When my brother was in High School he used to joke that he would study theology and then go serve in the (then compulsory) 2 years of army in South Africa. His reasoning was that he would then be able to be a "Chaplain Chaplin". I know he was only kidding, but actually I had an interesting thing happen to me that reminded me of it when I was serving at the YWAM Together in Thailand in 2018...
I was working at the Information Desk and minding my own business when I was approached by some people who said: "Someone told us there was a Chaplain who was working at the desk". It turns out they were Chaplains who worked in hospitals and prisons and they were asking around among the 4000 attendees to find out if there were more of them around and someone kind of misunderstood and said, "There is a 'Chaplin' working at the info desk"... so we laughed and then they asked me, "Do you want to know the origins of your surname?". Always one to get useless information, because why not, I of course said "yes!". It turns out it wasn't so useless at all. Instead, I think it was a Godly encounter...
Now, to give you the background. I was always scared to be a leader. I didn't think I had what it took, even when other people saw that I had potential. My leader in YWAM Central Europe invited me to be a part of an "emerging leader's track" at the Global Leadership Gathering in 2012 in England. It was a great time with 300 leaders from around the globe, and there were 30 or so of us in our "track" who met up with Darlene Cunningham (co-founder of YWAM) every afternoon. I was continuously feeling like I shouldn't have been there and that it was a mistake that I had been invited.
One day, during worship, I don't even remember the song, but it was amazing worship, being led by Graham Kendrick, so you can imagine... I just remember feeling this overwhelming presence of the Lord and during that time saw a picture of a mantle/cloak being placed on my shoulders. I felt like this mantle was something the Lord was challenging me to take up in the future and that He was showing me that it wasn't a mistake that I was there and He was grooming me for leadership in YWAM in the future. It was a powerful moment as I accepted the mantle, little knowing what it all meant and where it would lead.
It was another 3 years before I was asked if I could pray about coming on the leadership of the Area team for Central Europe. And when I was praying, the Lord reminded me of that cloak and that He had been preparing me for this time. So, I accepted the invitation, little knowing that in less than a year the main leadership for the whole Area would be handed over to me as the previous leader transitioned out.
Fast forward to Thailand two years after that. I was feeling burned out. I was feeling that I wasn't where I should be with my leadership. It was hard. I was tired. And then these people shared the simple story of my name...the name I was born with:
Back in Roman times, there was a young Roman soldier who saw a beggar lying by the side of the road freezing cold. He took his Roman Army cloak and cut off the bottom half of it and gave it to the beggar to cover up with, leaving the top half for himself. That night he had a vision of Jesus who told him "as you clothed that beggar, you clothed me".
After his death, he was sainted as St Martin and his half "cloak" was carried into battle, and the tent that his cape or "cappella" was housed in also became known as a "cappella" or later on "chapel". And the people who carried the cloak were "cappellano" or "chaplains". The chaplains were the ones that carried the cloak seen as a symbol of bringing the presense of God into battle with them.
Do you see it? The mantle that God showed me? And the cloak of a Chaplain? There are no words that can describe what it felt like in that moment when I realised that the name I was born with and the picture of the cloak/mantle/cape were two images that came together without me even realising it!! God used my name in the image that He gave me back in 2012!
I also realised then that my role in leadership is to bring God into every situation I encounter. As I write this, it is also a good reminder that I am a "Chaplain" and not just a "Chaplin". It is no mistake that I am who I am and do what I do in, even if sometimes I get tired and discouraged about it. I just need to remind myself that it is the mantle of His presence that I carry on my shoulders as I go about being a Chaplain Chaplin!
I was working at the Information Desk and minding my own business when I was approached by some people who said: "Someone told us there was a Chaplain who was working at the desk". It turns out they were Chaplains who worked in hospitals and prisons and they were asking around among the 4000 attendees to find out if there were more of them around and someone kind of misunderstood and said, "There is a 'Chaplin' working at the info desk"... so we laughed and then they asked me, "Do you want to know the origins of your surname?". Always one to get useless information, because why not, I of course said "yes!". It turns out it wasn't so useless at all. Instead, I think it was a Godly encounter...
Now, to give you the background. I was always scared to be a leader. I didn't think I had what it took, even when other people saw that I had potential. My leader in YWAM Central Europe invited me to be a part of an "emerging leader's track" at the Global Leadership Gathering in 2012 in England. It was a great time with 300 leaders from around the globe, and there were 30 or so of us in our "track" who met up with Darlene Cunningham (co-founder of YWAM) every afternoon. I was continuously feeling like I shouldn't have been there and that it was a mistake that I had been invited.
One day, during worship, I don't even remember the song, but it was amazing worship, being led by Graham Kendrick, so you can imagine... I just remember feeling this overwhelming presence of the Lord and during that time saw a picture of a mantle/cloak being placed on my shoulders. I felt like this mantle was something the Lord was challenging me to take up in the future and that He was showing me that it wasn't a mistake that I was there and He was grooming me for leadership in YWAM in the future. It was a powerful moment as I accepted the mantle, little knowing what it all meant and where it would lead.
It was another 3 years before I was asked if I could pray about coming on the leadership of the Area team for Central Europe. And when I was praying, the Lord reminded me of that cloak and that He had been preparing me for this time. So, I accepted the invitation, little knowing that in less than a year the main leadership for the whole Area would be handed over to me as the previous leader transitioned out.
Fast forward to Thailand two years after that. I was feeling burned out. I was feeling that I wasn't where I should be with my leadership. It was hard. I was tired. And then these people shared the simple story of my name...the name I was born with:
Back in Roman times, there was a young Roman soldier who saw a beggar lying by the side of the road freezing cold. He took his Roman Army cloak and cut off the bottom half of it and gave it to the beggar to cover up with, leaving the top half for himself. That night he had a vision of Jesus who told him "as you clothed that beggar, you clothed me".
After his death, he was sainted as St Martin and his half "cloak" was carried into battle, and the tent that his cape or "cappella" was housed in also became known as a "cappella" or later on "chapel". And the people who carried the cloak were "cappellano" or "chaplains". The chaplains were the ones that carried the cloak seen as a symbol of bringing the presense of God into battle with them.
Do you see it? The mantle that God showed me? And the cloak of a Chaplain? There are no words that can describe what it felt like in that moment when I realised that the name I was born with and the picture of the cloak/mantle/cape were two images that came together without me even realising it!! God used my name in the image that He gave me back in 2012!
I also realised then that my role in leadership is to bring God into every situation I encounter. As I write this, it is also a good reminder that I am a "Chaplain" and not just a "Chaplin". It is no mistake that I am who I am and do what I do in, even if sometimes I get tired and discouraged about it. I just need to remind myself that it is the mantle of His presence that I carry on my shoulders as I go about being a Chaplain Chaplin!
