 |
| FCPO Newsletter and Bible Study |
|
|
|
|
The
"thin blue line" covered by the
blood of Christ.
|
As our FCPO team prepares to head off to DC to serve our own during
Police Week 2016, this week's resources and Bible study/devotional re-focuses our attention on a very tough subject --
PTSD and police suicide. Please take the time to learn, pray and join us in "the fight."
Speaking of...here's the CORRECTED link to last week's is last week's newsletter and Bible study if you missed it:
Get in the Fight!
Also remember that I always re-post them for you on our
Facebook
,
Twitter
feeds as well as on our
website
(with full permission for you to use/adapt the messages for your own individual and group studies).
Again, please take the time to check out the new resources, prayer requests and event announcements posted for you below.
Let's endeavor to stay safe on the street but radically bold in Christ under the power of the Holy Spirit.
MC
|
|
|
RESOURCES
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1) Pray for those of us making up the FCPO ministry team as we head to DC and VA this week to serve (the Greek word "minister" is literally translated as "servant") our own during Police Week 2016 (Divine appointments, Holy Spirit power, health, finances, etc.).
(2) Pray for the police, firefighters and others dealing with and impacted by the
massive fire raging in Canada.
UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
(1) Fellow LEO/Chaplain Sgt. John Castrodale is leading a new law enforcement fellowship (and future FCPO chapter) in the north Denver-Metro area. The
Shield of Faith Law Enforcement Ministry
meets every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at Faith Bible Chapel, Rm. 258 (West Campus),
6250 Wright St., Arvada CO 80004. Contact John at
[email protected] and go to the Shield of Faith website for more.
(2)
Sheepdog Seminars
is coming to a location near you!
Go to
Sheepdog Safety Seminars
and click on the "
Seminar Schedule
" button. This is great training for cops, military and civilian sheepdogs alike. Moreover, Jimmy Meeks is partnering with us (FCPO) in a number of chapter locations, including here in Colorado this June. See FCPO and Sheepdog Safety Training for more! Our prayer is that we will have many "Divine appointments" to share the Gospel with a captive audience while also building their sheepdog/servant-warrior ethos.
(3) Our Centurion and FCPO team will once again be taking part in Police Week 2016 activities in Washington, DC with a "Code-3" (lights and siren) sense of urgency to share the hope we have in Christ with our own. We'll have our tent(s) set up in FOP Tent City from May 13-15 and then we'll be in nearby Virginia for the
RISE Christian Law Enforcement Conference on May 16th.
Have a prayer request or announcement you would like included here?
Email me and I'll do what I can to post it!
|
|
|
|
|
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
is a FCPO-affiliated, evangelical Christian outreach to our own in law enforcement. These newsletters and Bible studies are part of this effort and past editions can be found on our
website
and on social media (
Facebook
and
Twitter
) pages and we encourage adapting our studies for your own individual or group use and sharing them with others.
|
|
Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers
|
FCPO-USA exists to provide biblical support ("backup"), accountability and iron sharpens iron fellowship to Christian officers first in the U.S. and throughout the world as well. Our own FCPO chapter -- FCPO #217 - Denver-- generally meets every 2nd and 4th Thursday at Calvary Aurora (High School Room, 7 PM) for "cop church" Bible study, prayer and iron sharpens iron fellowship. Spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO!
Our NEXT fellowship MEETING is set for Thursday, May 26th.
|
|
|
|
|
LAW ENFORCEMENT BIBLE STUDY
Where's the Piper? God's Solution for Police PTSD & Suicide
Those following me on social media know that I recently took part in a challenge to bring attention to the fact that at least twenty-two of our military veterans commit suicide on a daily basis (
#22KILL
and similar sites). In doing so, I took the opportunity to bring awareness to the issue of police suicide as well (at least one a day -- our number one killer -- and thus the "22 plus 1" challenge) while also presenting a genuine solution. In addition, and with the understanding that I frequently speak/teach on the issues of police suicide and PTSD in my role as a police chaplain and law enforcement instructor who is actively involved in peer support, my hope is to also present some solid PTSD and suicide prevention resources for you to use and share with others (see the "Resources" section above).
One of the things I constantly harp on to both supervisors and line officers alike is
servant-leadership: being as proactive in ministering (serving) and coming alongside our own as we are in identifying and taking down violators on "the job." So what should we be looking for? Again, I am more than willing to come share in depth with your agencies and chaplains but here are just a few things we should have on our radar (among many others):
- Watch for verbal clues (talking about/preparing for death; discussions about having nothing to live for, etc.).
- Watch for isolating behavior (colleagues who stop interacting with friends and family).
- Sudden, negative changes in work performance; not wearing body armor; officer safety issues, etc.
- Signs of depression; increased alcohol and/or prescription drug abuse issues.
- Infidelity and divorce (if that was not already a bad enough in our profession).
- Officers who are in trouble (IA issues) at work.
The bottom line here is that we need to be as adept in detecting trouble and solving problems within our ranks as we are at doing so on "the street." One of the myths about police suicide is that it happens without warning when in fact there are most often a plethora of clues and evidence to the contrary.
Well then what? Are we throwing our brethren to the wolves when these issues surface or are we proactively coming alongside and supporting our own? As we recently learned here in Colorado, the "powers-that-be" are unlikely to be of much help (the Colorado legislature just rejected a bill which would have opened the door for law enforcement officers to file Worker's Compensation claims for diagnosed work-related PTSD as a workplace injury). Accordingly, I want to again focus on the same verse of Scripture I shared in last week's study:
And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
Ezekiel 22:30
Again, let me say emphatically that "standing in the breach" has a direct nexus to the issues of PTSD and police suicide: Are we willing to "stand in the gap" to be used of God to fight for and provide life-saving backup to our own? God help us, we must be!
With
Police Week 2016 upon us, the question I posed in the title of this article demands an answer:
Where's the piper?
While we honor the lives of our brethren killed in the line of duty with flashing lights, last calls, salutes, flags and bagpipe tunes, most often those things are distinctly absent at the funerals for those who take their own lives (our number one killer) or lose their jobs and careers to PTSD-related issues.
That said, there is also a cure for what ails us and it begins with being in a genuine personal relationship (not "religion") with the "Great Physician." Are you sharing Christ and His "message" with your friends, family and colleagues (nothing less than life-saving "backup")? Friends, we MUST as to do otherwise is a potential death sentence to our own! More? See "
Why should I not commit suicide?"
And what about YOU? Where are YOU at with Christ today? Are you struggling with your own "demons?"
A
gain, religious platitudes or being a "good person" by the world's standards will not save you. On the contrary, Jesus made it very clear that you must
repent
of your sin and be
born again
in Him in order to be saved (no "other" way) and live a life that truly
counts
for something (an eternal legacy that only occurs by serving under the power of the Holy Spirit).
Still not convinced? Consider the following irrefutable
evidence
:
(a) Think you're already "good enough" to "deserve" heaven? Take the "
Good Person Test" and see how you do.
(c)
Cops and Salvation (a powerful message from police Commander
Travis Yates of Ten-Four Ministries and
Law Officer Magazine and one of the speakers at this year's RISE Christian Police Conference)
Finally, scroll back up to the resources I posted for you on how to deal with PTSD and police suicide. There is a "Cure" for what ails us and the "prescription" begins with a genuine, life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with God in Christ.
Come to the Altar and receive "
The Cure."
More questions? Need prayer? Please
reach out
!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
