This is an interesting one as I have been to school twice. The first time for my education and the second time as a School Chaplain.
First time around my favourite subject was sport. I was good at Maths, but sport was always my favourite. I loved to run, play footy, cricket and always be moving. Especially in primary school before I got Rheumatoid Arthritis.
On my second go around as a School Chaplain it was sport again. I found sport was a great way to connect with the kids in an informal environment. It did not matter if it was footy, basketball, volleyball, or indoor hockey.
I can remember I did sport all day one time. I just followed the new PE teacher around on her first day and I joined in with every sport she set up for the kids. I went home exhausted, but it was a great fun day.
So my favourite subject at school was sport. As a kid and a grown up too!
This is an easy one for me. When I worked as a school Chaplain I just joined in with whatever the kids were doing.
At first the kids thought it was a bit different, a guy in his late 50s running around and being a big kid, but they got used to it pretty quickly. I lost count of times I got asked to join in games.
While at school I played with dolls and cars in kindy, played tag and basketball with the middle school, and footy and cricket with the older kids.
Being a kid at heart was easy for me when you are around kids all day. You just have to join in and have fun and not worry about what the adults think!
What do I listen to at work? Being a School Chaplain I listen to people. Listening is a big part of my job. Listening, asking questions and encouraging.
I must add though, being a Chaplain I am always conscious of listening to the Holy Spirit as I work. Most days I am prompted to go to a particular classroom or part of the school. Quite often there is someone there who needs encouraging or a listening ear.
So what do I listen to while I work? People and the Holy Spirit.
I got asked what the hardest thing about being a school Chaplain is today. It was a genuine question from someone. My answer surprised them.
As a school Chaplain working in a government school, my role is to provide pastoral care to the students, staff and parents. But as it is a government school I cannot talk about my faith.
In this context I cannot speak about God, I cannot share the Bible or offer to pray for people. When I worked as a Pastor this was my go to. I would listen to people, pray and offer encouragement from the Bible.
For me this is so hard and at times very frustrating. When you sit across from someone and see their pain, you just want to pray and offer hope in God. But I cannot do that in my role.
Some days I daydream about what it would be like to work in a Christian or Catholic school and be able to use all the things available to me. To pray or share a passage from the Bible would be amazing.
So the hardest thing about being a school Chaplain in the public system is not being able to be to use my faith in my work. I can be a Christian presence in my school, but I cannot pray or quote the Bible.
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.
As I was doing my morning devotions today I was thinking about the phrase “Inviting Jesus in”. As I dwelt on this I realised how important it is to invite Jesus in to the various areas of our lives.
1. Our life – this is the first and most important area. We need to invite Jesus in to our lives. He needs to be let in as our Lord and Saviour. This is when true life happens and He lives with us.
2. Our relationships – relationships can be hard at times with all the stresses of life. We need to invite Jesus in to them all. Our marriage, with our children, our friends, our workmates – He needs to be in them all.
3. Our work – inviting Jesus into our workplace to help us do well and serve Him. Whatever job role we have we ultimately do it for the Lord. Colossians 3:23 tells us who we really serve as we work. We are all gifted by God and we need His help to serve.
4. Our finances – many of us struggle with our finances. Inviting Jesus in to this area helps us to understand that He loves and cares for us and He is our provider. One of the names God is known by is Jehovah-Jireh which means “The Lord will provide”.
5. Our health – a lot of people I talk to have health issues that they battle with, myself included. Our battles can be very debilitating. Inviting Jesus into our health issues allows Him to provide comfort, strength and healing. Another name God is known as is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals.
6. Our future – there are times in our lives where we can really worry about the future and what will happen to our families or ourselves. One thing God has been reminding me of lately is He holds our future. We may not know the future, but we can be confident God holds our future. Each of us are in the palm of His mighty hands.
Today I would encourage you to invite Jesus in to the different areas of your life. If you have never done this before, you can prayer this prayer below.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, I invite you to come into my life. I want You to be my Lord and Saviour. Please come in and cleanse me from my sin. Help me to follow You with all of my heart. Lord, I also invite you into all of my relationships, my work, my finances and my health. Come in and help me in all these areas. Bring healing, provision and peace to them all. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen
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.
