Ceremony To Honor Jonesborough Police

Independence Day - July 4, 2020

(The following is the text of the message by Pastor Perry Cleek on the steps of the Jonesborough courthouse in a ceremony to honor every member of the Jonesborough Police Department)

I am Pastor Perry Cleek of Lighthouse Baptist Church.  Our church is unashamed to be a Bible believing church.  We don't preach a message of hate, but a message of the love and grace of Jesus Christ.  We believe that message is necessary for the salvation of every single person.  The Word of God teaches there is only one race, the human race.  When we each stand before God, we will not be judged by the color of our skin, but by the condition of our heart.  The condition of our heart is determined by our response to the gospel message of the death, burial and resurrection of God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Our church stands for truth, we stand for righteousness, we stand for freedom and liberty, we stand for justice, we stand for the sanctity of human life, we stand for godliness and for law and order.

But in order to stand for these things, it is necessary to stand against some things.  And now is the proper time to take such a stand.  Historically, voices have thundered from the pulpits of America to condemn sin and evil, and to urge men to lives of godliness.  But I fear today, we have entered the days prophesied by Isaiah the prophet:

Isaiah 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;

In small town America, we have listened to the voices of those who should know better, appease and condone and even encourage those movements set on destruction and lawlessness and anarchy. 

When you have graffiti on public buildings saying, "save a life, kill a cop!"  Call it what it is, evil.

When you have the destruction of private property, stealing and looting as though all laws have been suspended for your cause.  Call it what it is, evil.

When you have law enforcement rendered impotent because of weak leadership, abandoning tax payer funded public buildings to a destructive mob, call it what it is, evil.

When legitimate protest turn into police bashing, with rocks and bricks and molotov cocktails...police vehicles torched, and police equipment stolen...call it what it is, evil.

Romans 12:9  Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

That brings us here today, to express our outrage at the evil that has manifested itself in our land.  And to cleave to that which is good, which is 99% of law our law enforcement personnel.

We do recognize there are bad police officers.  Some of them have done terrible things, and should face the full justice of the law.  But there are bad pastors also, bad clergymen, bad priests.  Is the answer to burn down all the pulpits in America, or to get rid of the bad actors.

If reform is what is needed to dismiss a bad cop, then by all means, we call for reform.  But to burn down the whole system is to invite lawlessness to sweep over this country like a covid virus.

I mentioned to Chief Street that about a year ago, one of his officers gave me a speeding ticket.  He said, I want to ask two questions, were you guilty?  Did my officer act in a professional way?

I have every confidence in Chief Ron Street, that he would never tolerate an abusive, racist, unprofessional officer.  That is worth supporting, that is worth encouragement, that is worth celebrating, that is worth our appreciation and gratefulness.

We are here today to express that gratefulness.  I feel like we speak for hundreds and even millions across this great land who are ashamed and horrified at the way our law enforcement personnel have been treated.  Perhaps our act of appreciation today will help to stem the tide of antagonism toward law enforcement, and show our police personnel that we need them to be there when we call in the middle of the night. 

We need someone to answer and to show up when harm is threatened to our family. 

We need them to investigate when a grave injustice is done. 

We need them there, driving up and down our streets while our head lies safe on our pillow. 

We need them to carry guns, so we don't have to. 

We need them to ticket the speeders, to keep our teenage children safe. 

We need you to drag us out of burning cars. 

We need you to patrol our schools, and keep our students safe. 

We need to see you rushing in to a hostile situation, with the confidence that we have your back. 

We need you there to talk us out of taking revenge ourselves. 

We need you to be men and women of integrity, who are willing to lay your life on the line to protect those you serve. 

We need you to stem evil by apprehending, arresting, and locking up those who do criminal acts. 

We need you to do your part to ensure that liberty and freedom does not fall prey to anarchy.  If anarchy and lawlessness are not stopped over there, in the big city, then how long before it invades small town America? 

If those who disagree with us can intimidate us into silence, then how long before they come to vandalize, loot, or even burn down our churches.

Chief Street and all the personnel of the Jonesborough Police Department, you have our appreciation, our encouragement, our support.  And our church wants to show that with more than words.

End of Pastor's Message

Mr. Rodney Metcalf, chairman of the Deacons at Lighthouse was then introduced, and presented to Chief Ron Street an envelope containing a check for $1,000 to each individual member of the Jonesborough Police Department. A video of the ceremony will be posted soon on our YouTube Channel.