The Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry Newsletter
&
Bible Study
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Dear fellow officers,
sheepdogs,
servant-warriors, spouses and supporters:
This week's Bible study deals with a vitally important subject:
servant-leadership
(and our call to servanthood in general). Please take the time to open your Bibles (and your hearts) and scroll down to "
My Title is Servant
."
Thanks for all the positive feedback from my Independence Day newsletter and Bible study. Here it is again if you missed it:
Cops, Christians & Independence Day
. Past editions are always re-posted for you on our social media feeds (see the buttons below) and
website
as well.
Here locally, we're on summer break from our regular FCPO chapter meetings so I can focus more on writing and one-on-one discipleship whilst everyone else goes on vacation (LOL). However, as you'll see below, we've still got a plethora of things happening!
Once again, let's continue to SERVE and stay radically engaged in "the battle" behind Christ our Captain! And our war cry? "
Rak Chazak Amats
!"
MC
_____________________
RESOURCES
* Full disclosure: This is a secular publication but many of the principles here are in fact biblical.
PRAYER REQUESTS
(1) Pray that seeds would be planted, the lost would come to faith and police marriages strengthened, healed and restored at the upcoming (July 20th) "
Worthy of the Calling Law Enforcement Conference.
" Pray also for
Heidi Hogan
and her team. Travis Yates and Stacy Ettel are the keynote speakers.
(2) Pray for
Mirella Arroyo
(and family) over the passing of her husband and recently retired officer,
Thomas James Arroyo
. Mirella and her team are the ones who run FOP Tent City in DC during Police Week.
(3) Pray for South Bend (IN) Police
Sgt. Ryan O’Neill
in the wake of the horrible situation going on there. Given the toxic leadership in South Bend, the whole PD needs our prayers as well.
UPCOMING EVENTS
(1) GENTS: Here locally, the "
Men of Truth
" (the men's ministry of Truth Church Calvary) meets this Saturday,
July 20
th, at
Solid Grounds Coffee Shop
starting at 8 AM. I'm currently teaching through the book of
Nehemiah
(a true servant-leader)...join us (I'm bringing breakfast tacos)!
(2) Fellow Colorado Christian officers are partnering with
Gracie Parrish
(widow of slain DCSO Dep.
Zach Parrish III
) and
The Shelter Foundation
to reach cops and their spouses with the Gospel. Friday,
August 23
, 7 PM, Mission Hills Church, Littleton, CO. Click on
Anchored!
for more. In addition, watch
Gracie share her story
.
(3) The
2019 Breaching the Barricade/Officer Appreciation Day
events are set for
October 18-19
in northern Indiana. This provides incredible training for cops and a "bucket list" (as in a huge "bucket" of
FUN
)
event for officers and their families. Mark your calendars and plan on joining us in Indiana this October. Also please be in prayer for
Jim Bontrager
and his team...the effort is massive and the challenges overwhelming ("but God..."). I'll be serving there as well.
*Have a prayer request, event or announcement you would like included here? Need help/prayer?
Email me
!
I also post prayer requests on
my personal Facebook page
("friend" and message me).
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My Title is "Servant"
In law enforcement and in life, we're called to SERVANThood and SERVANT-leadership.
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Given that writing, teaching and speaking on
servant-leadership
is nothing new for me, you may be asking "Why?" another study on this subject. Three reasons: (1) God used Travis Yates' new book (see the
Resources
section above) to press me to present a fresh perspective on servant-leadership (thus "Yes, Lord"); (2) the lack of servant-leadership (and thus toxic "leaders," bosses, micro-managers, cowards and bullies) is a cancer eating away at our God-ordained profession; and (3) there has never been a time when godly
servants, servant-warriors
and
servant-leaders
have been more needed.
Yes, there are thousands of books and articles out there on what the world calls "leadership" but, not surprisingly, few on leadership as God defines it. Let's therefore open the most important "leadership book" of all time -- the Bible -- and dig into what God -- the ultimate servant-leader -- has for us on this subject:
Let's first look at our main passage for this study --
Mark 10:42-45.
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But not so with you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Taken as whole, Jesus uses this passage to give us the very definition of
servant-leadership
with the understanding that, i
n the Christian realm,
all
leadership should be servant leadership.
But let's break it down further:
First, who is Jesus is calling/exhorting here? His disciples (Christ-followers). That now includes you and I (all who have surrendered to Him in faith -- Christians as only God gets to define it)!
Then there is this little but incredibly important phrase in the middle of this passage: “
Not so with you
.”
- Yes, there are those who use their God-given positions to overpower, bully and abuse the people under them. They make sure everyone snaps to attention to be sure their recognized as "the boss" (see image above) is. Not so with you!
- At the same time, many Jews (and particularly the "religious" Jewish "leaders") generally treated the Gentiles as something subhuman -- even lower than a dog, but Jesus commands His followers (us), not so with you!
- America is full of business, church, police and government "leaders" who overpower and are generally toxic to those God has placed in their care (all-too-common in our law enforcement world). Not so with you!
- Many so-called "leaders" seek power and influence for their own benefit. Not so with you!
Then there is the word "
servant
." As used here, it literally means "slave" or more correctly,
bondservant
(someone who voluntarily becomes a slave to their master). That's what God has called His faithful to be!
It is sad commentary for us today that we have many "celebrities" and bosses but very few true servant-leaders. There are many who want to “exercise authority” (see also
Matthew 20:25
), but very few who answer God's call to take the towel and basin and wash feet (stay with me).
Paul later reminds us that our attitude is to be like Christ’s in that we're NOT to consider others better than ourselves and to do nothing out of vanity or selfishness. Rather, we're to look out for the interests of others (
Philippians 2:3–4
). In this sense, then,
every Christian
is called to be a
servant
and yes, a
servant-leader
.
Likewise, if you are in a position of authority over anyone as a Christian, you must
serve
. Here's the picture: in John’s account of the last supper, Jesus does something so culturally unexpected and shocking that it catches His disciples completely off guard. In
John 13:3-5
we read that,
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
In this upper room, as He prepares for His destiny on the cross, Jesus is acutely aware of His authority. So what did Jesus do? He humbled Himself and
served
by taking on the lowliest of roles! What do I mean by "lowliest?" Folks, there was no "indoor plumbing" or public sewer systems in that time outside the most wealthy in Rome (and even then...). Waste -- especially human waste -- was just thrown into the street. Then, with the understanding that folks walked around in sandals, you begin to get the picture. In that culture, when someone entered a residence, they removed their sandals and the lowliest servant in that home would wash the filth from their feet. So this then is exactly what we find Jesus -- God in flesh and the mightiest king/warrior/cop/leader of all history -- doing for His disciples!
Jesus adds instruction for us in
John 13:12-16
where we read:
“Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them. “You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
In short, Jesus is instructing His followers (Christians were originally called "Followers of the Way" -- the "Way" being Jesus as described in
John 14:6,
"
I am the way
...") -- to SERVE others. The application of course extends to the SERVE part of "
serve and protect
" for us who SERVE in law enforcement.
Whether it be Christian cops or Christians in general, if we have been given authority on earth we should immediately and tangibly serve others. Moreover,
EVERY Christian is called to serve
, regardless of position (what Charles Stanley calls, "
saved to serve
" -- a great short devotion by itself).
Understand also that, within hours of giving this instructive example and COMMAND (not a suggestion) to His disciples and to us, Jesus would suffer a slave's punishment (horrific torture) and a death reserved for the worst and lowliest offenders -- death on the cross at the hands of the "cops" of His day -- in order to
SERVE and protect
us by providing the pathway for our own redemption and salvation when we place our whole trust in Him. In short, Christ's atoning death, in concert with His victorious resurrection, is the ultimate example of
servant-leadership
and love (see
John 15:13
).
Likewise, what then does Jesus say to those who have placed their trust in Him as Lord and Savior (again, a Christian as only God gets to define it)? He commands us to, "
take up your cross
" and "
follow Me
" (
Mark 8:34-38
). In short, we're called by God Himself to
SERVE
Him and others.
Yet many will still ask, "What does serving have to do with authority?" God, through His Word (the Bible), provides us with His answer (ultimately the only answer that matters):
- He clearly reminds us that our authority is not something to which we are entitled or that we’ve earned. Nor is it something to lord over others.
- It shows others that we are accountable to God who gives ALL authority.
- It empowers those we lead and serve to accomplish great things in accordance with His will and plan for their lives.
A word of caution: s
ervant-leadership isn’t a worldly strategy to get people to follow you or a good habit to develop over time.
Not so with you!
Rather, servant leadership is a biblical mandate from God for all who elect to follow (serve) Him as Lord and Savior.
Part of the real life application for us in terms of servant-leadership is that we're not to emulate the examples of the world, nor are we to adopt what passes for "leadership" in our messed-up but God-ordained profession. Rather, our example is Christ our King and Captain, who came as a servant, even unto death on a cross! Therefore, our mission is to serve and sacrificially lead our spouses, our kids, our colleagues (especially those God has placed in our care) the public and others in general. Just as Christ came to give His life, we are to give of our lives not only in service to Him but to our fellow man, including but not limited to those both in and out of the church (
Mark 12:31
) and not just on "the job."
Finally, a word about
titles
(thus the title of this message) in light of God's call on our lives. As cops, and even in the church, business, government, etc., we've become obsessed with titles and position. My own pastor does not want to even be called "pastor" lest he become prideful. Yet many church leaders take up or insist upon unbiblical or prideful titles like "Reverend" (or worse, "Most Reverend"), Doctor, Apostle (God help us), etc. Folks, if your pastor is not actually lovingly CARING for/serving his flock, then approach him in accordance with
Matthew 18:15-17
and, if that does bring about correction, ask God to lead you to a church being led by a biblical pastor who is a true servant-leader (but then YOU too should also be serving in your church).
Accordingly, and in closing, your title and mine, at least in practice if not in name, must simply be
SERVANT
.
Will you live that out? If you hold (or someday will hold) rank, authority and position, be a change-agent by biblically serving, mentoring, encouraging teaching, coaching and yes, loving (
agape
) on those God has placed in your care. And then regardless of your position, SERVE and watch what God will do in our families, churches, agencies, communities and even our nation when will fill it with Christian servant-warriors and servant-leaders who are serving, leading and protecting from a biblical (God's) worldview!
So how can we accomplish this? Because of our sin-nature, true servanthood and servant-leadership can
only
take place from a right relationship with God in Christ, and it is only through this life-saving/life-changing relationship that we obtain the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives who empowers us to serve and lead biblically. Without Him, we're doomed to failure (sin), but with Christ and in Christ we can accomplish
all things
in accordance with His will and plan for our lives (
Philippians 4:13
).
So do you have that? Friend, you can! Scroll down to the
Know God?
section below to learn how, and then begin to lead/serve in Christ. God wants to use you in ways you can't begin to imagine, but only if we're leading/serving in Him!
In closing, like most (if not all) of you, I've all-too-often been the victim of toxic, cowardly "bosses." Thankfully, I've also been blessed to have had some really great ones (a very rare thing indeed) who truly lived out servant-leadership: Chiefs
Patrick Mooney
(NMSP),
Frank Rupp
(SPD) and
Steve Hasler
(EPD): here's a well-earned salute and "thank you!"
_____________________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you falsely believe that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "
good
" cop or "good" person? That you can be "good" enough without God? Take the
Good Person Test
and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly ministry were and remain, "
Repent and believe in the Good News
" (
Mark 1:15
). To
repent
is a "180" -- a complete,
radical
change of mind and heart as it relates to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (
pisteuo
in the original Greek) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and
surrender
your life to Him in faith in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop; that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used in defense against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(3) This same concept of "
believe
" (the saving kind) is further revealed in
John 3:1-21
where Jesus says, "
... you must be born again
." Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "
must
" (not "may" or "should" or even "someday"): this is ultimately the life-saving AND life-changing personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see
What does it mean to be a born again Christian
? [hint -- there is no other kind]).
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message from police servant-leader
Travis Yates
:
Cops and Salvation
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also an important part in dealing with the issues that can lead to suicide and sin in general. Click on,
Now what?
MC
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ABOUT US
The
Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
is
a national, FCPO-affiliated, non-denominational,
evangelical
Christian outreach to our own in law enforcement. These newsletters and profession-focused Bible studies are part of this effort and past editions can be found on our website and our social media feeds. Our desire is (1) to be used of God to
WIN
the lost in our profession to a saving faith in Christ; and (2)
DISCIPLE
the Christian officer; (3)
SEND
out discipled officers to "repeat" 1 and 2; (4)
SUPPORT
police marriages; (5) transform our God-ordained profession by infusing it with all-in Christian officers; and (6)
IMPACT
(reduce) police suicides and PTSD with the Cure found in Christ Jesus alone. In keeping with these 6 points, please feel free to adapt these messages for your own individual or group use and
share
them with others.
We also seek both your prayers and your
financial support
for this ministry as the Lord leads.
The
Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers
(FCPO-USA)
exists to provide biblical support ("backup"), accountability and
iron sharpens iron
fellowship for Christian officers first in the U.S. and throughout the world as well. Our Denver-area FCPO chapter (
FCPO Chapter #217
) is a
Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
affiliate. Locally, we meet approximately twice a month in the south Denver-Metro suburb of Highlands Ranch for profession-focused and life-relevant Bible study, prayer and servant-warrior/sheepdog fellowship. Spouses are both welcome and encouraged to attend with their LEO.
Contact me for details!
You can also give to our ministry by designating "
FCPO Chapter 217
" on the
FCPO donation page
.
The
Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry
and FCPO-Metro Denver (Chapter 217) are led by veteran Police Officer, Chaplain and Evangelist
Michael "MC" Williams.
MC is an active (32-years and counting) sworn police officer/investigator and sought-after instructor and speaker at churches (including the popular
Centurion Church Security Seminar
), retreats and both police and civilian training conferences and seminars around the country. Contact MC via
email
for details on how to book him for your event.
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