{"id":23930,"date":"2020-01-31T17:29:43","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T17:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/31\/newport-chaplains-lead-like-jesus-message-roils-command-staffs\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:24:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:24:18","slug":"newport-chaplains-lead-like-jesus-message-roils-command-staffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/01\/31\/newport-chaplains-lead-like-jesus-message-roils-command-staffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy chaplain\u2019s \u2018Lead Like Jesus\u2019 message roils command staffs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An emailed advertisement from the base chaplain urging commanders to \u201cLead Like Jesus\u201d has irked dozens of senior leaders at Naval Station Newport and sparked a demand by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation <\/a>to investigate the ad and punish those who sent it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But military leaders insist the emailed flyer was designed to update times for an ongoing Sunday school program and wasn\u2019t intended to convert any commanders to Christianity or besmirch other religious practices at Newport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sent to leaders of the tenant commands at the Rhode Island base, the Thursday morning message from chaplain Cmdr. Richard Clay Smothers featured what appears to be a blurry image of Christ on a stallion, sword drawn, leading a host of white robed angels at full gallop across the clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below that is the call to \u201cHear why military leaders from around NAVSTA Newport FOLLOW JESUS\u201d and the dates and times for a dozen sessions at Perry Hall featuring guest speakers and boxed lunches from the galley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday morning, retired Air Force Brigadier Gen. Marty France <\/a>\u2014 a Military Religious Freedom Foundation board member \u2014 fired off an email to the base commander, Capt. Ian L. Johnson, urging him to \u201cmove quickly on this blatant violation of the Constitution (that we both swore to uphold) as well as DoD regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At issue is whether the ad from the chaplain crossed the line separating church from state<\/a> by implying a command endorsement of one faith over others, especially for senior military leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France asked Johnson if he would be comfortable with a subordinate who publicly called on commanders to \u201cLead like Mohammed\u201d or pitched a pro-atheist message on how to lead others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease, swiftly and effectively put an end to this Constitutional mess and make sure that, as I\u2019m sure you agree, there is no single religious perspective that is considered a necessary or sufficient condition for leadership in your or any command,\u201d wrote France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Then-Lt. Cmdr. Richard Smothers, Submarine Squadron Six chaplain, offered an invocation at the annual Submarine Veterans Memorial and Submarine Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on May 17 in Norfolk. (Chief Mass Communication Specialist Darryl Wood\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Messages placed Friday morning by Navy Times to Capt. Johnson and chaplain Smothers were not returned but officials said Johnson never received France\u2019s email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superiors at Navy Installations Command referred Navy Times to Navy Region Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Elizabeth Baker, who said Friday morning that her command was unaware of the controversy but began investigating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She later explained that the flyer was intended to reflect discussions that occur after Sunday services and targeted only those who already were going to the chapel voluntarily. She indicated it wasn\u2019t designed to try to convert any commander to Christianity or suggest they should model their leadership style after Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not any kind of directive from the chaplain to lead like Jesus. It\u2019s a discussion series after services only for those who volunteer to attend,\u201d Baker told Navy Times by telephone from Norfolk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baker said that the chaplain\u2019s message also was passed during the monthly tenant command meeting and the emailed flyer merely updated information on the ongoing 12-week leadership discussion program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The base\u2019s newspaper, The Navalog, also recently published information about the Sunday school initiative, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe promote an environment of religious freedom in a manner that supports the free exercise of religion by service members, their family and other persons authorized services through Professional Naval Chaplaincy,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNaval Station Newport\u2019s command religious program supports the command mission by fostering the religious, spiritual, moral and ethical well-being of military personnel and their families by providing opportunities for worship, religious education, fellowship and counseling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t