Character

Who you are is more important than what you do or say, especially as a police chaplain. IOW, character matters! Your quality as a person is more important to your ministry than your professional training, your counseling skills, your likeable personality, or your vast experience.  

This is true for all kinds of reasons. Cops don’t listen to people they don’t respect. (Few people do!) You can’t give others what you don’t possess yourself—integrity, kindness, humility, patience, resilience. Chaplains by definition represent God, and their presence should remind officers of His presence. Godly character is the first condition of Christian leadership.  

So take a few moments to examine yourself. Ask yourself some hard questions. Better yet, ask a friend—or your spouse!—to give you their honest feedback. 

Here are a few options to get you started:

·        Am I the same person in private as in public? At home and on the job? Alone and with others?

·        Do my finances, my sexuality, and my speech reflect self control and love for others?  

·        What area of my personal life needs the most attention? 

·        Would most people benefit from following my example? 

·        Am I still growing? If not, why not? 

The hardest part about chaplaincy is not saying something. The hardest part is being worthy to be heard.

By Chaplain Josh Waltz, Parker Police Department