The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry: Tribute to Wounded Officers

Monday, August 31, 2009

Tribute to Wounded Officers

Fellow Sheepdogs:

Please note the attachments that go along with this week's newsletter. Hope to see you at the tribute this Saturday.

BIBLE STUDY RECAP – the importance of fellowship for the Christian officer:

We were once again blessed to have out-of-state visitors at last Thursday’s meeting. In addition, EPD Ofc. Jason Pearson shared his testimony and we had a great short Bible study on the importance of fellowship for all Christians and LEOs in particular. For those who missed it, our key verse was 1 John 1:3 -- That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. What we are talking about here is NOT the same kind of fellowship many in our profession euphemistically call “choir practice.” On the contrary, the Greek word used here is koinonia and describes something far more than mere socializing. Rather, it means praying together, serving together, giving together, and studying God’s word together. Koinonia strengthens us, trains us, builds accountability and trust, deepens our walk with Christ, and honors the Lord’s Day (which does not have to be “Sunday”). Moreover, this kind of fellowship is not optional for the Christian (see Hebrews 10:24-26 and James 4:17). This is also partly the reason we exist as a ministry and why, in addition to our meetings, we also encourage being actively involved in a local church that teaches God’s word (the Bible) without all kinds of fluff. Here is a great short primer on the subject: http://www.victorious.org/chur12.htm.

Need a recommendation for a good church in your area? Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter!

TRIBUTE TO CPD OFC. DENSEY COLE and MCSO DEP. CHRIS DEWEY:

As previously announced, we will be co-hosting the tribute/benefit event for Chris and Densey this Saturday starting at 1000 hours in the 700 block of E. Eastman Avenue in Englewood . Please note the flyer previously published on the website! This is an opportunity for us to wear our Centurion Ministry t-shirts and stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”) for our brothers, our profession, and our country.

Speaking of Chris, Densey and of course Art...
UPDATE ON WOUNDED OFFICERS:

As stated above, we are “good to go” for this weekend’s benefit for Chicago PD Officer Densey Cole and Mahnomen County (MN) Deputy Chris Dewey. I plan on seeing both again this week and will keep everyone updated. Chris has a great Caring Bridge website for those who wish to follow his progress: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/chrisdewey/journal.

Art Peterson: I received the following from JeffCo Dep. Art Briles on wounded Investigator Art Peterson. “Art is no longer receiving any visitors or phone calls until further notice! Denise (Art’s wife) told me that Art is in constant and severe pain and the steady stream of well-meaning visitors and phone calls is wearing him out and delaying his recovery. Art has a very long road ahead of him as he recovers and we all need to help him regain his strength by honoring his wishes and obeying doctors' orders by staying away and letting Art rest and heal. Feel free, though, to send as many cards and get-well wishes as you like to Art in care of Swedish Hospital . I will continue to update you on Art's condition each time the family provides new information.”

MEETING SCHEDULE (updated):

(1) Benefit BBQ for Densey and Chris: Saturday, September 5th in Englewood . See website for details. Please bring your families and join us (should be a hoot)!

(2) Regular meeting: Thursday, September 10th, 1900 hours, Calvary South Denver in Littleton .

(3) "Blue Mass": Saturday, September 12th, 1630 hours, 1530 Logan in Denver . Sworn personnel are requested to attend in uniform. Note that you don’t have to be Catholic to attend and this is an opportunity to share Christ with others while honoring our brother/sister officers who "gave all."

(4) Regular meeting: Thursday, September 17th, 1900 hours, Calvary South Denver in Littleton .

(5) NO MEETING on Thursday, September 24th.

UPCOMING TRAINING OPS:

(1) As announced previously, Col. Dave Grossman will be speaking at the Colorado Police Protective Association (CPPA) Conference; Sept. 25-26. Includes a LE shoot! See www.cppa.net for more.

(2) Colorado State Investigators Association (www.CSIAinc.org ) Conference, Oct. 7-8. See http://www.csiainc.org/CSIAconfflyer09.doc for details.

(3) The Lone Tree (CO) PD is hosting a search & seizure update and case study in forensic DNA on Oct. 28th. Contact Sgt. Candace Mullins at Candace.Mullins@cityoflonetree.com.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

(1) PRAY for our country and it’s “leadership” (that they would be godly and biblical in their decisions; that our leaders will come to accept Christ as their Savior). The following was recently forwarded to me under the title “It Ain’t America No More.” http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=108307.

(2) Ask God to bless our tribute to Densey and Chris – and that, through it, we will have opportunities to share the Gospel with others within our profession.

(3) Continue to pray for our wounded officers (per the updates above) and all those who serve in harms way, be it military or LEOs. Keep their wives and families in prayer as well – they need prayer as much as our brothers do!

(4) Calvary South Denver Pastor and Police Chaplain Gino Geraci's father has passed away in New Orleans. Please be in prayer for Gino and his family during this tough time.

Our Core Verses

COPS -- God's ministers for good and a terror against evil. We do not bear the sword in vain.

(Paraphrase...for full text, see the Bible in Romans 13:1-4)

Psalm 82:3-4

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.ressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.he widow.

Colorado Law Enforcement Ministry Meeting Schedules

The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry (FCPO-Denver)

On the local front (meaning Colorado Front Range) we typically meet for iron sharpens iron fellowship and Bible study every 2nd and 4th Tuesday evening of each month at Calvary Castle Rock. Email me for details at thecenturionministry@gmail.com or give me a shout at 720-371-1022

Men of Courage Law Enforcement Ministry

Buena Vista (CO) PD Sgt. Dean Morgan is leading a law enforcement fellowship/Bible study in Chaffee County and the surrounding area. Contact Dean at interceptor@policeone.com for more info.

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TCLEM Mission Statement

The mission of The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry (TCLEM), is to educate law enforcement officers (police, deputies, troopers, investigators, parole/probation, corrections, military, etc.) about God's unique call on their lives as outlined in God's word (Bible) and to lead officers and their families to a saving knowledge of and close personal relationship with our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. Through same, we also seek to positively impact our profession by raising up Christian servant-leaders and reduce our historically high rates of divorce, alcoholism, depression, suicide and related issues.

Law enforcement is a God-ordained ministry of service and protection for our society as outlined in the Bible in Romans 13. Inasmuch as our very authority as peace officers is given to us by God, TCLEM seeks to affirm our calling as servant-warriors ("sheepdogs") and leaders while at the same time developing the our spiritual, family and personal lives through Bible study, peer fellowship, and group accountability along with active involvement in a solid Christ-centered/Bible-based church. We also seek to infuse our profession with godly leaders who will in fact LEAD (serve) from a biblical world view.

What We Believe (Statement of Faith)

(1) WE BELIEVE the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's sacrificial agape love, which is greater than any secondary differences we possess, and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.

(2) WE BELIEVE in all the fundamental doctrines of orthodox evangelical Christianity as detailed in God's word (Bible).

(3) WE BELIEVE the sixty-six books of the Bible (i.e. Old and New Testament) comprise the totality of Holy Scripture and is inerrant in the original text, and remains God-breathed/God-inspired and infallible in all its substance, and therefore, it is the supreme and final authority in faith, theology, and life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:11, 89, 105.

(4) WE BELIEVE that our Lord has called us to share the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual's life and, in particular as it relates to our service in the God-ordained calling of law enforcement. We also believe that it is the responsibility and privilege of every Christian to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to seek to make growing disciples. Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8.

(5) WE BELIEVE there is only One true, eternally existent God. He exists in three co-equal persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The triune God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and is worthy of worship and obedience. Deut. 6:4-5; Genesis 1:31, Luke 3:21-22; Matthew 28:18-20, Rev. 4:11.

(6) WE BELIEVE in one God who is Creator of heaven and earth, Spirit, personal, transcendent, sovereign, life, love, truth, almighty, simple (i.e. one without parts), timelessly eternal, unchangeable, wise, just, holy, relational, dynamic and infallible in all things.

(7) WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, possessing two distinct natures which are co-joined in one person, that He was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless and miraculous life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious substitutionary death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, physically ascended back to the right hand of God the Father in heaven, and lives to make intercession for us. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today. John 1:1-3,14; Matthew 1:18-25; Philippians 2:5-9; Colossians 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Acts 1:11.

(8) WE BELIEVE that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered as a gift by the Lord Jesus Christ to all based on His grace alone. When a person sincerely repents of their sin and enters into a life-saving/life-changing personal relationsship (not "religion") with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, they are immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all their sins are forgiven, and they become a child of God -- changed, and destined to spend eternity with Him. John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

(9) WE BELIEVE in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today, and should be exercised within scriptural guidelines, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. John 14:16-19; 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 8:9,11; Titus 3:5.

(10) WE BELIEVE in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe that the physical second coming of Christ with His saints to rule on the earth will be personal, premillennial, and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heart-felt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, and participation in the two ordinances the Lord gave the church - adult baptism by immersion and Holy Communion. Revelation 3:10, Thessalonians 5:9.

(11) WE BELIEVE there is a real personal devil of great evil, cunning, and power, who seeks to tempt, kill, steal, and destroy, yet his power is limited by God to only what God permits him to do; that the devil has been defeated positionally at the cross of Christ, and will be defeated practically at Christ's glorious second coming which will ultimately eventuate in the quarantine and punishment of the Satan (aka the Devil, Beast, and False Prophet, etc.) in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone where they will be tormented day and night forever (what has been traditionally called "Hell"). Luke 10:18; Matthew 4:10; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, etc.

(12) WE BELIEVE that our Lord is clear that there is ONLY ONE WAY to Christ and that is through a life-changing personal relationship with the Risen Savior. Jesus told his disciples, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He did not merely point the way to God. He himself claimed to be the only way to the Father and the source of eternal truth and life. The way to God is through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Intellectual acceptance of Christ is not enough. You must come to him determined to turn from what displeases him, with a total trust in Christ's saving power for you.

Are you ready to receive Christ today? If so, scroll up towards the top of this page to the links under How Can I be Saved (AKA True "Officer Safety"). Please feel free to contact me if you need help in this area -- it would be my honour to lead you "home" to Christ!

If you sincerely put your faith in Christ, God promises not only to forgive you, but also to receive you into his family. It's the greatest discovery you will ever make!

Donate to the Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry

We do accept donations to support our ministry and outreach, including but not limited to leading officers to Christ, support for wounded officers; "officer down" outreach; chaplain and counseling services; speaking engagements; website expenses; ministry apparel, etc. Donations can be made out to The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry and mailed to

P.O. Box 630854
Littleton, CO 80163

That said, support your church first...and then donate if the Holy Spirit inspires you to do so. Thanks in advance for your support.