| Matthew 5:9 |
| "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." |
| 04/20/09 - Church Security: Establishing relationships with law enforcement |
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I have been truly blessed in my career. I have been able to experience being trained and working in law enforcement. From working as a street cop to working with outstanding agents in agencies such as the FBI, DEA, Secret Service, and the State Department’s Diplomat Security Service (DSS). God has given me such a diverse background before calling me to the Christian Security Network, a position I would not be able to do effectively without this experience. God also blessed me by keeping me safe (even though there were several trips to the Emergency Room). From this experience, I can tell you that one of the more important things a church or ministry can do is to establish a good working relationship with their local law enforcement, which may be state police, county sheriff, or a city or local police department. Police have a tough job – period. It has been that way since I started almost 30 years ago and I see it today through friends and family who still work the job every day. It is dangerous, they are always second-guessed in tough, split-second decisions, they work crummy schedules and miss a lot of family time because of the many hours they do work. Police are no longer just enforcers of the law; they are parents to kids whose parents don’t know how to be parents, they are marriage counselors during domestic calls, grief counselors when there is no one else available during tragic situations, and most of the time bearers of bad news to someone. Cops see a side of society that most people don’t ever want to admit is even out there and really see people at their worst – on a daily basis – it takes its toll. Police officers are probably the most under appreciated of all the professions in this country, but I may be a bit biased – once a cop, always a cop I am told. Churches can make a difference. They can reach out to their local police department, and not just when they need something. A relationship needs to be developed with the street cop, supervisor, and top police officials. One of the nicest things I remember was when I was in charge of a patrol area that had about 6 or 7 churches in it and one of the churches had a “police officer appreciation day” and invited everyone from the department over for breakfast. Another church also baked the department a huge cake shaped like a police car. As much as many of the “tough cops” just shrugged their shoulders about getting a cake from a church, I could see all were touched by the gesture (and of course, ate the cake). Not many people know this, but May 21st is National Police Officer Memorial Day, when police officers killed in the line of duty are remembered and those still serving are recognized. It is a day that I used to say only those in the police profession remembers, but to the general public it is just another day, which is a shame. We have Veteran’s Day, which is widely publicized and celebrated every year, but the cop’s recognition day generally goes by without notice. Both groups serve, put their lives on the line, and have lost brave men and woman trying to protect our country. Your church can make a difference this May by doing a small gesture in recognizing your local law enforcement officers that week. Send them a card or cake, invite them to your church, have a special prayer service, recognize those in your congregation who are current or past law enforcement officers…the ideas are endless. But let them know that as they are grieving for those who have fallen in the line of duty, you are praying for them and their families. For more information about Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day, go to the website: www.nleomf.org Let me know if you do something special; I would love to hear what the church is doing for the police officers out there! In Christ, Jeff Hawkins Executive Director |
