Another good question from WordPress today. Am I a leader or a follower?
In general terms I would say I am mostly a follower. In most of my jobs I have enjoyed being second in charge and supporting my leader or manager.
My heart or the way I am wired is to serve. So I feel most satisfied when I have a leader to serve, support and encourage. I try and lighten their load and help them to be successful.
In my current role as School Chaplain I see my role to provide pastoral care to the school community and to support and encourage the school Principal. If I am taking care of pastoral care the Principal can focus on other things.
Yes there are times when I have been the leader, but in general terms I am wired to follow. When I do serve, I feel most satisfied.
This is a good question today. Something I learned in high school. The first thing that popped in to my head was woodwork. That was not what I expected.
Over the years the basics I learned in high school have really helped. I have made bookshelves, headboards, a bar for our games room, and computer desks for our kids. It has been really helpful and has been a relaxing hobby at times.
The funny thing is that I get to use the things I learned in high school each week. On Wednesdays I follow the high schoolers around and I spend most of the day in woodwork. I encourage the students and assist with their projects. It is an enjoyable day.
When I started woodwork as a 13 year old, I never would have dreamed that I would be helping other students as a school Chaplain some 40+ years later. It is funny how life turns out. My teachers taught me how to use a saw, drill and a chisel. Now I am teaching other kids.
Earlier in the week I went down to Perth for our annual Formation get together for school Chaplains in WA. It was great to get together with 500 plus other people to be built up and encouraged for the year ahead.
The main theme for our Formation this year was Truth. In a world where truth is always changing and people have their own “truth”, we were encouraged to keep focussed on God’s truth from the Bible. The eternal truth that never changes.
The day started and ended with worship. Being someone who lives in the country and attends smallish churches it was great to be able to worship with 500 other Christians. The atmosphere was amazing.
Our speakers this year were also really good. Our main speaker looked at the life of both Moses and Daniel. She touched on how Moses did not feel worthy to do his job, but God was with him and he just had to use what was in his hands. She then looked at Daniel and how he made a stand in his changing culture. He did not make a stand on every issue, but the one that compromised his faith.
Another section I really enjoyed was testimonies from Chaplains in the field. It was encouraging to hear what is happening with other Chaplains and how they are partnering with churches and other community organisations to make an impact in their schools.
At Formation we also heard a lot of stats of impact our Chaplains are making. There was one that grabbed my attention. We have over 500 Chaplains in over 600 schools and there are 100 vacancies waiting to be filled. We are 100 Chaplains short for demand!
All in all I really enjoyed my time at Formation 2024. I felt built up and encouraged and now I am ready to get started on the school year. My prayer is that God will go with me and that He will use my hands, feet, heart and mouth to make an impact for His Kingdom this year.
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
I have to say in answering this question that I am a very blessed man. I feel loved by my wife every day and when I see my adult children they always give me a big hug and tell me they love me.
But one instance when I felt really loved recently was on the last day of school in 2023. I was walking around school doing my usual work as a Chaplain, when I large group of students came and gave me cards. I got lots of high fives and fist bumps from them all too.
On the cards were really nice messages of how they loved and appreciated my work as their Chaplain. They said things like thanks for always being there to listen and encourage us. One card from the oldest students was signed by all of them with personal messages.
I really love my job as a school Chaplain and times like that make me feel loved and appreciated too.
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