Breaking the Blue Wall of Isolation

I once heard a pastor tell a radio interviewer that the hardest people group to reach was police officers. If you are in law enforcement, you may agree. There is something about the job that isolates you from the rest of society. You may go to a fine church and have family and friends, but you know you are treated differently now that you are a cop.

As a result, many officers become isolated and only find understanding in the company of other cops. They hang out at cop bars, socialize with cops and adopt a “cop lifestyle”. When I was a new patrolman in the Chicago Police Department, I met an officer whose vocabulary would embarrass a longshoreman. It hit me in the gut when I found out that he and his wife (now divorced) had studied for the mission field at the Moody Bible Institute. He had lost his faith.

I found support in my Christian walk when an auto theft detective invited me to a police officer’s Bible study. That small group eventually became FCPO Chapter 26. I doubt I could have survived 32 years on the job without the prayers and support of our group. It gave me, and the others, a safe place to share my struggles with the job.

The group also gave us access to that “thin blue circle”. We invited others in the law enforcement family to join us. Officers came to faith, families were supported and it helped us to be better servants to the public we were sworn to protect. If you are not an FCPO member, join. If you are a member, find another Christian cop and start to meet regularly to study the Word and pray for each other and your department. Invite your fellow officers to meet with you. You have the courage to charge into gunfire; have the courage to share your faith with that hardest people group for pastors to reach. This is your mission field!