Southland Christian Ministry Training
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By Ian, on April 16th, 2011%
 It might just be that I’m getting old, but as I pondered the coming ANZAC Day I was reminded of my earliest memories of its meaning. I have a clear picture of the frail old WW1 diggers who used to come to the school I attended in the 60’s. One story stands out, that of Simpson and his donkey, which has become a legend in its own right.
John Simpson Kirkpatrick was part of the 3rd Field Ambulance and had somehow acquired a moth-eaten old donkey to help him transport men with leg injuries back down Shrapnel Gully to be treated. The way the story was told (and I suspect how I have continued to tell it) he was portrayed as a saint, a modern day good Samaritan who selflessly took risks to help his Aussie mates. Yet there was an ironic twist, instead of this story having a happy ending, on 19th May 1915, on his way up the valley he is hit in the heart and is killed.
According to Les Carlyon, in his book Gallipoli, (ISBN 0 7329 10897) Simpson was not even an Australian, though he had joined up in Australia. He was portrayed as the average bloke that you would meet in a shearing shed or on a railway gang in outback Australia, yet he was in reality more familiar with Northern England!
 Carlyon concludes that the real Simpson was probably more interesting than the legend, more rough around the edges and probably sadder. History suggests that Australians often seem to choose “quirky heroes’ (Carlyon) and the reality is that the stories of many ordinary diggers who lost their lives at Gallipoli were included in this one “picture”.
So when it comes down to it, I think that I have chosen the story of Simpson and his donkey as a meta-narrative which describes my forbears who fought and died in the ugly chaos of WW1, both at Gallipoli and in France. Like many of you, I have their medals but not their stories, and I can only imagine what they went through. I choose to believe that Ben and his older brother Joe (who was killed in France) acted heroically, put their lives on the line for their mates, with courage and conviction set the standard which has been handed down to us.
This ANZAC Day, pause to remember and honour all those thousands of unnamed myth makers who are represented in Simpson. He was not perfect, but if you are looking for a perfect example then I need to direct you to Jesus who demonstrated those same values, which is what Easter is really all about!
Chaplain Ian S Whitley
By Ian, on March 4th, 2011%
 Teaching Air Force Recruits is not always easy and the Padre gets some of the interesting topics like leadership and followership, seeking to help the recruits adjust to the challenges of communal living in a military environment. Here, workplace relations is a 24/7 job with very little private space or time. My role is to help recruits discuss the lessons learnt from watching segments from the movie “We Were Soldiers”, and assess how both leaders and followers acted and reacted in various situations.
While pondering the results I came up with 7 lessons we ALL need to learn:
1. LISTEN! No matter where you are in the chain of command it is imperative that you really pay attention. Multi-tasking is great but when orders are being given you need to be concentrating on one thing – getting the right information and getting it right.
2. EDUCATE! Each of us is under obligation to keep learning and sharing what we are learning with others. We all have different gifts and abilities, and when we share our knowledge we empower each other, so that the whole team benefits. A swift, agile, decisive response is no good if it is based on wrong information.
3. ASK RIGHT QUESTIONS! This is one area that recruits struggle with because they think that they will be labelled. That only happens when you ask the wrong questions as a result of not listening! Asking for clarification so that the task and the process can be carried out correctly is allowed and encouraged. Sometimes the key is asking the right questions at the right time.
4. DON’T INTERUPT! In an orders group all questions are to be kept till the end of the brief, therefore get used to taking notes which include things you may need clarified. Sadly we are not very good at this – we are all too eager to come up with easy solutions before we have heard the full story and so get it wrong.
5. EXAMPLE! Our words and our actions must agree. There is no place in the military for double standards – our real values are the ones we live out when no one is watching. Therefore seek to be a positive example to those around you, not just to impress others but because you know it is the right thing to do.
6. RESPECT! We are not all the same, we each have different gifts and abilities, we may come from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, we may wear different ranks or have a different uniform but we are all part of the same team. That team will only function if we all respect each other, and demonstrate it by how we relate up and down the chain of command.
7. SMILE! Finally, a swift, decisive, resilient, respected Air Force also needs to be able to laugh. Humour is the social lubricant that reduces friction in the barrack block, in the workplace and even in the battle space. Don’t take yourself so seriously, make time every day to relax and enjoy what you have got.
So, what started as a lesson on workplace relations became for me an affirmation that as defence members we are all called to be both followers and leaders! No matter what your rank, you are still required to be answerable to someone, and ultimately you may be required to plead your case before God. If that scares you, maybe you should join us for chapel service and listen to what he expects of us as leaders and followers.
Chaplain Ian S Whitley
By Ian, on October 20th, 2010%
BACKGROUND
I have known Mike Frost for about twenty years. We met at Morling Theological College and completed our B.Th. together, and even then he was a high flier. He is a qualified teacher, an expert communicator, a gifted artist and an effective leader with a keen mind which has only improved over time. He has authored several books, is a sought after speaker in Australia, NZ, USA, Canada and the UK, and for all his criticism of the established western church, has chosen to stay in it as Professor of Evangelism and Missions at Morling Baptist Theological College in Sydney.
OUTLINE
The book is neatly divided into four parts namely:
1. Dangerous Memories, of who we are and the fact that:
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- God will rescue his exiles,
- Jesus was a radical exile, and
- Jesus is our example!
2. Dangerous Promises, covering the ability to
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- Be authentic,
- Serve a cause greater than ourselves,
- Create community,
- Be generous and practice hospitality, and
- Work for righteousness.
3. Dangerous Criticism, because we have an obligation to critique the host nation in terms of:
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- Injustice,
- The environment, and
- Oppression.
4. Dangerous Songs covering:
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- Worship at the altar, and
- Revolution – Jesus Ain’t My Boyfriend!
REFLECTION
I read this book while on exile in the Middle East Area of Operations, as a member of the Australian Military, surrounded by an Islamic host nation, and cooperating with might and force of the US military machine. Obviously, my context may have influenced my receptiveness to this message, but I firmly believe that the western church needs to be rocked out of its complacency to see the implications of being part of a Post-Christian world as Mike Frost paints it. He describes his purpose in these words:
“This book is for the many people who wish to be faithful followers of the radical Jesus but no longer find themselves able to fit into the bland, limp, unsavoury straitjacket of a church that seems to be yearning to return to the days when ‘everyone’ used to attend church and ‘Christian family values’ reigned”.
That is me! Maybe that is why I am a military chaplain and not the pastor of a church! The culture of the Australian Defence Force is unmistakedly “Post-Christian” and in this book Frost gives some very helpful tools to work with in that environment. His foundation is solidly Biblical yet he is not limited to the traditional interpretations of scripture that have encouraged the church to align itself with power and authority.
Mike’s style of writing is easy to read, thought provoking, and dare I say entertaining! He uses stories from a wide range of sources from “Watership Downs” to “the Simpsons” and is as comfortable discussing the merits of Renaissance art as ecological issues of the 21st century! There is deep theological interaction with past and present authorities yet without losing touch with the practical implications of how we do theology in a Post-Christian world. We are exiles here but we have an ongoing role to play, which does not involve hiding in a Christian ghetto and praying for the end to come!
So what should we be doing? In Mike’s words “Hold on to the dangerous memories of God. Keep making those dangerous promises. Keep practicing that dangerous critique of the host empire. Keep singing those dangerous songs. Our day will come.”
If you are prepared to have your cage rattled – read this book. It is a mere 327 pages of hard hitting challenge to the status quo. It is a breath of fresh air for those of us who minister outside the established church (though ordained and recognised by it) who continually grapple with exilic issues that our colleagues ministering inside the church can’t even see! This book has given me some helpful tools to help me survive and flourish in exile, while reminding me the pitfalls of getting too comfortable here.
Chaplain Ian Whitley
By Ian, on October 8th, 2010%
This week I have had a couple of opportunities to tell my story, to describe my vocational journey from being a hospital scientist, to ordained minister and finally a military chaplain. When I do that the obvious question is why? How did I know that was the “right” thing to do? There are no easy answers to those questions, especially when it  does not seem logical! If you are struggling with your future directions, or how to cope with the posting that did or didn’t come, your first step is to work out what your life purpose is. Only then can you assess how the decision you are making will help or hinder achieving that goal. The fact is at many times in life we are not faced with choosing between a good and a bad option, but struggling to decide which of two good (or bad) options is better.
If you are content to just accept mediocre, and take the route of least resistance, you need not read any further, but if you want your life to be super fantastic, to go to new heights and achieve beyond your wildest dreams then stop and ponder the following:
1. Who are the most important people in my life? Rate the following:
- family – spouse, children
- friends
- work colleagues
- work supervisor
- sporting team
2. What things are most important to me?
- Being available to my partner, family, children
- Work performance… getting a top PAR… promotion…
- Earning more money to become rich…
- My toys, my house, my car, my big screen TV…
- Personal happiness, having fun, avoiding responsibility
3. Does my division of time and money prove that these are my priorities?
- Who gets my best time, energy and attention?
- What gets the biggest share of my discretional finance?
- Is there good balance?
4. What have I got to do to readjust this balance?
- Be honest with myself and take control of my life
- Set some realistic goals for the future
- Assess whether I am in the right job – one that allows me to achieve my priorities?
Somewhere in that pondering it might be helpful to also ask “Where does God fit in all that?” The fact is, the reason I left the lab and took an enormous pay cut to become a minister was because that is what I believed God wanted me to do! That decision was not logical or easy, but I have never regretted it and God has richly rewarded me for that step of faith. If you are unhappy with your life maybe the above audit will help, but if you are struggling with the bigger question of why I am here and what is life really all about then maybe you need to meet God. I would be happy to introduce you!
Chaplain Ian Whitley
By Ian, on September 14th, 2010%
Timeless Principles for Personal, Career and Family Success.
Book review – Growing the Distance, by Jim Clemmer (ISBN 0-9684675-0-4)
There are many books on my bookshelf that I have read only once – this is one that I have read three times! Why? The sub-title seems to sum it up “timeless principles for personal, career and family success”. It is about leadership, taking control of our own growth, so that we have the skill and credibility to lead others.
The book includes some great stories from a wide range of sources, some good quotes and includes excellent summaries at the end of each chapter. The result is a clear outline of what has been covered with practical suggestions of how to apply each section to real life. I’m not sure that any of the content was particularly new, but the style of writing and the format (with lots of short sub sections) made it both easy to read and apply to my own situation.
People are looking for easy short cuts to success, but Clemmer makes it clear that it is a process, a series of choices, requiring a preparedness to grow through the pain of change and lead others to do the same. The author forcefully asserts that true leaders don’t lead by just offering rewards or threatening punishments, they get passionate about life, and energise others to motivate themselves.
For me, Clemmer has effectively attacked a difficult topic and broken it down into terms and concepts that I could understand and apply. At its most basic level all it takes is character, vision and discipline. In his final chapter, he sums up like this:
“Why do some people fail to grow the distance?
Some people fail because they don’t think….
On the other hand, many unsuccessful people think but they don’t do…”
This book has helped me to think more clearly about who I am and where I want to go. It has given me some good tools to get my own life back on track and lead others to do the same.
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