Chaplain (Col) Ray Fairman

Charisma

In II Kings 2:1-15 we can learn from Elijah and Elisha, who were both good leaders, that the exercising of good leadership will attract the loyalty of both other good leaders and a higher quality of followers.

My experience over the years has taught me that the kind of people you attract is much more likely to be dependent on what type of a person you are than on what you have already accomplished or want to accomplish in the future. I find that people tend to draw closer to people who are a lot like themselves. If you are an, "I am the most important part of this team," type of leader, then imagine what it will be like leading a band of folks who feel the same way about themselves. However, if you are willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others, think of how much you will be able accomplish with followers who are willing to give their all to insure the success of your vision.

I have chosen to refer to this as the Principle of Charisma and it is present to some extent in all leaders, both good and bad. Every person is born with an instinctive need for affection, recognition and a sense of belonging. Observing a persons hunger to find something or someone to follow most easily evidences this need. This generally results in even the weakest leader, one who has even the smallest desire to lead, finding themselves with some modicum of followers. Why does this occur? That natural desire we humans are instilled with to gather will always result in some folks following and some folks leading, whether qualified or not. This is something that every leader needs to remember, because every leader whether good or bad is also following someone or something.

That's Spiritual Weapons And Tactic's TeamThis site is dedicated to promoting, developing and encouraging the kind of leadership God ordained and intended for use in both the Military and Law Enforcement professions. Those are the primary fields of missionary service upon which I simultaneously dedicated my last 40 + years. I spent those years actually working in those jobs and being impacted by what I observed and participated in directly as a Marine and a LEO, and not, as some of you may be thinking as some kind of a "by-standing Chaplain". Not until I had finished my overlapping careers as a US Marine and a Deputy Sheriff and Police Officer and retired from both, did I see that God was calling me into service as a Police Chaplain with a secondary role of working with all first responders and especially those who respond to natural and man caused disasters. This I found out includes our military responders as well.

"Surviving in a world gone bonkers."

"Leadership is a responsibility that every law enforcement officer must understand and accept. It is essential if our society expects to provide nourishment to liberty and freedom. Leadership requires that Integrity, Courage, Determination, Loyalty, Knowledge and Experience be combined in a person in order to transform them into a real leader. If properly guided, their leadership then becomes the seed of national honor; and that my friend and brother..., that is something we desperately need more of in our churches and in our nation today."

                                                                                                          Officer Ray Fairman APD... "1973"
 

So, here I go into a probably useless and definitely unnecessary battle again. I get calls every now and then from someone that wants to tell me that what ever term I am using to refer to our "members" as has subsequently, and usually long after we began our existence,  been purchased by them and we can't use the term anymore without paying them a fee. If there is a First Baptist Church in your town and in their town I think these folks would like their attorney to contact your attorney and discuss the renaming of one of them.

Sorry folks, but when someone calls me and tells me to stop using the term Christian because they hold the copyright on that term it will only mean to me that the Anti-Christ now has a lawyer. Our ever expanding number of brothers and sisters who have been encouraged by God's movement among our ranks, has been around only a split-second of eternity but that split-second started about the summer of 1987. Our "fellowship" continues to grow without ever meeting formally. We don't have conventions or sell things. We don't solicit donations and except for the spiritual accountability or Bible study we might start to do in our own local small groups (Some with names and affiliations and some with out) all we try to do is share our God given gifts and experiences and hold each other Biblically accountable in our daily activities and that's it. The work I and other Chaplains do for Our Lord and Savior is judged by Him and not by mortals, and He and only He keeps track of His loyal membership.

Therefore, I would like reiterate that this ministry is not a formal congregational operation. We are a loose knit body of Christians linked solely by our foreign and domestic uniformed service against evil as well as by our faith in the body and blood of  Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We believe in expressing our Honor, our Valor and Faith in Our God, Our Country and Our Respective agency or branch of service. Therefore I want to rededicate this site to the development of such qualities as are deemed beneficial to the growth of honest and responsible leadership.

For more history keep reading. 

In Exodus 3:1-4:13 Moses will teach us that a leader has to give up, in order to grow up and go up.  There seems to be a lot of ups in that sentence, but that is because that is the way most people who desire to climb the ladder of success eventually come to realize they have to go. They also become conscious of the fact that the climb is expectedly difficult and fraught with pitfalls. Even in the beginning it is a foreign and understandably false concept to them that the power and perceived freedom they will achieve as a leader can come without forfeiting anything. Leaders journeying toward the top frequently encounter obstacles to that faux philosophy. Sometimes they may have to take pay cuts, give up certain rights, or even decline good assignments in favor of doing what is best for the organization. Talk to any successful leader and I guarantee you that he or she will tell you that they made many sacrifices along the way. Leaders will sacrifice much for the betterment of all or Mr. Spock puts it, "The needs of the many (truly) out weigh the needs of the few." Since leadership is an on-going process, so will be the need to sacrifice. Circumstances may change but principles don't, so let's get back to Moses again.

This time we are appropriately calling this principle of his, the "Principle of Sacrifice". All honest leaders will agree on one thing, that leadership means sacrifice. If you want to be a real leader you must ask yourselves two critical questions, especially if you claim to be Christians, and those are, what price are you willing to pay to become an effective leader and to whom are you willing to make that payment? Will it be to God or the world? Let's take a good look at Moses' life, as he is a fair example of one who sacrificed often for the work of God.

Moses gave up the power and prestige of the world he lived in and he truly had a lot to give up in the eyes of the world at that time. As the adopted son of Pharaoh, Moses sacrificed the exact things that many people today tend to esteem at the highest levels and in actuality some folks even seem to worship. Yes, you could say that Moses sacrificed the whole world for the leadership position God had destined for him, lets see if we can find out why.

In Acts 9:27 we are introduced to a man called Barnabas. This man was a leader who was secure enough in his own capabilities and in his relationship with the Lord, to empower others to act in his name.

It is a well-documented fact that insecure leaders, or micro-managers as we tend to call them today, will generally hoard their own power at all costs, eventually leading to their own demise. More secure leaders on the other hand will often accomplish more and greater things, by consciously empowering others under their command or influence to act on their behalf. They do this by the delegation of their authority to their followers proportionally as determined by their subordinates' acceptance of responsibility. By utilizing this principle, they can lighten their own burden while allowing their subordinates to gain valuable training, insight and experience.

I suppose you could call this contribution, the "Principle of Delegation", which not only empowers subordinates but also conveys to them that their leaders confidence in them and concern for the success of their joint mission transcends his or her own need for recognition and glory. This is a positive signal that shows subordinates that the leader is concerned more about a legacy of leadership being passed along through those he or she influences than they are with any accolades they might ultimately receive.

If you are interested in this concept keep reading. 

Pink lights, you gotta be kiddin me! Hey guys I’m not kidding. I have spent nearly my entire adult life driving with different color lights on the roof of my squad but never pink lights. When I started in the law enforcement profession, all our “bubblegum machines” were red. As the years progressed the bubblegum machines left the roof and became red and blue “twins” or lightbars. The next transition was all blue lights and lights either hidden in the grill, on the dash or low profile roof lights, but never “pink” lights.

There was, however, a time a couple of decades ago when the Pennsylvania State Police did run an “unofficial test with pink lights…” or so it seemed to some of us. I was working in Maryland at the time and traveling up through Pennsylvania on I-81 a great deal to visit my in-laws in northeast PA. The PA Troopers were just getting new roof lights that housed the newest and brightest “halogen strobe lights”. These truly bright lights when encased in the typical red plastic dome were so bright that when they were illuminated, they seemed to be “Hot pink”. I can’t remember how long that “test” lasted, but I am sure it did not last that long.

To find out where I seem to be heading as I run down my "rabbit trail" keep reading.