[…]This means he will want to know and exercise approval or disapproval of programs. The special staff professional who is provided to assist him is the chaplain. Officers’ Christian Fellowship groups meeting or advertising on any base (including quarters areas) should submit to the military authority of the command via the chaplain. Any Christian commander will do well to know what groups are meeting on his base and what they are all about. When religious organizations wish to operate on base, they must be subordinate to military authority. This is not restrictive; it opens doors to witness! Military authority at […]
[…]career, you will one day be a military commander. One or more chaplains will be on your unit’s staff. If you’ve served Christ in chapel programs before your command assignment begins, you’ll have a much deeper understanding of how they can help you and a better rapport with them as individuals (Romans 12:10). This will greatly enhance the spiritual ministry that takes place in your command. Your prior experience with chaplains will enable you to reinforce one another rather than compete or conflict. Your guidance to chaplains, and your response to their advice, will be wiser and more effective. You’ll […]
[…]should expect your chaplains to voice their disagreement to you privately, not in the middle of a staff meeting or from the pulpit. Adapted from the originally published articlein COMMAND magazine, Vol. 39 No. 2, Summer 1990. At that time Dave was vice commandant at The U.S. Air Force Chaplain School at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He was an Episcopal chaplain and a former Marine Corps line […]
[…]chaplain in the battalion who did a wonderful job of ministry to soldiers. As a member of the staff, he attended our weekly meetings, and he asked if he could open them with prayer. I first asked the others who attended if any would be offended. After all, this was an official mandatory meeting. No one objected, so I told the chaplain that he could do that. The one time that I prayed publicly while I commanded that battalion was on Thanksgiving Day. Our battalion cadre traditionally gathered with their families in the classroom before crossing the street to the […]
