My active involvement with FCAP did not begin until after my retirement from Delta Airlines January 1, 2002. I attended FCAP Training later that year, and in the following year asked then FCAP Director Paul Curtas if he would consider allowing me the opportunity to serve as a Field Staff Representative in Boise and open a chapel in the airport.
A Unique Opportunity
As I write this, I am aware that in the not too distant future (only the Lord knows for certain) my time in this ministry will come to an end. As I think about that, I cannot help but reminisce about the motivation behind the decision to approach FCAP Leadership about embarking on this journey. That motivation came from the awareness that we, as Christians in the airline industry, have a unique opportunity to influence people for good in the details of our work and travel. Few people in the workforce are as mobile as airline workers, some whose work takes them daily to locations across the country and around the world. In addition, those who work in airports, hangars, and offices are able to enjoy the travel opportunities awarded by their employment in the industry. An encouraging word spoken to a customer, or an act of “above and beyond” service to a distressed traveler, or even the loving relationships with coworkers have the potential of blessing others across the globe in a matter of hours, because those actions may impact someone in a distant location. Why? Because blessings promote blessings.
Passing It Forward
How do you feel when someone has blessed you with an encouraging word, or a loving act of service? Doesn’t it make you want to “pass it forward?” Of course. Since opening the chapel, I can recount numerous stories of people impacted by kindness shown by an airline employee. My favorite is one told by a woman flying cross country to visit her dying mother. When her flight cancelled and she was rebooked on another, the employee helping her felt compassion for her and told a flight attendant on her new flight of the woman’s circumstances. That flight attendant asked the woman if she could pray with her, lifting her spirits. I won’t share all the details of the rest of her trip, but I will simply say that this seemingly simple act of caring for the woman’s concern that she might not get to see her mom before passing away paved the way for other blessings through the trip and the time spent with her mom.
My work as a chaplain at the Boise International Airport has given me the opportunity to pass on the mission of FCAP to not only airline personnel but also to other workers in our airport. Many of those principles are included in short scenarios with accompanying scriptures in what I call “Think About It” emails sent to people through our chapel. The feedback we receive from the people we serve, as well as the travelers who leave notes in our chapel guest book, reaffirm my conviction earlier stated about the impact those of us employed in the travel industry can make for God’s glory.
Both Matthew and Mark write in their Gospels that Jesus came to serve, even to the point of giving His life as a ransom for many. We in the airlines are not the only employees who have this opportunity, but we are unique in our opportunities as airline workers. We are also blessed in our affiliation with FCAP who provides us with support, training and encouragement in reminding us that our work is more than a means to earn a paycheck, it is God’s calling to bring Jesus into the marketplace.
Our Impact in the Lives of Others
As I approach the end to my “second career” as Chaplain at the Boise Airport, I wonder about the impact I might have had in my 39 years with Western and Delta Airlines; even more so in my 17 years of ministry at the Boise International Airport. We have no way of knowing that in this life, but we do know that we will give an account to Jesus, face to face, in that judgement day, and we anticipate hearing Jesus’ words to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” While that alone would be infinitely more than sufficient, as a bonus we may see a line of people waiting to say words to us similar to those of Ray Boltz in a song he performed:
Thank you for giving to the Lord;
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord
I am so glad that you gave.
Let’s all give thanks daily for the unique opportunity we have as employees in the airline industry.
“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!” Ephesians 5:8 NLT
