her surgery went well and that the test results show that the tissue is pre-cancerous only (no cancer) at this time. Praise God! Let’s ask God to keep her cancer free and that 2009 will be a much better year for Suzi (2008 was a rough one).

(2) While the following article only tells part of the story, the fact that we didn’t have to bury a Park County deputy this month is nothing short of a miracle. For details see: http://www.theflume.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=5753&TM=50831.88

(3) Speaking of miracles, God’s hand was certainly on Boulder County S.O. Deputy John Seifert as well after a shootout with a murder suspect near Nederland . See: http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=106913&catid=346.

Finally, please help us spread the “Word” by passing on our newsletters, website and study information, etc. to those in your LE circles. It has been an honor to serve with and for you in 2008 and we place our hope in Christ for a better 2009. I'll be working to refine and resolve our newsletter email issues as in the coming weeks as well...stay tuned!