Eager Apollos

I was invited to do the invocation and benediction for a the commissioning ceremony of the graduating seniors. A student had already asked me to do his oath of office so figuring I would be there anyway, I accepted.

This is a huge moment in the lives of these, now, officers. They have labored for at least four years, have completed their schooling, jumped through hoops with ROTC and have now attained the gold bar for which they have worked so hard.

The ceremony has a few special moments for each new officers. First is the oath of office. This is performed by another officer. I conducted one of the ten commissionees oath of office just like I did Patt’s last year. Then comes the pinning on of the rank. Having just sworn the oath, the new officer gets to where the rank of an officer. The parents of the soldier or their best friend or a significant other pins on the new rank.

After the rank is pinned on a Noncommissioned officer (NCO) renders the new Officer’s first salute.

After the first salute the new officer has a few minutes to address the crowd. Most of them thanked the cadre, their family and each other for their support. A few thanked God and one overtly thanked Christ. Most of the graduates were believers.

The invocation and benediction went well. It was my pleasure to serve the battalion in this way. I wish the new graduates well in their new careers.

Sometimes, ministry is the bane of my existence. Paper work, rigorous study, detailed planning; these aren’t the things that one signs on for when getting into ministry. They are good and necessary activities, vital to the work, but are still activities that grades on a person over time. But in the midst of the mundane, the one activity that never gets old and is always a breath of fresh air is the one-on-one meeting.

For the first quarter I was still getting to know students. The students were still getting used to me. The cadets were unsure of who I was and I didn’t have many contacts out side of the ROTC program. Now that I have been here a while, people recognize me and I am able to see if they are interested in meeting one-on-one.

The conversations are as unique as the students. Sometimes, students just want to vent their frustration with being overwhelmed with life. Occasionally, students are looking to shed light on deep theological mysteries and sometimes we just hang out and shoot the breeze.

This is the work of discipleship. Helping students move one more step in the right direction. Continuing to water the planet that God is growing.

In a new chapter in Pat’s life, he has taken the oath of office as a Second Lieutenant in the Army of the United States. He isn’t sure how the Army is going utilize his services, but will find out if he got his first choice of jobs in the Army.

Pat and I have have known each other since high school. We were both active in J.R.O.T.C. and he eventually followed me to CWU. Pat wanted to join the R.O.T.C. program at Central but was unable. It wasn’t until Pat was almost done with his degree that the Wild Cat Battalion accepted him and his willingness to serve his country. He stayed at Central for an additional two years getting his minor in history and military science in order to complete the R.O.T.C. program.

He was suppose to go to his month of evaluation and training (also known as Warrior Forge) last summer but was injured and had to postpone until this summer. He has completed his training and only has to wait for his orders. Pat, in all likelihood, will beat me into the active duty Army. Pat has taken the long and hard road into the Army and his journey has only begun. He deserves to be commended and I hope that those he leads appreciate the path he has taken to get to his position.

When Pat came to CWU, I invited him to go to Campus Ambassadors. He showed a little interest but it was a few months before he joined us. He eventually started coming regularly and we started meeting one-on-one. You would have to ask him how beneficial that our time was. Eventually, I graduated and moved on to Mars Hill Graduate School, but Pat kept meeting with Matt. A few years later Pat was baptized at Calvary Baptist Church, which I was fortunate enough to attend.

About a week ago Pat called me and invited me to come down to Ft. Lewis to give him his oath so, of course, I couldn’t turn him down. I am glad I could do this for Pat and I feel honored that he asked me to do it.