The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry: Christ -- Our True "Captain & Commander"

Monday, March 22, 2010

Christ -- Our True "Captain & Commander"

Brothers and Sisters:

We’re back on track for our next Centurion Ministry Bible study and fellowship meeting this Thursday starting at 1900 hours at Calvary South Denver in Littleton. Our study this week is entitled, “Christ -- our Captain and Commander” and centers on the fact that, for the Christian officer/soldier, we need to understand that Christ is just that – our true “Commander in Chief.” Please invite a friend/colleague and plan on joining us this Thursday evening for this timely and relevant biblical discussion that strikes at the very heart of who we truly are as God's ordained sheepdogs/servant-warriors. Matt Wallenburg will be on hand to provide outstanding worship music to get us started. We'll also set aside time for prayer and fellowship.

Here is our updated meeting schedule:

March 25: 1900 hours, Calvary South Denver (http://www.calvarycsd.org/ for directions), Room #7.

April 1: same time/place. Join us for a special pre-Easter message!

April 8: same time/place.

April 15: NO MEETING (next scheduled break)!

Chris and Emily Dewey Celebrate Anniversary!

Wounded Mahnomen County (MN) Deputy Chris Dewey and his wife Emily are celebrating their anniversary tomorrow (March 23rd). Please keep them in prayer as Chris moves forward with his rehab back home in Minnesota. In addition, please consider a donation to Chris’s fund (see below). Emily has updated their CaringBridge site -- get the latest at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/chrisdewey.

Deputy Chris Dewey Fund
First National Bank of Mahnomen
102 N. Main or P.O. Box 378
Mahnomen, MN 56557

Law Enforcement United/COPS Fundraiser:

A colleague in NM asks for your prayerful and financial support for as they participate in the Law Enforcement United fundraiser for the families of fallen officers. Go to http://www.razoo.com/story/Team-New-Mexico-Long-Riders for details.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

(1) Pray for a fellow officer who knows the Lord but who is not living for Him (living with a woman he is not married to, financial sin, medical needs, etc.). Ask our Lord to bring physical healing, financial provision in accordance with biblical principles, and to surround him with godly Christian officers who will hold him lovingly accountable.

(2) Pray for the 5 y.o. daughter of Englewood PD Officer Shane Ellison. Little Tayler has what we are praying will be her final MRI on tomorrow (3/23). If clear, Tayler will have beaten brain cancer – cause for both celebration and – most of all – praise to our Lord. For more see http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/taylerellison (password is “taylerellison”).

(3) Pray for a Canadian officer (Mountie) who has been accused of wrongdoing. Reports I’ve received would indicate that this Christian brother is innocent but he is having difficulty finding competent representation. Ask our Lord – who knows all about false accusations – to intervene and that justice will prevail.

(4) Continue to pray for those officers all over the country who are facing layoffs or substantial pay cuts.

(5) As some of you may have heard, an on-duty (in uniform and in a marked unit) Colorado State Trooper was arrested for DUI this AM whilst en route to training at the State Patrol Academy! Not sure how all this is going to play out but, if true, it is a tough blow for an agency that prides itself on being very proactive about DUI enforcement. Secondly, we need to be praying for the Trooper (21-year veteran) and ask ourselves why we as Christian officers failed to recognize the signs in one of our own and intervene. This is both a sin issue and a “call to arms” for us to be more vigilant about coming alongside our fellow officers. See http://policelink.monster.com/news/articles/136297-colorado-trooper-arrested-on-duty-for-dui for more.

(6) Finally, be in prayer for a NM officer who will be competing for a promotion opportunity with his agency. This brother is a solid Christian and has a true call to LEAD with a servant's heart (exactly the kind of leader our profession is desperate for).

Stay safe and take care of one another out there!

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.