A Cop's Thanksgiving

 Here's my annual (2020) Thanksgiving newsletter and Bible study:  A COP'S THANKSGIVING

Satan Loves Cops

As usual, this weeks' Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry/FCPO e-newsletter and Bible study/devotional has gone out to our email subscribers and social media feeds. However, we always want to use this venue as a resource so here again is "Satan Loves Cops." Special thanks for fellow chaplain Jason Pearson for the study that he shared with us last Thursday.

Folks, if you have not noticed, we're at war. Let's have a "Code 3" sense of urgency in sharing Christ with our own, living the Gospel at work, and then getting home at the end of our shifts.

Stay frosty -- and (for everyone working tonight) good hunting for the usual drunken scofflaws and miscreants out there on St. Patrick's Day.

MC

The Promises of Repentance

As usual, this week's newsletter and Bible study has gone out to our email subscribers (FREE) all over the world and it's posted on Facebook as well. That said, here it is again in this forum: The Promises of Repentance. Don't forget to check out the prayer requests, announcements, resources and more before you pass it on!

MC

A Sheepdog's Christmas

My annual Christmas message is included this this week's newsletter -- A Sheepdog's Christmas -- and includes a plethora of prayer requests, fellow FCPO Nat. Board member Randy Brashears' outstanding article on the Ferguson situation, and so much more. Please take the time to read, apply and then pass it on.

In these perilous and difficult times for us in LE, please keep each other in prayer and have a "Code 3" (lights and siren) sense of urgency in sharing the hope we have in Christ with others.

Diana and I wish all of you a save and blessed CHRISTmas.

A Cop's Testimony

This week's newsletter and Bible study/devotional has once again gone out to our worldwide list of subscribers (FREE) but here it is again in this forum: A Cop's Testimony. As always, it is chock full or resources, prayer request and of course a Holy Spirit-inspired Bible study that will both challenge and encourage you. Pass it on!

Also had to share one of the best treatises on the Ferguson fiasco I've seen to date. However, I recommend ignoring the many nasty and ignorant comments that follow it from sheep and wolves alike: Ferguson, Idiot Cops, and Experts Who Know Nothing at All. Watch your "six" and that of your battle buddies.

MC

COPs: Christ, Officers and Persecution

This week's Centurion/FCPO newsletter has gone out to our email subscribers (FREE) but here it is again as reference. Have you faced persecution for your faith? Get ready -- it's coming. Click on "COPs -- Christ, Officers and Persecution" (and then pass it on).

Be safe on "the street" but bold in Christ *(and join us this Thursday for "Cop Church" -- our regular FCPO-Chapter meeting -- where we'll continue our profession-relevant Bible study through the Book of Judges).

MC

A Cop's Easter

Here's the link to this week's Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry/FCPO newsletter and law enforcement Bible study/devotional -- just click on "A Cop's Easter."   Cops and Easter?  Application?  Absolutely!  Also lots of interesting national news, links and more.  Check it out -- then pass it on!

Whilst I have you, there has been yet another church shooting in the news and it serves as a reminder for us to remain vigilient and pack the tools of our God-ordained calling -- especially at church. 

Let's stay the course -- we serve an awesome God.    He is risen!   He is risen indeed!

"A Cop's Thanksgivng" -- The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry/FCPO Newsletter

Happy Thanksgiving, brothers and sisters!  This week's newsletter is UP and includes an audio link to my Thanksgiving message given this past Tuesday at the  Calvary Chapel South Denver TRUTH service along with the recap from last week's Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry/FCPO-Denver Bible study.    Please take the time to read it, apply it and then pass it on to a friend and/or colleague.  Just click here on "A Cop's Thanksgiving" -- TCLEM Newsletter.

Let's serve boldly in Christ and then thank God for all His blessings -- including bringing us home safe after our shifts.  

MC

A Cop's Strength: The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry/FCPO Newsletter

This week's newsletter has gone out to all those on the e-newsletter list.  Here it is again for all who missed it or have not yet signed up (or simply want to read or pass it on again):  http://conta.cc/R2xXsV.   The newsletter includes my recap of the message I gave at the FCPO National Conference and again here in Denver last week on Servant-Leadership in Law Enforcment and Life.   Feel free to use/adapt and pass it on to others.  The recap also includes a link to the message series on servanthood delivered by Pastor Ed Taylor of Calvary Chapel Aurora (part 1 of a six-part series) -- highly recommended to all! 

Speaking of Calvary AURORA, starting this Thursday (October 11th) we begin our new 2x/month foray to Aurora for Bible study, prayer and iron sharpens iron fellowship.  Jim Wattles will be teaching a message he's entitled "Cast your Strength Upon the Lord" (or simply, "A Cop's Strength").  We start at 7 PM in the big Agape Room just past the book store.  Bring your spouse, invite a colleauge and join us!

Finally, I ask that you keep a dear friend, chief and fellow FCPO board member in prayer today as he undergoes surgery to repair vertebra in his neck. 

Let's exercise sound officer safety while at the same time throwing it to the wind in terms of sharing the love and plan of Christ with our own in His ordained profession (Romans 13:1-7) of law enforcement. 

MC

Cops United in Prayer: TCLEM/FCPO Newsletter for 1st Week of May, 2012

This week's newsletter has gone out via our connection through Constant Contact (be sure to sign up if you're not already on the list).  Please take to time to open and read up on what's happening both locally and nationally.  As always, I encourage you to apply the recapped study to your own personal and group devotions.   Check it out by simply clicking on Cops United in Prayer.  In fact, this Thursday (May 3rd) is the National Day of Prayer and we are hosting our own unique NDP event for law enforcement personnel and their spouses.  Join us starting at 7 PM at Calvary Chapel South Denver. 

Feeling Rich? Financial Wisdom for Cops by a Cop

The following was written by Denver PD Ofc. GT "Todd" Gentry (author of A Bulletproof Life). This is the revised version that will be published in a DPD newsletter and it is right on target and full of solid biblical principles. This is MUST-reading for every officer.

I'm Feeling Rich, Baby!
by Todd Gentry

This week, my wife was laid off from her job. It was devastating… at first. Her part time job brought in about twenty-five percent of our household income. But, to tell you the truth, it’s the richest I've felt in a very long time. Let me explain...

First off, over the past few years, I have learned that everyone on this job is considered in the top 1% of the world's richest people. In fact, if you go to www.globalrichlist.com, you can type in your salary and find out what percent of the world’s richest people you fall into compared to the rest of the world. A “poor,” first-grade patrolman, who makes $74,000 per year, is considered to be in the .82% richest people in the entire world! Yet, the crazy thing is, that we are still probably the whiniest, unhappiest, most discontent people in the entire world as well. How can those two things factor together? The answer is simple. The more we have, the more we spend. America is undoubtedly the richest nation in the entire history of the world. Yet, we also have the highest rate of incarceration, mental illness and debt of the entire world as well. So, as a wise man once said, there are two ways to get rich. You can make more money or spend less of it. The ever wiser man would say to both. We, as a family, have chosen to spend less.

This brings me to my second point. Before I even got off probation, all I heard about was how much money there was to be made working off-duty. But something inside of me warned me to not get sucked into that trap. And that is what it is, a trap. Because I, as we all have, have seen cop after cop, make ridiculous amounts of off-duty money, yet they spend it like there’s no tomorrow. They often become the ones that end up relying on an unpredictable, off-duty job just to pay the bills. They literally become a slave to their master... money. Thankfully, we have been wise in this regard. Yes, I have worked my fair share of off-duty. I've worked everything from traffic jobs, to bank jobs, to DPD overtime grants to blood money. But the most important thing, for us, has been the fact that we have always considered that money as extra. We never put ourselves in the position where we had to trust in it to provide, because for as many off-duty jobs as I've had, I can assure you, they are all as liquid as a can of mace... secure one minute and contaminating the next.

In fact, I feel so strongly about this issue, and think that it is such an important topic, that I believe we should be teaching our new recruits financial management from the onset. I mean, think about it. A twenty-two year old kid coming on the job has to work thirty three years before he can retire. At an average first grade patrolman's salary, that's almost $2.5 million dollars he will have earned in his career. Now, maybe that's way less than your average professional athlete’s contract, but it's also a heck of a lot more than your average joe. Yet, despite giving them a multi-million dollar contract, what we don't give them is any financial guidance regarding it. Anyone see a problem with that? Even professional athletic organizations have realized that they have to pull their rookies aside and say, "Hey, you just got a multi-million dollar contract. You're in the public spotlight. There are a few things you need to know..."


Yet, our baby cops are getting a similar deal without the guidance, support and wisdom of those who have traveled down that road. For example... Maybe we should be teaching stuff like, "Hey baby cop... first off, this is what a budget is and this is what debt is. You should be able to live within your budget and always be working towards paying off your debt..." or how about, "Hey, baby cop, if you were to hold off on that new truck for just a few years, you'd be debt free and be able to buy that same truck in cash." Doesn't that sound like a better way? Of course it is. I’m pretty sure that if each of us could go back in time, we’d do a lot of things different financially. I know I would have and I would be better off today as a result.

And that brings me back to my original point. This week, our family was dealt a 25% blow to our level of income. But you know what? We didn't sweat it. Instead, we were able to take a look at our five year budget, make a few adjustments, and within five minutes, realize that everything was going to be okay. Does that mean that we have to make a few adjustments or sacrifices? Absolutely. Maybe our family won't go on a vacation EVERY year. So what? We are still one hundred times richer than 99% of the entire world. We have a roof over our head. We never go to bed hungry. We have clean, running water at the flick of a wrist. We go to bed warm, under clean sheets, every night. We are rich, in every sense of the word. And that is only a look at our current 75% income situation. If we were to examine our level of richness in other areas, we live as the richest kings in the history of the entire world. We live in a free country, we have affordable health care, we are healthy, we have two vehicles to transport us where ever we want to go [each of which cost more than my grandfather's home that he lived in for thirty years]. We are so incredibly rich, we spend ten times the amount it costs, just to drink trendy coffee. My God, the dust of devastation in Haiti has not even settled and yet we carry on like rich, pompous asses.

So this week, when our family has lost approximately $20,000 of annual income, I have to say, I feel rich, baby. For, we are not slaves to the Almighty Dollar. Instead, we are slaves to Christ. In fact, despite this shortfall, we are still able to give away a percentage of our money to others in need and not be burdened by the effects of debt or off-duty. In fact, we are at a place of financial peace like never before despite this loss of income. And it is such a freeing, liberating experience, that I hope each of you strives toward finding that place as well. But in order for it to come, it has to first come with a positioning of your heart, a re-adjustment of your thought process and finally, a dedication of your will. For anything less is sure to lead you down a path of more, more, more. But to experience freedom, in the way that we have found today, is sure to lead you in only one direction... peace. And one good place to start is to check out Dave Ramsey at www.daveramsey.com. He teaches a kind of financial wisdom that Christ taught when he said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul?” Because even if you don’t believe in God, Christ or the Bible, the truth remains the same. What good is it if you gain the whole world, yet lose… time with your kids, the enjoyment of life or even living a life of peace?




Not one of us will lie on our death bed and wish that we would have worked more. But far too many of us will lie there wishing that we would have worked less and spent more wisely so that we could have invested more of our lives with our families and more of our souls with God.

It is my hope, that each of you would take some time and examine your financial situation. No matter where you are at, as all good cops do, you can take control of your situation and begin to guide it into the place of peace and freedom. And if you’ve found yourself in trouble, do not fear. You did not get yourself into financial trouble overnight and you will not set yourself free from it overnight. It may be a long and arduous road, but responsible, financial living is far more enjoyable than gaining the whole world. You are already rich, each and every one of you. Now it’s time to begin living in peace with it.

PRAISE REPORT!

A short time ago I posted a prayer request about an officer facing disciplinary action (up to termination). I have been remiss in reporting that not only did he keep his job, but there was no action taken against him at all. His Chief in fact showed tremendous leadership. I consider this truly God-inspired (answered prayer). Thank you Lord!

Stay tuned for more!