Church honors public servants

This future law enforcement officer was one of a number of people that attended Emmanuel Baptist Church's Fifth Annual Law Enforcement Sunday. [Courtesy Photo]

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

The spirit of man is more important than mere physical strength, and the spiritual fiber of a nation than its wealth.

— Dwight David Eisenhower, as quoted in the Law Enforcement Sunday program

GALLUP — Emmanuel Baptist Church hosted its Fifth Annual Law Enforcement Sunday during the weekend with a music-filled and patriotic service.

The annual church service honors local law enforcement officers, court personnel, and government officials, and each year the church makes an open invitation to all area professional in those fields to attend the event. This year, about 20 professionals did attend the service, including Gallup Police Chief Sylvester Stanley, District Attorney Karl Gillson, Mayor Bob Rosebrough, and City Councilor Mary Ann Armijo.

Rosebrough presented Pastor Mike Kleeberger and the congregation of Emmanual Baptist with a city proclamation declaring Sunday to be Law Enforcement Sunday. Stanley also presented Kleeberger with a plaque in appreciation of his assistance with this past spring's law enforcement memorial service, which was conducted to remember and honor all area law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. Stanley also made the announcement that Kleeberger had recently become the chaplain for the Gallup Police Department.

Kleeberger, who also performed "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" in a dramatic trumpet solo, thanked the visitors for their service to the community and their willingness to "live in a fish bowl" and hold themselves to higher standards of behavior.

"You're serving the purpose of God," said Kleeberger of public officials who serve the needs of their community.

That sentiment was echoed by the service's guest speaker, Mark Stephan, a retired Philadelphia Police lieutenant, and the former director of the Criminal Justice Department at Bob Jones University, a conservative Christian university in Greenville, S.C.

"The elected officials here today were elected by people, but they were put in place by God," Stephan said, adding that God is the ultimate authority for all leaders.

Addressing Rosebrough, Gillson, and Armijo, Stephan said that in his 25 year career with the Philadelphia Police Department, he and other officers were only honored in the community a few times and never at ceremonies attended by the city's mayor, district attorney, or a city councilor. He thanked them for attending, and he also singled out one of his former BJU students in the audience, Elizabeth Whitfield, a young woman who is now an officer with the New Mexico State Police.

Stephen's lecture topic was about criminal deviance, and he presented a lengthy talk about the influence of early criminology theories on the modern criminal justice system. Coming from a clearly conservative Christian perspective, Stephen compared and contrasted some influential criminology theories with biblical principles and teachings about sin. Stephen was critical of humanistic theories that leave God out of the equation, but traced some criminology theories to being directly influenced by biblical principles of justice.

Stephan, a self-described "average guy from Philly" now working with a ministry that was founded to help Christians struggling with drug addictions (www.wisdominlivinglife.org), doesn't believe in the rehabilitation of criminals through social programs, but rather believes in their transformation through the power of God.

For more information about the annual Law Enforcement Sunday, contact Pastor Kleeberger at (505) 722-7312.