[The Reaper]

Infiltration

Whether in ministry or in Special Operations, just because you are somewhere, doesn't mean that you are "in." As a chaplain, I will never be "in" with the regular operators, nor is that my goal. One of the most foolish desires a chaplain, or any leader for that matter, can make is trying to be "one of the guys." Leaders are not just one of the guys. They are leaders. Don't compromise who you are or what you set out to do. Your job is to lead. But I do want access to their lives.

Peer pressure isn't just for teenagers. I wish I could have left that back with my acne, but it follows you. Through the course of my training, my insecurity grew as I foolishly compared myself with others (remember running with horses half my age?). My heart continuously questioned if I was measuring up.

The other men had much more tactical knowledge than me. During the training, I wasn't treated as a chaplain but as a future Operational Detachment Team Leader. But with my limited experience tactically, I wasn't as proficient in the exercises as the others. I questioned if I could really contribute to my team.

This quandary was answered during "Robin Sage." Robin Sage is an extensive training exercise, the culmination of training before graduating the Q course. I was walking with another team leader when he told me that he was hoping that we would be on the same team.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing! He was a West Point graduate, a Ranger, a veteran of Afghanistan, airborne and scuba qualified, and as far as I was concerned a poster child for the Army. Why would he be glad that I was on his team? He explained that he had tremendous respect for me because he observed my work ethic, positive attitude, pure motives, and character.

Sometimes culture change occurs by infiltrating one life at a time.

Organization

The previous phases focus on intentionality of effort. Organization focuses on intentionality of people. Unconventional Warfare can only be successful if the right indigenous people are in the right roles. Without the indigenous people, the mission fails. Green Berets are the masters of finding the right people, training them, and setting them up for success. They connect the right people with the right people.

Over the past few years, God has been teaching me that I am not to be a one-man show. The Q course taught me the foolishness of this paradigm. No matter how dedicated I am, I cannot be always available to everyone for every need. I have tried. I have failed. Moses tried. Moses failed. Jethro's advice still stands: find others who are capable and work together. God has enabled me to meet and work alongside tremendous co-workers such as my fellow chaplains, pastors, local churches, the Navigators, and Cadence. They love Christ and seek out fellow and future worshipers.

A leader must connect the right people to the right people in order to change a culture.

Build up

People need resources. The preacher equips the people to do the work of ministry. The CEO acquires the necessary office supplies and the right technology. The Green Beret has to get the beans, the bandages, and the bullets into the hands of the indigenous allies.

The North Carolina heat was punishing. A good friend of mine and I were just trying to keep cool and find some shade when he began asking me spiritual questions. Beautiful story cut short, he came to Christ right then and there in the woods. The next few weeks were marked by hour after hour of Q & A's. He wanted to know everything he could about his new Savior and his Word.

I had connected him with the Right Person, but it was time to begin resourcing and building him up for his own assignment from God. Before long, he would be a team leader serving in hidden places around the globe.

He would soon have the opportunity to change culture where I could not go. My job was to equip him as best I could.

Employment

A common phrase in SF is to work "by, with, and through" allies and indigenous people. The people, not the leader, accomplish the work.

As I write this, I sit in Afghanistan. There are 22 separate Bible studies that are conducted weekly in my small compound. Do you know how many are chaplain led? Zero. Praise God! My co-laborers are passionate followers of Christ and extremely hard working men. God has built up many men who are now leading their own outreaches and studies. My job as a chaplain is to resource, train, enable, and encourage this momentum, so the work is done "by, with, and through" others. The spotlight was never mine anyway.

When the people are willingly employed, you know that the culture has started to change.

Transition

Ideas and ideals outlive the leader. When the culture has changed, the leader's mission is accomplished. The people now own the mission. It is theirs. Handing off the responsibilities to others is the seventh and final phase of culture change. The leader then must reboot, reconsider, and re-engage the next culture that needs to be changed.

Knowing that transition is coming can provide impetus for the task. This is one of the things SF has taught me. The military makes transition a regular part of life. Leadership has to be handed off, usually sooner rather than later. This makes for a "get it done now" atmosphere.

My time with the men in Q course came to an end, and I was able to put my chaplain's cross on my newly awarded Green Beret. Then we were all sent to various assignments. At each assignment, I begin again the task of changing culture, building an atmosphere where people thrive, and God is honored. Yes, ministry is indeed an unconventional warfare.

Captain Tim Crawley is a chaplain currently serving in Afghanistan.