Southland Christian Ministry Training
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By Ian, on February 20th, 2011%
 What does it take to become a hero? My aging mother, now 88 years old has spent her life telling and collecting stories. I recently heard one that got me pondering, I had probably heard it before but this time it coincided with her acquiring some handwritten letters which gave this story a new level of credibility.
James Cornwall was born about 1836 and apparently while only a young boy joined the Royal Navy. He probably served on several ships learning his trade, but we know for sure that he served on three: HMS Fox, HMS Ajax and HMS Cossack because three letters have survived.
The one from HMS Fox is dated 26 May 1853 and details the action he saw in Burma, and was sent from Rangoon. The next was dated 26 July 1854 after he had transferred to the HMS Ajax and his involvement at the beginning of the Crimean war. The third is from the HMS Cossack dated 11 Feb 1855, in which he complains about the cold, and hopes for an early end to this war because “it is killing work”.
Although the spelling is a bit vague, it would appear that he spent quite a bit of time in the Baltic Sea around Kronstadt and Helsinki. The HMS Cossack was a brand new steam corvette with 20 guns which was originally being built for the Russians, but with the outbreak of the Crimean War in April 1854, she was confiscated, renamed HMS Cossack, and launched on 15 May 1854.
On 5 June 1855 the HMS Cossack was shelling a small outpost on Aland, an island near Helsinki and the enemy forces on shore raised a white flag in surrender. A boat was despatched under the command of midshipman James Cornwall. As they approached the shore the enemy opened fire killing all the crew except one, who miraculously escaped. When the boat drifted out of range of the shore, the one survivor was able to row back to the ship with his slain shipmates, who were then buried at sea.
 A lock of James Cornwall’s hair was sent back to his mother, which was then enclosed in a memorial broach and ring engraved with his name and date of his death, and the comment aged 19 years.
Why bother telling this story? Obviously it is part of my family heritage, but also it is a reminder that God calls each of us to walk a different path. I don’t know if James died a heroic death but I do know that he laid down his life doing what he knew was right. This proud tradition of the RN has been passed down to anyone who serves in the armed forces and every day when young seamen join a boarding party to check a refugee boat, near Ashmore Reef, or young soldiers do a patrol in Afghanistan or young airmen fly in a C130 on a humanitarian rescue mission, they take that same risk. Is that “heroic” no, it’s just part of the job and typifies the Defence values we own. What values guide your life?
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 Whitley, on June 23rd, 2010%
While on deployment I worked closely with the PTI (physical training instructor) in running a welfare store. This meant going to a nearby city to purchase a wide range of items, souvenirs, table cloths, toy camels, mosque clocks, prayer mats, personal needs as well as getting things like printed t-shirts. My friend the PTI was always in a hurry to get there and get back, but the more he tried to push, the slower things seemed to go. He came up with suggestions like faxing the order through so that less time would be wasted.
What we had to learn was that this was not done on purpose! Their concept of time is much ‘looser’. The Islamic concept of time is very different from ours. Their culture accepts as fact that ‘Haste makes waste’ and the Qur’an (I think) states that “too much planning tempts fate and the anger of Allah”. Thus the people we were dealing with were reluctant to make firm plans and added the overrider ‘Inshallah’ to everything, meaning literally ‘God willing’ which in practice means ‘seems ok at the moment but don’t hold me to it’. When they tell you it might be ready ‘tomorrow’, don’t bother to book the car – it will probably be ready in a week!
It might have had its moments of frustration but it was a good lesson to learn. What I found out was that lack of haste allowed time to build relationships. They were never in a hurry and went out of their way to offer hospitality, to really get to know us a friends and not just customers.
Yes, we all are confronted with deadlines and ‘to do’ lists we will need to finish, BUT we might enjoy life more if we adopted a looser approach to time. However, that is not just an Islamic idea, the Bible too speaks about the need to slow down – why not put it into practice this weekend!
Chaplain Ian Whitley
By Ian Whitley, on March 30th, 2010%
What have I been doing these last 6 months? I have shared deeply with many people, laughed, cried with others, listened to numerous briefs and written lots of reports. But what have I really learnt? Hopefully lots of things but in general terms I have dealt with four different groups of people:
THE FREAKOUTS! These are the people who came here with a poor understanding of the job they were called to do and the environment in which they were called to work. They had unrealistic expectations of themselves and others, and when faced with long working hours, difficult tasks in a hostile climate, they drop the ball, freak out and give up.
THE RUSTOUTS! These may have been through the freak-out stage but have decided to stick it out. They believe that everybody else owes them something, and so they put in minimum effort, refuse to get involved and show no enthusiasm or passion for life here. They continually complain whether it is about the routine nature of the job, the lack of entertainment or that they have no friends. They are content to sit out their time here and simply rust out, doing nothing to help themselves or those around them.
THE BURNOUTS! In contrast to the above, these are so dedicated to the job that they are willing to sacrifice everything for the mission. They have a great work ethic, they never complain, yet as the fatigue takes its toll, they do more and more yet seem to enjoy it less and less. They are eager to volunteer for extra duties, and are always available, but maybe they have lost the balance that will allow them to keep up this level of activity.
THE BREAKOUTS! As I look back over my time here I recognise that I have not just worked with each of these groups but I have also been part of them! My challenge to each has been the same – to break out of that rut! You are here because of your choice, so choose to enjoy it! Yes it might not have been what you expected, but give it all you have got anyway. Get out of your room, make friends and make an effort to share the unique experiences that are available here. This is your life, not a dress rehearsal, so don’t waste your time wishing you were somewhere else. There is also more to life than just work, so if you are in burnout mode, take some time out to look at the big picture.
My time here has not always been easy, but as I have told many others, the key is to stay in balance, by keeping fit, physically, mentally and spiritually. It has been great to share this journey with you, and my hope and prayer is that you may find that balance and grow to know God’s blessing and refreshment even here in the desert.
Chaplain Ian Whitley
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A lock of James Cornwall’s hair was sent back to his mother, which was then enclosed in a memorial broach and ring engraved with his name and date of his death, and the comment aged 19 years.
