Chaplains Face Adversity Too!

Chaplain Michael Washington's story counters the notion that chaplains are exempt from life's trials, emphasizing the importance of their honesty in facing challenges.

This episode unveils his journey through military service, battling COVID-19, and lymphoma, showcasing the significance of vulnerability and authenticity in a chaplain's role.

Our conversation highlights how honesty in sharing personal struggles, unloading emotional burdens, and seeking mentorship can be transformative within the military and universally. These insights extend to anyone seeking resilience and gratitude in adversity.

Concluding the episode, we reflect on the impact of simple daily tasks and connections, and the wisdom from mentors like Chaplain Washington, underscoring the strength of living an open, honest, and unarmored life.

Guest Links:
Hargrave Military Academy - https://hargrave.edu/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-washington-18a84021a/

Transcript

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Unarmor Talk With Chaplain Michael Washington

Mario P. Fields 0:00

Welcome back to unarmor talk podcast . Thank you so much for listening and watching each episode and continue pleased to share with your friends and family members and colleagues , and don't forget to leave a rating or review if you feel this is a awesome show . And you can connect to all of my social media on the parade deck Just look in a show notes or you can put in the search engine Mario P Fields parade deck and get all access To my social media . Well , let's get ready to interview another guest who is willing to remove their armor to help other people Everybody .

Mario P. Fields 0:38

It is 2024 and what you guys don't know is we actually just did a whole session and did not record it . So Unarmor talk podcast first episode to kick off the year and I have an amazing guest who came on the show to remove his armor to help other People . Gained a better understanding that we are all emotional beings , man , but to think is a choice . Welcome to unarmor talk podcast , first episode of 2024 . We have chaplain Michael Washington Hardware military Academy and he's also a veteran in a couple of branches of service .

Chaplain Michael Washington 1:16

Microphone over to you , chaplain glad to be here , so I'm a appreciate so very much . It is . It is a pleasure . Welcome to 2024 . I'm very glad to be here . Thank you for the invitation .

Mario P. Fields 1:28

Thank you very much , thank you . Thank you , I'm honored man to host you . Before we get into our amazing guest today , a couple of things real fast . Last year , thank you , unarmor talk fans and that's audio video . Everyone we raised . We generated almost 800 over $800 just shy of a thousand dollars that we donated to still serving incorporated . And if you get on a website , we actually paid for their skill based event that was held December 4th of 2023 at Hilton Greenville . So there's a nice video on the landing page . Hey , you guys are helping us break that poverty cycle through positive skill development . Keep sharing the episodes , keep watching and please help me to continue to make a difference while I'm living on this earth , and you can join me in that effort to do so . We're done with the admin . Please chaplain . Can you tell the listeners of viewers that's a little bit about yourself .

Chaplain Michael Washington 2:23

Good thing . Um , I that's somebody said I am a veteran Served eight years in Marine Corps . I literally got out of Marine Corps , was out for 15 years and then Went back into the military , went to the army , stayed in the army for four years and I retired . I was mentally retired in 2016 , went back to college and I ended up landing in Chatham , virginia , now to serve as the chaplain at Harbrain military Academy . Cannot see myself any other place Then then here absolutely Love , love , love what I , what I get to do every day .

Mario P. Fields 3:07

And everybody . I had a chance to see that firsthand last year and I'm telling you guys , you know I got a permanent chance . You can't see me blushing , I'm blushing with my eyes , but it was just amazing to see a chaplain in his passion not a job and , more importantly , watching the relationship and interaction with those young students up there , those , those Amazing professionals , those males that's in that school about to do amazing things . But let's talk about that chaplain . From my basic Understanding , you land this job , you accept the job offer . Super excited then .

Chaplain Michael Washington 3:48

Everything goes crazy . So so I got , I got . I got my job in in 2020 and and Chattom Virginia is about two hours from North Carolina , from Fayetteville , north Carolina , where I was actually stationed at when I retired . So when I got the job , I was , I was hired as a . I was hired as an attack officer which is a military component .

Chaplain Michael Washington 4:12

But , I was hired in October of 2020 . I Was literally driving two hours back and forth . I would stay on campus two or three nights a week or whatever . Well , in November of 2020 I got diagnosed with COVID . Like everybody else . I got diagnosed with COVID but because I'm from Texas , we do everything big in Texas so I got the big version and I'm going back and forth to the hospital , to one Mac army medical center . I'm going back and forth there . I'm trying to try and manage , trying to drive back to work or what have you .

Chaplain Michael Washington 4:43

They're taking x-rays because at the time there wasn't anything that they really knew to do about COVID . I think they gave me some ibuprofen or something . You know some night will go home coughing a good stuff ahead fever , so you can rest medicine . But anyway I got . I got over the COVID and I was able to go back to work . And a few weeks later I got a phone call from the doctors and they were like hey , one of the One of the x-rays that we took Didn't come out . You know , we see something on there we don't like , so we want you to come back in . They did a biopsy . The biopsy came back . I had small cell lymphoma in my right lung and they were like we've caught this thing extremely early . We'd like to , you know , run you through six months of chemo and and let's just tackle it early Me in my , in my arrogance , see all I could think of like , oh look , I won't lose my hair . But you .

Mario P. Fields 5:42

You have a friend of your network that can walk you through that chocolate you got there .

Chaplain Michael Washington 5:47

So I you know , I did chemo and and I kept it a secret I didn't tell anybody because I was .

Chaplain Michael Washington 5:54

I Knew that , I knew I had things in order you know , so if I would have , if the Lord would have taken me here , I would have . I was embarrassed , so anyway , but I made it through chemo and when I called the commandant Six months I've been cleared I called the commandant . I was like , sir , I'm cleared , I'm ready to come back to work . He says man , it's great . He says , but I don't have a position for you . He says , but I just found out that our chaplain is resigning . And he says and I think that you'd be perfect for the job . I Took that position and I started in August of that year , of 2021 , and I never looked back , like there's nothing else that I would ever want to do . And so now I get the privilege and honor serving over 170 cadets , 50 faculty and staff , meeting them where they are For their emotional , spiritual and just relational needs . So that's what . That's why I'm at now , man , I'm loving it .

Mario P. Fields 7:02

Oh , I , oh , trust , I know , I , I . I hope other folks can get a chance to experience what I experienced with you in person . And , and the one thing I noticed up there , you're an open book chap . Oh yeah , and I believe that didn't just happen . So talk to me about being that , ella . You know , being that chaplain , potentially , people have put you in this elevated position and now being this open book in that role , so , so .

Chaplain Michael Washington 7:34

So one of the things that I learned Early . I've been , I've been in ministry for 23 years . As long as I've been married , I've been in ministry , and in ministry , as in almost any leadership position , you have those individuals that will have a tendency to look at you from the perspective of you having everything together . Their perception versus your reality could be as far as 90 is from day . So they look at you because of whatever position or whatever title or whatever statue you have and they make these presumptions about you as a chaplain . Of course , in ministry people have a tendency to say okay , because you're always speaking positive words , you always got a smile on your face . Surely you've got everything together . But that wasn't the case .

Chaplain Michael Washington 8:26

The true case , the reality versus the perception was I had a ton of problems that I was dealing with . I had problems that were unresolved , problems that were untalked about , problems that were undelted with , and I was carrying them around invisibly , almost like in the Marine Corps . When I was in the Marine Corps we had this thing called the Alice Pack big , huge , huge backpack . So if you can imagine me having on this invisible backpack , and as men , what we do is we put our problems that we're embarrassed about . We put our issues that we're ashamed to talk about , we put our shortcomings that we won't discuss . We put them in our pack . We put them in our Alice Pack , our invisible outfit , and we walk around with them and they don't go away , they don't get resolved , they just pile up . They pile up over and over and we just take problems and we put them and you look at it from the front , we got a smile on our face . But if you could see us in reality , we're walking around with tons of unresolved problems . And so , for me , at some point in time , by God's grace and I don't know exactly when it happened , but for some reason I decided to not only take my pack off , my pack of problems , because people tell you to leave your problems behind , no , I took my pack off and I unpacked it .

Chaplain Michael Washington 10:00

I began dealing with all this unresolved . I pulled in my oh , there's a bankruptcy in there . I pulled in there . Oh , there's a child out of wedlock . I pulled in there . Oh , there's financial problems , oh , there's emotional problems , social . Well , I pulled all that stuff out and began to share it , to become vulnerable and humble , but in doing that it was empowering , both to me and to those that I shared it with . Now I was careful to whom I shared it with , but still I shared it and now I get to walk with no weight . I walk into freedom of who I am and , probably more importantly , who's I am .

The Power of Vulnerability and Authenticity

Mario P. Fields 10:52

Yeah , and I like that too , because a lot of times , especially folks in the military , they don't have a problem running to the sound of gunfire or calamity , no issues deploying in defense of anything of people who can defend themselves , but yet a lot of them don't have the courage to run towards their problems .

Chaplain Michael Washington 11:17

Their own , yeah their own .

Mario P. Fields 11:19

And don't leave the pack on the ground . It's yours , you can take it off .

Chaplain Michael Washington 11:23

Yeah , you can take it off . You have to take it off , but you gotta unpack it though .

Mario P. Fields 11:27

And you keep it . Yeah , that's right .

Chaplain Michael Washington 11:30

I like that metaphor .

Mario P. Fields 11:33

And so and I love how you mentioned how it made you feel , how you didn't realize how much weight was on you and then your personality , your emotional state , your health , and so , speaking of that , do you find a better connection , especially as a chaplain , with those you serve , because they know you're just not this , you're authentic , right , absolutely absolutely , Absolutely absolutely . You are authentic . It's not that , like my buddy , jerry Washington has his book called Dr Washington's Caused Simulated Realities . You're not one person on Instagram .

Chaplain Michael Washington 12:12

Who is this person ? Yeah , on Facebook , Exactly , exactly . So one of my philosophies and I have several philosophies in life that I literally live by , but one of the things that I have a philosophy of is that I have the privilege , I get the privilege of serving over 170 boys , and I do that by earning the right to be heard in their lives . Just because I'm an adult doesn't give me the right to speak in that inner life .

Chaplain Michael Washington 12:45

Just because I'm a man doesn't give me the right Just because I'm a veteran doesn't give me the right . Just because I'm African-American doesn't give me the right . I still have to earn that right and I earn that right by being intimate with them , by being intentional with them and by being intense with them . So it's intense , it's intentional and it's intimate . When I say intimate , dr Miles Monroe says it best . He says intimacy into me , see , and it's that intimacy that is that vulnerability that we as men and as veterans have to learn how to to unveil .

Chaplain Michael Washington 13:27

We have to learn how to let our guard down and know that releasing these things is releasing the enemy's power in your life . As long as you've got things a secret , as long as you've got things that you're trying to hide from others , the enemy is like , yeah , that's good , we'll just keep that a secret , that'll be just between us , just keep it in the bag , you know . But it's a weight and it's a burden . So I learned to just be transparent , again , like I said in context , because I have certain men in my life , you know , different kind of , I guess , different values in my life , different roles . I've got my older pals , I got my barnabuses and I got my timethings and I don't share everything with my timethings that I share with my pals .

Mario P. Fields 14:22

So yeah , the power of a network and mentors and a group of diverse mentors . Know your audience , like Chapman said , you know there's certain groups that they're capable of even receiving what you're about to say to them . Then there's some other folks you might say something like whoa .

Chaplain Michael Washington 14:41

Yeah , right , right , right , right , right right , throw your phone , you're like Mario , I didn't man .

Mario P. Fields 14:45

I didn't know you were dealing with that .

Chaplain Michael Washington 14:47

I'm sorry to drop that on you , but my mentor , bill Page , told me one time he says it's okay for you to share your dirty laundry , but you ain't gotta share your dirty underwear .

Mario P. Fields 14:57

So I said I yeah , man I mean and I love it too , because I've had numerous discussions with lots of people but for the most part of the trend I have seen was males , men who feel being vulnerable . Unarmored talk removing your armor is not courageous . It shows a sign of weakness . Have you ever experienced that where either your colleagues or your family was very hesitant , even yourself where they were ? Like that's a sign of weakness .

Chaplain Michael Washington 15:30

Yeah , yeah , yeah . So like for me . One of the definitions that I learned was meekness . People have a tendency to associate meekness with being weak . Meekness is not weak . Clark Kent was meek . He had strength , but he was under control , and so when I deal with my issues , I deal with them in a very personal way , but I've learned that I've got to share them with trusted individuals in my life who will give me good and wise counsel .

Chaplain Michael Washington 16:15

It's a humbling experience to go to someone and be able to share with them when you have lost a child . I found out that my son had a son prior to my marriage who joined the army , who committed suicide , and to be vulnerable like that , to be able to share that type of when you're at the top of your game , when you're the first African-American chaplain in the 114 year history of your school and everything is looking good and you find out well , I can't tell them about this son , because he's my son prior to my marriage . That's gonna they're gonna have a different attitude about me or look at me differently . I couldn't carry that burden alone , and so God showed me that he had already supplied me with men around me to support me and keep me lifted up in the midst of a time , a trying time , that I could not have done it by myself , and so that's where I'm at now . I get to serve life with some boys and make an impact into their lives , possibly potentially for the rest of their lives , and I absolutely love it .

Mario P. Fields 17:49

Oh , and you are doing just that . And so you got 170 plus young men that need you and I'm not gonna be selfish because you know I will keep you forever if I could , my friend , but as we close out I'll let you go back to having so much fun . You got this amazing thought process and you just said the word get . Can you share with the audience as we close

Changing Attitudes and Embracing Privileges

Mario P. Fields 18:15

out ? Chaplin , what do you ? How does that drive you ?

Chaplain Michael Washington 18:20

So my attitude ? I've come to the realization that our thought process manifests itself in our words , and so if I change my thought process , then I'll change my words . We have a tendency to say what we've got to do . How many times have you woke up and you say I gotta go to work tomorrow , I gotta go to the store , I gotta pay these bills ? And when you say what you've got to do , it's an obligation , it's a burden , it's a responsibility . But if you just simply change that got to to the privilege that it is , which is a get to , it changes the whole outlook on what it is that you're doing . I get to go , I get to go to work , I get to pay my bills , I get to get up in the morning , and so I wake up with a get to attitude every single day and my get to attitude . I hope that my get to attitude becomes contagious , cause now I get , I get my boys walking around campus and I get to go . Take this test .

Mario P. Fields 19:24

You already got me . You see , I'm small cause I'm like man . It's cold outside so I get the freeze baby .

Chaplain Michael Washington 19:29

That's the that is the bonus you get to enjoy the cold weather , you know I get to enjoy it changes the attitude of everything you know .

Mario P. Fields 19:38

so that's , I love it . Look , in the next medical appointment I would be like this I get to go to medical . I get to . How much do I owe this mortgage ? I get to pay this sucker .

Chaplain Michael Washington 19:49

I get to pay my bills absolutely .

Mario P. Fields 19:53

Well , it's been a pleasure . Chaplin , I love you and thank you for kicking off 2024 on the Unarmored Talk podcast . How can people support the Hardgrave Military Academy ?

Chaplain Michael Washington 20:07

Really , you can just support us by . You know , you can go to social media , hardgraveedu see what we're doing . We are , we're in a small town , but we've got cadets that come from all over . We've got cadets from China , we've got cadets from Rwanda , we've got cadets from Zimbabwe , we've got cadets from Germany and so , and we've got cadets from right around the corner , you know , and these young men are going out into the world , many of them , many of them , not having a proper support system . So , embrace a young man and become his Paul in his life and give him words of wisdom and encouragement , but be intentional , be intense and be intimate and share with them the trials and terminals of true life so that , when they make those pitfalls , that they are prepared . Yeah , so that's it .

Mario P. Fields 21:13

I like the three eyes and I get to say I love you because I get to continue to be your friend . It's absolutely a privilege and I'm going to continue to be blessed and get to do everything I can , because you got me already , paul .

Chaplain Michael Washington 21:25

There you go .

Mario P. Fields 21:26

And stop saying I got to do anything .

Chaplain Michael Washington 21:28

That's it , man . And last thing is , again , changing that mentality . When you're going through problems , because the Bible says that James says when we experience various trials , not if , but when the mentality says , oh , I'm going through it , no , you're growing through it , I like it Because you're going to grow through your trial . That's the reason why we have tests . We don't give tests because you already know the information . If you already know the information , you don't need a test . It's so that you don't know the information , or we want to test you and make sure that you know the information so that you can move to the next phase . So when you're going through it , don't say you're going through it , say you're growing through it .

Mario P. Fields 22:06

Nice

Signing Off and Future Episodes

Mario P. Fields 22:07

. Well , thank you so much and everybody . We'll see you guys in a couple of weeks for more episodes for this entire year . But until you hear me or I see you , you guys know how I sign off . God bless you , god bless your family members and God bless your friends . Take care child , be safe .

Chaplain Michael Washington 22:26

God bless them .

Mario P. Fields 22:27

Thank you for listening to this most recent episode and remember you can listen and watch all of the previous episodes on my YouTube channel . The best way to connect to me and all of my social media is follow me on the Parade Deck . That is wwwparadedeckcom , or you can click on the link in the show notes . I'll see you guys soon .