Navy Commander “heeds God’s call”

An interesting article chronicles Navy Commander Rich McDaniel and his family while he is deployed.  Some interesting quotes:

On their family’s role in the Navy:

Together and yet so often apart, the McDaniels believe their family unit has been called to a peculiar mission in life — as missionaries to the Navy community, serving God and country in peacetime and war.

On finding a church as a military member–and balancing the God and family priorities:

In some churches…the focus tends to be on “How can you serve others and how can you serve in the church?” While he endorses that…it can be heartbreaking to know he has only a few days with his wife after one to three months at sea and she feels duty-bound to stay in the nursery during Sunday morning worship because it’s her usual ministry at the church…People don’t understand why it’s so important for her to be [with] her husband [when he] happens to be home with little to no notice.

The New Year & Challenges Ahead

Happy New Year from ChristianFighterPilot.com. 

Each year is a unique challenge to a military Christian.  Deployment schedules vary, family situations change, new faith challenges arise, and the rules on religious practice and expression in the military change.  ChristianFighterPilot.com has attempted to remain a viable and valuable resource for information as varied as “how to become a fighter pilot” and “military Christians and ‘church/state separation.'”  Many people have contacted CFP; some were like-minded active duty military, some were ROTC cadets wanting to know how to secure a pilot’s slot, and some were high school students wanting to understand the relationship between Christ and the military profession.  Chaplains, Army soldiers in Iraq, and even atheists and opponents to religion in the military have corresponded with and commented on the site.  Though small, the presence and ministry of ChristianFighterPilot.com is being felt.

As always, ChristianFighterPilot.com seeks to improve and expand.  If you would like to contribute content or commentary, or if you have suggestions for the site or ministry, please feel free to contact CFP, either through the form or email.  If you know of others who may be interested in the newsletter, site, or topics, please let them know about the website or forward the newsletter to them.

Each new year brings the traditional resolutions and, regrettably, a new wave of controversies.  Weinstein’s lawsuit Read more

Revisited: Military Christian Priorities

ChristianFighterPilot.com has published an ongoing series of articles on the priorities of military Christians.  As stated in the first article, the most-often cited Christian priorities are God, family, and career.  The God priority was addressed in the October article.

Since the November article on the importance of family, there have been two interesting and related news events.  In one case, the Air Force Leadership published the recent Airman’s Roll Call and highlighted the importance of family:

It’s [our families’] support that helps us perform our vital Air Force mission, and for this very reason, we must make the most of the time we have with them.

Historically, the Air Force has been the most “family friendly” of the services.  It has repeatedly shown that it recognizes the importance of the Air Force member’s family to the accomplishment of the mission.  As noted in the article on the family priority, there is a spiritual reason for holding the family so dear.  As the Air Force notes, however, valuing our families is also a virtual military necessity.

The second item of interest was the announcement of this year’s Heisman winner.  Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was effusive in his thanks to God for his success, and the article notes that

Football rates a mere fourth on his list of priorities behind God, family and academics.

The young college sophomore displayed an unusual degree of maturity and understanding of life’s bigger purposes.  Much as Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Tony Dungy related in his book, Tebow realized that football wasn’t everything, and that his life needed to reflect what was truly important:

[Football is] a game that I love and you’ve got to remember that He gave me the ability and the opportunity to play and it can be gone at any moment…[In] football, in school, in living, I want people to…say, “Hey, there’s something different about this guy, and that’s because he has a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

The pastor at his Florida church noted Tebow’s “postgame interviews and the ongoing Christian witness that’s quickly becoming his trademark.”

There is a special place in the imagination of the American public for football players–especially quarterbacks.  The same is true for members of the military–especially fighter pilots.  Just as their positions give football players unique platforms for Christ, so, too, do those of military Christians.  Military Christians could probably learn a lesson from the life choices and boldness of the young college sophomore.

“Military Religious Freedom,” continued

As noted in a prior post, Michael Weinstein and his Military Religious Freedom Foundation intend to expand their recent lawsuit against the military, intending to impact religion in the military as a whole.  The MRFF’s lawsuit against the Air Force Academy was thrown out in 2006.  Like the Academy suit, the recent lawsuit is based on an individual event, but Weinstein intends to similarly use it to (in his words) Read more

Christmas Prayers for Troops

The Christian Post notes that Christians across the country will unite in 2 days of prayer for American servicemen this weekend, as part of the larger “Pray for America,” which “recognizes the need to pray for the U.S. military and America:”

Pray for our soldiers and sailors now serving throughout the world and for the recovery of those wounded in battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pray for an awareness of Christ in the lives of our military.

Pray for our military families dealing with the separation of their loved ones and for those whose loved ones have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

President’s Christmas Message, 2007

The President’s annual Christmas message can be viewed on the White House site.

During the Christmas season, our thoughts turn to the source of joy and hope born in a humble manger on a holy night more than 2,000 years ago. Each year, Christians everywhere celebrate this single life that changed the world and continues to change hearts today.

We also remember our brave men and women in uniform who have volunteered to defend us in distant lands. Many of those who have answered the call of duty will spend Christmas far from home and separated from family. We honor their sacrifice, ask God to watch over them and their families, and pray for their safe return.

As the President demonstrates, it is not improper for an official in a position of authority to acknowledge the unique tenets of a religious faith observance.  For those who are curious, the President also issued messages earlier on Hanukkah, Eid al-Adha, and even the non-religious Kwanzaa.  It is worth noting that each message was announced separately to honor the individual event on the occasion of its occurrence.  The President respected each celebration individually, and did not issue a combined “holiday” message that would have diminished the significance of the special occasions.

The Air Force Family

The necessary priority of a military Christian’s family was the focus of a recent post.  The (official) importance of family in the Air Force is shared in this week’s Airman’s Roll Call.

Make the most of this time with your loved ones – Meeting the needs of today’s Air Force means many of us have to spend time away from our friends and family. It’s their support that helps us perform our vital Air Force mission, and for this very reason, we must make the most of the time we have with them. Set aside time for your spouse, children, significant others and yourself.

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