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Life’s End
“How we live our days is how we live our lives,” someone once remarked.
On our return home from youth group last week at Faircreek Church, I diverted upward into a poignant hillside cemetery overlooking Beaver Valley.
Humorous questions erupted from our back seats (we now max-out our minivan with 7):
“Dad! Where are we going?! Why are we driving into a cemetery? Is that a real tomb?! I think it’s open! What are we doing up here? Oh wow…look at this view!”
I remained silent as they chattered in circles until we arrived at the highest point of elevation. As I slid the transmission into park and opened my door, my wife Stephanie wondered aloud with a smile, too, “Honey, why are we stopping up here?”
“We’re going to renew our commitment to the Lord as a family,” I replied.
She softly smiled.
“Hey children! How we live our days is how we live our lives. Each day passes so quickly. Those days rapidly turn into months, years, and decades. Remember, death is the end of every man and woman on earth,” I shared with my crew.
As expected, more questions overflowed as they poured out of all the doors of our Honda Odyssey. I mean, ALL THE DOORS. Every stop we make at the school, store, or church looks like a chaotic, loud fire drill.
“Daddy, what do you mean?” they asked all-at-once.
“Kids, look at these tombstones. Each life passes so quickly. How we love Christ, love one another, and serve our neighbors (or the opposite) is how we build not just our days but the sum of our lives. So tonight, let’s consider the brevity of life and renew our commitment to love and serve Christ.”
We gathered around a small, stone memorial bench as the sunset poetically painted the sky. My tribe of seven humans held hands in a circle for just a moment, sang a little song, and prayed for God’s grace and power to guide us.
As we dispersed, our daughter Everlynn found a grave marking of a young woman who died in her twenties. In just 10 years, my slender princess will be 22. Our oldest son will turn 25. Those years will fly by.
How will we use the remaining time?
Surprisingly enough, a cemetery can be a place of revival, renewal, and re-thinking. Our daily priorities often fade into the distance when we view life through the macro lens of a funeral.
Think about the end. How we view the end, changes how we live right now.
Psalm 39:4-5 advises:
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.”
Soli Deo Gloria
:: August 25th, 2024 ::
—- Michael J. Breznau
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Motherhood Discipleship
What’s the heart of discipleship? I recently read through a book that aims toward a strategy for Christians to live faithfully in a post-Christian culture. Written just several years ago, it’s incredibly relevant to our future as followers of Jesus in North America. Among many worthy quotes, one statement jumped off the page and, I believe, answers this question:
What is the essence of being a Jesus-follower?
“To run the way of God’s commandments with unspeakable sweetness and love.”
~ Benedict of Nursia (480-547 AD)
What a short line yet rich with such truth and beauty!
I immediately think of three people who daily disciple others according to this poetic path of following Jesus: My amazing wife, Stephanie, my mother, Diane “Dee Dee”, and my mother-in-law, Dawn.
Being immersed in the constant challenges of mothering, grandmothering, and dealing with sometimes ornery husbands isn’t easy. Ha! Yet these special women consistently run the way of God’s commandments, and overwhelmingly, with unspeakable sweetness and love.
Most moms – and women in all facets of life – are daily inundated with pressures, unforgiving expectations, and bewildering stressors. Such is the nature of the twenty-first-century technology-modernity pinwheel.
But this Mother’s Day Sunday at the Wright-Patterson AFB Chapel, we’re going to discover God’s heart of overflowing grace through often forgotten and overlooked women in the Bible. Our grace-giving God invites us to thrive – to find hope, healing, and rest in Him.
I’m excited about this coming Sunday with all of you. We’ll sing joyful praises to our Redeemer. We’ll gather in reverent prayer. We’ll grow in the Word together. I can’t wait to see you there at 11AM!
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
Love in Christ,
Chaplain Michael J. Breznau
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Christ our Compass
Celebrating my 40th birthday at USAF Officer Training School was rather underwhelming. However, I did happen to procure an MRE with M&M’s on the big day last May, which brightened my afternoon of field training. But upon our return to the base that weekend, I received a gift shipment from my incredible wife and kiddos. Inside was a beautiful cherrywood box with a handsome compass nestled in the center. Stephanie knows of my love for compasses and how I’ve often woven together spiritual analogies with these captivating devices.
Any compass worth its salt will always point true to magnetic north. From where I stand in the middle of the lower 48, that is just about on-point with true north, too. Roll out a topographical map, mark your route, and set a heading. The compass will lead the way.
Jesus’ sixth “I Am” statement in John’s Gospel is bold and unmistakable:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).
He claims not to be one of many decent options, but the one true Guide for the only trail of Truth and Life. Grammarians quickly notice the thrice repeated definite article (“the”) in this verse, which clears away any notion of universal ways to God.
Christ Jesus is the Compass. He came to be the Compass for a beautiful yet broken world – a planet filled with people following a giant pile of cracked compasses. No man-made trail can lead us to redemption and life forever with God, no matter how good, altruistic, or helpful the path may appear. Only Christ the Compass can “bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18b), a return into the communion with our Creator that our hearts long for.
Think about it:
What compass are you following? Check your heading.
Are you linked to True North? Only Christ can lead you there.
In God’s Vineyard,
Michael J. Breznau
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Not the Last Chapter…
This past Monday afternoon, I received the tragic news that a close friend suddenly died of a heart attack. I am still in shock. Pastor Ken Pierpont was my long-time mentor, confidant, and pastor-colleague. 20 years ago, I served under him in an inner-city ministry team in Flint, MI. In 2006, he enthusiastically wrote a reference letter for me to attend Dallas Theological Seminary. That same year, he was also instrumental in my wife and I first meeting. He always joked with me about earning an “assist” on our matrimony.
Baby Everlynn held by Pastor Ken Pierpont and his daughter Holly
From 2010-2013, I worked as a youth pastor where he served as a senior pastor in metro Detroit. He also encouraged me by graciously recommending me for numerous lead pastor positions as he observed that calling on my life. He was our first hospital visitor upon the birth of our now 12-year-old daughter. Most recently, he traveled northward to speak at my send-off service into active-duty Air Force chaplaincy.
Ken was a vibrant, active 65-year-old. He could easily pass for being in his mid-50s. He preached with his characteristic zest, joy, and creativity at his wonderful church just the morning before. He was a larger-than-life encourager, a sought-after conference speaker, and an engaging author. He adored his wife, eight children, and grandchildren. He was deeply devoted to Christ and pastored with a loving tear in his eye for the flock of God. My heart hurts with the reality that he is gone.
Every conversation and sermon with Ken was sprinkled with witty quips and well-mined truths like these:
“Remember who you are. But most importantly remember whose you are: a beloved member of God’s family.”
“Know God’s love? Show God’s love.”
“No sermon is ready to be preached until you’ve summarized it down to that ‘one big hairy idea’.”
“If you want a joy that cannot be shaken, you must find a joy that cannot be taken.”
“Don’t forget the romance of ministry.”
“Always mark down and practice a Family Red Dot Day.” (a full day reserved for uninterrupted family time)
“Savor every moment with your children.”
“Pastors don’t occupy offices. They pray, counsel, and prepare in ‘a pastor’s study’.”
“Write a thousand words a day”. (He did)
“The little things are the big things.”
“Shepherd the people who want you to shepherd them.”
“It would be better to walk with a limp with God in your life than to run like the wind without God in your life.”
Among many talents, Ken was an astounding storyteller. He called himself, “a keeper of The Story,” an expert at sharing the themes of God’s redemptive love in Jesus. I can’t count how many times I heard him begin with, “I’ve got a story for you…” or “Let me tell you a story.” He wove captivating narratives into the tapestry of everyday life.
Tonight, I’m holding onto the One who tells us that death is not the end of the story. His Word reminds us that we live on a beautiful yet broken planet. Disease, illness, and tragedy are par for the course. Yet He also said, “I Am the Resurrection and the Life,” therefore, we know we will again embrace our loved ones in Christ.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll gather with his family and many other Christ-followers to remember the life, legacy, and love of Ken Pierpont. We’ll point our hearts toward the hope of glory: the resurrected Lord and His coming glorious kingdom, in which all our tears will be wiped away.
Remember whose you are. The last chapter is yet to come.
Maranatha. Come soon, Lord Jesus.
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God is Faithful
God is Faithful.
This coming June, my wife and I will celebrate 16 years of marriage. The time has flown by like the blink of an eye. We’ve had our share of “ups and downs” – dark valleys and beautiful mountaintops. The pressures of tight finances, a special-needs child, and multiple miscarriages have, at times, strained our relationship. Exuberant joy also marks our marriage as we reflect on the warm memories of childhood laughter, fruitful ministry, and the excitement of serving on God’s mission.
One word leads the melody of happy matrimony: Faithfulness. Spouses can spew angry words. We may dig our heels in with spite. We might throw our hands up in the air with frustration about our children. But loving, undying commitment keeps us together. Yet this sort of stick-to-it no-matter-what does not arrive via a rah-rah speech or self-actualization but through God’s own faithfulness toward us.
As we arrive at the concluding act in the Book of Ruth,* the story poignantly unfolds into a marriage – a match ordained in heaven. But this narrative is not so much about the human romance between Ruth and Boaz, but about God faithfully loving Naomi back to faithfulness. Yes, Naomi, a woman who shouted in the village square that the Lord was testifying against her and afflicting her (1:21). She is beginning to believe again that God is intrinsically good and kind.
How so? Through her experiencing the faithful love of Ruth and Boaz, which of course was sourced in God’s chesed (loyal covenant love). So, we can echo what the village women tell Naomi in the final scene of this story, “Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today” (4:14a).
Think about it.
How has God shown His faithfulness toward you through His people?
Pause for a moment and express gratitude to Him.
What step can you take today to demonstrate His faithful love to someone?
______________
*I’m currently preaching a series through the Book of Ruth at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Protestant Chapel service | February 2024.
We’re still having fun! | Michael and Stephanie circa 2023
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Take the Step
“Take the step!” I can still hear the words of the slightly irritated Drill Instructor clanging across my memory. He continued in the face of the reluctant young man, “Step off the edge! You can do this!”
We were learning high-angle rescue on the side of a 100’ limestone cliff. The first skill to obtain was basic rappelling. In my previous years on the wild side, I spent many afternoons climbing, rappelling, and even a bit of spelunking. However, quite a few in my unit had never touched a climbing rope let alone dangle from a static line on the side of a mountain.
“Trust the rope!” The DI yelled, “It can safely hold 2,700 pounds. It’s not going to break!”
The fear-inducing moment was not putting on the harness, clipping the carabiner, or threading the rescue-8 belay device, but that first step over the lip and into the wide-open abyss. Their minds would spin, hands would begin to shake and sweat, and knees would knock. Terror squeezed their throat as they gasped for air. There they stood with their heels frozen to the crusty corner of the cliff. Unable to budge one inch.
“Close your eyes… trust the rope,” This time the captain, a gentler soul, gave the young man reassurance. He made the difference. “Do you trust the rope to hold you?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, sir,” the recruit replied. “Ok, then take the step,” the captain said calmly.
And he did.
You and I are faced with moments when our faith in God calls us to take the step. We must choose to trust that God will hold us and guide us through what looks like a cavernous, dangerous abyss. But the Word in our hands and the Spirit in our hearts reassure us. God calls us to ask our souls, “Do you trust God?”
Yes, yes, we do.
We take the step and find Him already there – waiting, watching, and always with us.
So, Paul exhorted the Corinthian believers, “…for we walk by faith, not by sight – we are of good courage.” (2 Cor. 5:7-8a)
What crux are you facing? Take the step. Trust the God who placed you there for His good purposes. He will hold you and guide you.
___________________________________________
This coming Sunday, as I continue our preaching series at the Wright-Patterson AFB Chapel, we will discover Ruth facing a pivotal moment. She must take the step – not seeing or knowing the potential outcome. I’m looking forward to diving into this story again with you!
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Peace in the Darkness
Political unrest. Global uncertainty. Societal division. Schoolroom violence. Corporate corruption.
One glance at the 6pm broadcast or a social media feed gives us a smack-in-the-face reminder that the 24-hour news cycle marches on with negativity and collective anxiety. Songwriter Andrew Peterson recently lyricized:
“Do you feel the world is broken? We do. Do you feel the shadows deepen? We do.”
Sigh. Yes, it’s true. Things are not the way they’re supposed to be. We inherently feel the seismic activity in our culture. The fault-lines are widening. The fractures are deepening.
But God invites us to stay on the path of trusting in Him because therein we discover peace and rest. Even when the way is dark, difficult, and dangerous: trust leads to rest. The prophet Isaiah reminds us of this truth, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT)
Corrie ten Boom journeyed through the horrors of the holocaust, survived a Nazi concentration camp, and lived to tell the world of God’s peace amid the darkness. She wrote:
“If you look at the world, you will be distressed. If you look within, you will be depressed. If you look at God, you will be at rest.”
In each feeling of the darkness, we must choose who we will trust. God is with us and will bring us through. Peterson continues his song “Is He Worthy?” this way, “But do you know that all the dark won’t stop the light from getting through? We do.”
May it be so in your heart and mine as we focus our eyes on the One who is coming to make all things new.
__________________________
I’m looking forward to this coming Sunday at 11am as we continue our new sermon series “RUTH: God’s Unstoppable Love,” in which Naomi, too, is learning to trust God again…when the way is lonely and dark. See you soon, brothers and sisters.
In Christ Alone,
P.S.
Here’s a YouTube video of Andrew Peterson performing his powerful song, “Is He Worthy?”
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Hope is Alive!
Hope is alive!
Lately, my kids have been hoping for snow. The winters are clearly milder down here in southern Ohio than they were in Michigan. We’ve had a few scattered snow showers – even a dusting – over the past couple of months. But, alas, no actual accumulation. Still, they are holding onto hope that the forecast will soon turn favorable for Frosty the Snowman. They have dreams and prayers for snowflakes, but the meteorologists are uncertain. The projections are nothing someone can count on.
However, God invites us into a hope that is guaranteed and grounded in reality. How so? Our enduring, eternal, and immutable hope has a name: the once-crucified and now-resurrected Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter instilled these words into first-century believers living amid a growing fire of persecution:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:3-4).
Hope is alive!
Today, I’m emotionally processing the recent death of my dear grandma, Nancy Breznau. I was privileged to be her pastor for five years. The older she grew, the more resolute in hope she became. She embraced me with happy tears in her eyes when I’d preach a message on Christ, our Hope. She knew her inheritance of heaven was guarded and sealed by God’s power (1 Pet 1:5a).
How could she be so sure? The resurrected, living Lord of heaven and earth is also, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27b). Her faith did not rest in what she knew, but in who she knew – and He had made all the difference. Her soul was at rest because His life was in her. So, you and I can trust God’s invitation to be people of hope. Christ lives and is coming again. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes and all things will be made new (Rev. 21:4-5).
Take heart, loved ones, and in Him have hope.
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For A Change: 2024
For A Change
We flipped the calendar to a new year! 2024. What does this mean? Change.
Some of us have a list of New Year’s resolutions: ways we desire change in our personal lives, careers, families, or finances. Others among us will simply attempt to change the wiring in our brains so that we write “2024” instead of “2023” on our cheques and memos. With the unseasonably warm temperatures, some are still waiting for the “real” changing of the season.
Yet change can often be difficult and unpleasant. Those resolutions resemble insurmountable mountain peaks by January 30th. Frustration builds upon the seventh time of erasing the wrong date on a cheque. Movement causes friction against the ruts in which we’d rather comfortably roll.
However, a quip from one of my seminary profs rings true:
“Change is the call of every Christ-follower!” (Howard Hendricks)
From the moment we turn in faith to Jesus Christ for salvation, we are then called into a life of progressive sanctification, i.e., incrementally becoming more like Jesus (cf. Rom. 6:19-22). As we walk with Christ by the indwelling power of the Spirit and with God’s Word as our guide, we experience day-by-day change (Gal. 5:16-26).
The apostle Paul exhorted believers, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).
God continues sanding off our rough attitudes, coarse words, and sharp pride. This New Year, let’s purpose through prayer to lean into whatever change He wants to bring in us – no matter how uncomfortable it may be. The best is yet to come!
In Christ Alone,
Have a very Happy New Year!
December 2023 | The Breznau Family | Atop Empire Bluff, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore | Empire, Michigan
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Big News: Into the Mission Field
[Video of my message “MISSION: Vitals (part 2) – Mark 8:22-35 with some big news, along with some information and a prayer from two of our elders]
The first message I preached at Mayfair Bible Church was entitled “Following the Mission of the Messiah” from Mark 8:22-38. This beautiful, thought-provoking passage describes Jesus’ healing of the blind man from Bethsaida in two-stages. The scene is rather peculiar and urges us to ask, “Why a two-step healing?” But Christ – in His sovereign knowledge – delivers two key questions, “Who do people say that I am?” and “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 27, 29). Meanwhile, the Savior led the disciples to Caesarea Philippi: a set of villages named after a Roman emperor, the furthest point away from Jerusalem in their travels, and most certainly not where they would have chosen to go.
Peter, ever the spokesman for the team, jumps up with the answer to the second question, “You are the Christ!” (v. 29). However, something is blurry and skewed in their vision of Jesus’ identity and mission. Therefore, Jesus begins to explain how he must “suffer many things and be rejected . . . and be killed…” (v. 31). But all this was too much for Peter to grasp. So, the one who just proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah now begins to rebuke Jesus. I can almost hear Peter screaming, “What!? This is not the plan! Talk about terrible PR! No way we’re moving forward with this messaging!”
But grace. Christ, in His patience, rebukes Peter (v. 33). God’s kingdom advances not by man’s interests but through God’s agenda. Jesus showed them a two-stage healing to ask those two vital questions and trotted them all the way out to Caesarea Philippi to teach them the key lesson: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (v. 34b-35).
Lose your life to discover Life.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” – Missionary Jim Elliot
This powerful narrative leads us to at least two trail-markers on the path of following Jesus:
- God will take us where we would not choose to go in order to open our eyes to what we could never see on our own. Even those heart-penetrating questions!
- God will take us where we would not choose to go in order to produce in us what we could never achieve on our own. Even Caesarea Philippi… and the Cross!
Today, God is calling my family and I to follow Him down a turn in the trail… into the mission field. Over the past year-and-a-half, God the Holy Spirit has been pressing on my soul to follow Christ’s mission on a path largely unknown and even terrifying. When I first sensed the gentle nudge of the Spirit on my heart, my response went like this, “No! No. No way!” Every time the call to this mission field bubbled up, I continued, “Certainly not. We enjoy Your work here, Lord. We love Mayfair Bible Church. We love Flushing. Our kids are in great schools. You’ve given us a lovely home. You are working in wonderful ways here!”
Yet now for more than a year, Stephanie and I have been praying and no longer can resist God’s calling for us to be on mission with Jesus…in the United States Air Force. Specifically, to serve as an active duty chaplain to pastor, counsel, and disciple airmen and their families with the gospel of Christ.
Christ is re-teaching us to believe He takes us where we would not choose to go in order to open our eyes and adjust our agenda on His mission. His plans are far better than ours. Today, we are saddened at the prospect of not being here with you. Yet we are also excited by what lies ahead in this new mission field with Christ our Savior.
“When you can say with entire truth and with a whole heart: ‘Lord God, lead me wherever Thou desires,’ then, only, do you deliver yourself from servitude and become really free.”
– Leo Tolstoy
Therefore, I am resigning as your lead pastor effective Sunday, March 26th 2023. Upon the recommendation of the elder board, I am also humbly requesting your partnership with my family and I by sending us out as a missionary family of Mayfair. We love you, Mayfair Bible Church. You are our spiritual family. We desire for Mayfair to be our church home and family for decades to come.
Every single one of the past 268 weeks as your pastor has been a sheer delight. We feel zero pressure from anyone to leave. In fact, quite the opposite. We have never been more loved by a church and we deeply love all of you. You are our family. Yet God’s call upon us into evangelism and discipleship in the field of the USAF is so clear. We must joyfully obey Christ and step out in faith.
Our desire before the Lord is to…
- …continue as members of Mayfair as a missionary family to the military.
- …contribute to the work of the Lord at Mayfair for the furtherance of God’s kingdom.
- …return frequently for holidays, summer camp with our kids, mission conferences, etc.
- …receive the support of prayer, encouragement, and accountability through you.
We praise God for what we’ve been able to be a part of by His grace:
- Receiving the gift of so many meaningful, deep relationships with you. You aren’t just “church members”. You are our friends, brothers, sisters, confidants, and family.
- Preaching the Word each and every Sunday; it has been an overwhelming joy and honor.
- Loving the flock of God through many baptisms (especially baptizing my daughter Everlynn and son Hudson!), weddings, funerals, hospital visits, and counseling meetings.
- Experiencing surprising doors open for relationships in the greater Flushing area with neighbors, business owners, other pastors, local government officials, and the chamber of commerce.
- Hosting “Church @ the Park” for 4 years in a row with great weather (wow!) and being invited to do so by the Flushing Chamber of Commerce (double wow!).
- Watching God grant us a beautiful, additional facility with the donation of the Thrive Center.
- Moving from being a loosely affiliated ‘sponsor church’ to a deeply involved member church of the Flushing Christian Outreach Center (FCOC) and seeing them move into our Thrive Center.
- Observing God direct us forward on His mission through leadership training weekends with people like Pastor Doug Schmidt, Pastor Nick Boring, Dallas Gatlin, and others.
- Seeing deeper relationships develop between Mayfair and other local para-church ministries such as: Genesee Christian School, Life Challenge-Flint, and Carriage Town Ministries.
- Going through the process of ministry evaluation and refreshed mission and vision statements with our leaders.
- Watching life-transformation happen at two Camp Barakel Men’s Retreats and also at a Father-Daughter Retreat.
- Experiencing the incredible blessing of traveling to India for a 2-week mission trip with Dan Neumann and Lois Montague.
- Rejoicing as God provided the launch of Celebrate Recovery and GriefShare to minister to a wider sector of our community.
- Seeing God faithfully lead us through the COVID pandemic with unity, peace, and even joy.
- Watching God grant us new opportunities for reaching our community with the message and mercy of Jesus, such as: the Friday Food Hub for 3 months as a part of the Sheriff’s Community Care Task Force, prayer gatherings with local officials, and more. You served with such enthusiasm!
- Praising the Lord for the opening of the Thrive Center and accompanying ministries such as: Connect with Coffee, Pilates and Praise, and a laundry ministry to families in need.
- Seeing God provide joyful, peaceful ministry transitions for Pastor Dean, Pastor Keegan, and Pastor Dale.
- Standing shocked and amazed by God giving us our beautiful baby son Jack, by adoption.
- Celebrating as God brought Pastor Steve Ford and Pastor Angel Garcia to us with their families.
- …and many other reasons to praise Him!
Mayfair, thank you for granting me the joy and privilege of serving as your lead pastor. We will never doubt God’s providence and grace in leading us to you and you to us. A bright future awaits Mayfair Bible Church as we march forward with bold reliance on God’s Word and humble dependence on God’s Spirit. To God be the glory for the great things He has done and will do!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Michael
Want the Full Low-Down?
Here’s a PDF document link to our full Missionary Prospectus:
USAF Missionary Prospectus & FAQ
Here’s a short video announcement we made with our 4 kiddos:
Nuts and Bolts
The Ministry of an Air Force Chaplain
The call involves training for and accepting a commission as an officer to serve as an active duty chaplain. An active duty USAF chaplain serves in three primary roles:
“A pastor to some and a chaplain to all.”
- Vitalizing and pastoring the church community on base. This mission is in the vein of church-planting to cultivate a worshipping, serving community of like-minded faith and practice, to include weekly preaching, worship leading, kids and youth programs, Bible studies, relational evangelism, community outreach events). Many “base chapels” offer AWANA, youth groups, men’s and women’s Bible studies, VBS, fall festivals, and more. Worship services are usually small gatherings of 50-150. We would serve together as a family for many of these ministry activities.
- Offering confidential counseling to any airmen in need. The door opens when good, Jesus-loving chaplains serve among the airmen and build relationships in their workplaces. Opportunities for relational evangelism abound in this setting.
- Providing leadership advice and professional counsel to the commanding officers on matters of ethics, morality, integrity, and teamwork.
*Deployment overseas = 24/7 on-call missionary. Based on the current tempo of operations, active duty Air Force chaplains deploy every 3-4 years for a period of 6 months +/-.
“So many churches are stuck in “come to” and have missed the “go to” mandate of ministry. We must be missionary, not stationary, people.”
– CJ Rhodes
A Missionary Family of Mayfair to the Military
- This is not a typical pastoral resignation, but rather a ministry transition for us to be sent out as a missionary family of Mayfair into the vast spiritual need of our nation’s military. I will no longer be your lead pastor, but a mission extension of Mayfair.
- We need and wholeheartedly desire a sending, supporting church. We cannot imagine our home base of support through prayer, encouragement, and accountability being any flock other than Mayfair Bible Church. You are our church, family, and home. Although we will not require monthly financial support like other missionaries, we certainly need your spiritual and friendship support.
- We plan to remain members of Mayfair sent out as missionaries. We look forward to financially giving toward the ministry of Mayfair for years to come and can’t wait to see that mortgage disappear this new year! Our prayerful desire is to keep our home in Flushing and affordably rent it to a local pastor or Christian family in need.
- We enthusiastically encourage all of you to stay in this family. In fact, we are! I urge you to stay and thrive in your membership to Mayfair. We’re staying as members of Mayfair and will be very much a part of this family, even though we’ll be a mission extension of you outside of this location. We envision ourselves returning for summer camp with our kids, holidays with our extended family, and future mission conferences.
My Testimony of Calling into this Mission Field
The shocking thing to me is, “Why is God impressing this on our hearts when we’re serving in such a wonderful church as Mayfair?”
We deeply sense your love and we treasure you very much. We have so many reasons to praise the Lord. We, as a congregation, have weathered the past two and a half years of COVID with incredible unity, growth, and diligence in the gospel. I, frankly, have no personal desire or need to leave my role as lead pastor. And I know of no one here who would want us to leave. We are enjoying a season of renewal, fresh growth, and joy.
Yet we’re unable to shake away from the Lord’s direction to serve as missionary-pastor-chaplain in the Air Force. So, we’ve simply taken small, incremental steps forward and have been met with green lights at each juncture. Through much prayer, counsel, and conversation, my wife and I have arrived at 3 key reasons why we believe God is calling me into the Air Force as an active-duty chaplain:
- A Pull in My Heart. While a student at Dallas Theological Seminary, some of my closest friends were veterans, some of whom were heading into chaplain ministry. We talked frequently and openly about serving as a chaplain during our morning runs, workouts, and small group Bible studies. They encouraged me to consider my interest in military chaplaincy.
- During that time, 14 years ago, my wife and I discussed and prayed about Air Force chaplaincy – we specifically remember doing so during a Valentine’s weekend getaway. I sensed a call to chaplaincy at that time. Yet after praying and discussing, the direction seemed unclear. I still had some time left in my seminary degree, as well. And, before I graduated, I was offered a full-time pastoral position back in Michigan. Yet the pull in my heart has not diminished but grown since then. 7 years ago, I again sensed a push in my heart to pursue USAF chaplaincy. I spoke with several friends who are active duty Army and Air Force chaplains and submitted some initial paperwork and transcripts to the recruiting office. Those I spoke with in the Air Force chaplaincy office were enthused and so were we. I received my ecclesiastical endorsement, etc. But just before I moved deeper into the process, several churches began actively and intensely seeking me as a lead/senior pastor. After much prayer and counsel, we decided that God was calling me back into local church ministry. Our calling led us to Mayfair Bible Church where I have served since that time. We are so deeply blessed, joyful, and fruitful in my current role.
- However, the desire to serve as a chaplain in the Air Force never left. In fact, over the past year the draw toward this ministry has grown stronger than ever. Now over the past year, everywhere I turn and during every morning run, I cannot escape a pull in my heart toward USAF ministry. My wife and I began seriously praying about it again and resolved upon the fact that God was calling us to step forward in faith.
- An Unshakable Awareness of the Need. In each church I’ve served, I’ve worked closely with veterans – they often become some of my close friends. Some suffered injuries in combat, some manage war-related disabilities. All of them drive home the need for humble, heart-focused, hard-working chaplains who meet men and women where they’re at. I believe discipleship happens through relationship. This, I believe is what chaplaincy is about – a presence among airmen, an involvement in their lives, a genuine care for their concerns, a visible reminder of the Holy – God, our Creator, who cares for us and loves us. Again, seeing the airmen and soldiers serving in the recent Afghanistan exit and the Ukraine-Russia war has flooded my mind with the reality of what they were facing and what they have to process. They need counsel, a listening ear, someone to weep with them, comfort them, and pray with them. The spiritual needs are vast. God has placed this weight on my soul for the men and women of the USAF.
- A Unique Background and Skill Set.
- My inter-denominational family: My family comes from a variety of backgrounds, which are most evident at our Thanksgiving dinner table. You see, both of my parents were raised devout Catholic, later becoming evangelical in their faith. My grandparents, much later in life, became ordained Episcopalian priests, one uncle is a United Methodist pastor, and the other uncle is Independent Baptist, with my immediate family being non-denominational conservative evangelical. Yet we all confess and love Christ. So, we’ll smile and say, “who is going to say the prayer for the Thanksgiving meal?” And we all sing the doxology together. Now this doesn’t mean we each do not have our personal convictions, our genuine sincere beliefs, some of which differ from each other. Yet I’ve learned conviction with compassion. This is the model of Christ. I see how this unique upbringing prepares me to be “a chaplain to all and a pastor to some” and also for the joy of compassionately working alongside chaplains from other faith traditions, while at the same time serving with my own conviction about the person and work of Jesus Christ.
- God has provided me with great teachers and mentors who’ve equipped me with skills to preach, teach, lead music, launch new programs, and more. My wife and I enjoy new changes, new places, new faces, and like launching new ways to love and help people. We see how the needs and pace of Air Force life fits within how we’re wired in the “sweet-spot” of our ministry. My wife and children are naturally congenial, musical, and make new friends easily. We carry the gift of hospitality everywhere we go.
- I’m also thankful for the good health and athletic passion God has placed within me. I love to run, hike, mountain bike, rock-climb, and even though I’m 39, I can still keep up with the 18-year-olds on the ice hockey rink. 🙂 I hope that my passion for athletics will allow me the opportunity to meet airmen where they are at during morning PT and other physically rigorous events.
I will count it a great honor and privilege to serve God and our nation together with the Air Force Chaplain Corps.
United States Air Force Demographics
The following Air Force/Space Force active duty demographics information is current as of 30 September 2022. These statistics are from the current inventory and does not include the Guard, Reserve or Air Force Academy (approx. 4,000 cadets).
Snapshot of the Air Force & Space Force
328,517 Active Duty
82,308 Reserve
Breakdown of Active-Duty Members:
263,576 Enlisted
64,941 Officers
There are 12,279 pilots, 3,313 navigators and 1,365 air battle managers in the grade of lieutenant colonel and below.
There are 26,806 nonrated line officers in the grade of lieutenant colonel and below.
Age 35 average age of the officer force
29 average age for enlisted force
37% are below the age of 26
43% of enlisted are below 26
14% of officers are below 26
FAQ
Adapted from https://leadwiththeleft.com/frequently-asked-questions-on-military-chaplaincy/
Are Chaplains’ rights being restricted?
“Usually when people ask this, they’re assuming that a chaplain can’t preach the tenets of his or her religion with freedom and/or has to conduct the religious services for other religions. This is not the case. I can preach the Bible in my service with no problems. I can lead a Bible study to teach what is consistent with my faith group. I can pray in Jesus’ name in any of these settings plus any settings where people are attending voluntarily. I just have to be tactful when I am speaking in front of an audience at mandatory-attendance events. Really, I personally just adhere to rules of good public speaking: do not betray the trust of the person that invited you to speak by speaking about something unexpected, consider your audience, and keep the Chaplain Corps mission of protecting EVERY Airman’s right to free practice of religion.
“Every Airman is free to practice the religion of their choice or subscribe to no religious belief at all. You should confidently practice your own beliefs while respecting others whose viewpoints differ from your own. Every Airman also has the right to individual expressions of sincerely held beliefs, to include conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs, unless those expressions would have an adverse impact on military readiness, unit cohesion, good order, discipline, health and safety, or mission accomplishment.”
– Air Force Instruction 1-1, 2.11
Do you have to do things you don’t believe in to be a chaplain?
As an Air Force chaplain, I exist in the military for one reason: to protect EVERY Airman’s constitutional right to freely exercise his or her religious beliefs. Chaplains are commissioned officers primarily to have the power and authority necessary to protect the rights of Airmen and their families. A little-known fact is that the Chapel program is actually the Commander’s responsibility. Chaplains are simply the subject matter experts that run the commander’s program. This ensures that the program gets done and is prioritized high enough to be done well. Chaplain care meets the needs of ALL Airmen on one of three levels:
1) Provide
I serve all Airmen in some capacity even if they are not from my faith group; I just serve them differently. I am a Protestant Christian. This means that I “provide” what the Protestant community needs. I can preach in chapel, teach a small group on Christian theology, provide confidential pastoral counseling, run a retreat, baptize new believers or anything pertaining to the Protestant Christian community.
2) Provide for
The second level is for those airmen with religious beliefs that differ from mine and may need some help from another kind of clergy. I will never be forced to do something I do not believe in or that conflict with my faith or endorsing body’s standards, but if someone in the community needs someone to do one of these things, it’s up to me to find someone (another chaplain or a civilian) who can do these things for them. I do not personally do anything for the Airman, but I find someone who can to support that person’s right to free practice.
“The Air Force Chaplain Corps provides spiritual care and ensures all Airmen and their families have opportunities to exercise their constitutional right to the free exercise of religion.”
-Air Force Policy Directive 52-1, 3.1
3) Facilitate
The third level is “facilitating.” Facilitating occurs when another clergy member is not necessary so I provide space and material. I would not personally participate in the service or ceremony, but I would make sure the Airmen have everything they need. One Christian chaplain I met gave me a good example of this when he was at a training base: he got a request from an Airman that practiced Wicca. The Airman was in field training during the summer solstice, which is a major Wiccan holiday. The Airman told the chaplain what they needed and what kind of space they needed for their ceremony, and the chaplain procured space and made sure they had the supplies they needed to practice their faith.
I can already hear the objection many of you have as I type: “You’re in the military! If a superior gave you an order to do something that would cause you to violate your faith, you would have to do it, right?!”
WRONG! Here is why: Every chaplain is an officer that is sworn to protect and defend the constitution of the United States, but that commission is contingent on our good standing with our endorser. Endorsers are essentially representatives of different faith traditions that are recognized by the Department of Defense. They tell the Chaplain Corps that a chaplain teaches what they believe and they approve of them. This means that if I start doing things that they don’t approve of, they can pull my endorsement and, suddenly, I am no longer a chaplain nor an officer. Because endorsers have that power, I can tell a superior officer that my endorser will not allow me to do that thing that would violate my faith, and then they can request a letter to verify that my endorser in fact does not approve.
“When you’re coming into your worship services, I need you to be authentic to who you came from. You need to preach and teach the word as you were raised to do, as your endorsers want you to do, as the community needs you to do. And do it in such a way that is loving and respectful… If you’re a Lutheran, be a Lutheran. If you’re Baptist, be Baptist. If you’re Roman Catholic–if the Pope walked in, he better say, ‘That’s exactly who I wanted.’ …We need to be authentic for our folks so they can practice their faith and grow and be strong on this military journey.”
– Chaplain (Brigadier General) Ronald M. Harvell, Air Force Deputy Chief of Chaplains, Basic Chaplain Course Graduation, 25 June 2019
Sources/Further Reading:
Recruiting sites: Air Force | Army | Navy
Air Force Policy Directive 52-1 – Chaplain Corps
Air Force Instruction 1-1, 2.11 – Free Exercise of Religion and Religious Accommodation, 2.12 – Balance of Free Exercise of Religion and Establishment Clause
Air Force Instruction 36-2706 – Equal Opportunity Program, Military and Civilian
The Chaplain Kit – military chaplaincy history
