Celebrating the Journey

As we strive to form meaningful partnerships in law enforcement, it important for us to acknowledge not only our unique contributions to the team, the ways we are similar as well. I have said for years that cops and ministers are a lot alike. That observation usually generates a good laugh, but at a recent conference someone actually shared a list of such similarities. Here they are:Clergy and CopsSuch Striking Similarities! · Uphold laws and values· Ridiculed rather than revered·…

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Of Cops and CompassionBy Chaplain John Knox Last week my nine year old said something about a “cop” in a sarcastic tone of voice. I turned to him and told him very firmly that in the future he would respectfully refer to these men and women as “police officers.” He was a little surprised that his dad had gotten so “testy,” but of course he was too young to remember…The shrill sound of my pager interrupted an otherwise peaceful and…

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The Ministry of Presence? I am getting too old the ride the midnight shift with the police officers that I provide chaplaincy services for in Granbury. I am not a college student who can get by on 2 or 3 hours of sleep anymore. But I had a short break this week, and decided to join my friends on the late shift. We had not been on the streets too long that night when a call of a fight in…

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Thursday, September 20, 2007Honoring the Memory of our FinestOn September 18th, I joined several police officers from Granbury at the funeral for a brother in Christ in Odessa, TX. Abel Marquez, a police officer for the Odessa Police Dept, was gunned down as he tried to render aid to two of his officers. His fellow officers were shot and killed by the same perpetrator during a domestic violence call at a home in West Odessa. Those two officers died at…

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