Derek Jones (bishop)

Responsibilities

Chaplains under Bishop Jones' oversight serve in the United States Armed Forces, Veteran’s Administration, Department of Justice, and other Federal and State agencies; as well as chaplains serving Hospitals, Hospices, Industry, Education, Law Enforcement and as Community Chaplains. Bishop Jones works with and through a variety of professional organizations such as the International Conference of Police Chaplains (ICPC), the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, and the Professional Chaplains Association. Bishop Jones has served as an endorsing official since his consecration in January 2007 and is the founding bishop of the ACNA's chaplain ministry. The Deanery for the Chaplaincy (CANA) and the Office of Chaplain Ministry (ACNA) as a joint office was created in 2010. The Deanery for the Chaplaincy was designated a Diocese of CANA in March 2013. As the ministry has continued to grow, the need to modify the Canons of the ACNA became clear and a new canon was adopted in June 2014 whereby the Special Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy (JAFC) was created. While the CANA diocese still exists (primarily to continue to allow chaplains to be connected to the Anglican Communion through the Church of Nigeria), the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy is the functional chaplain ministry. Bishop Jones will remain in the House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria.

Military career

Bishop Jones is a retired combat veteran fighter pilot with nearly 3000 hours in the F-111 and F-16 fighter aircraft and the T-37 trainer as an Instructor Pilot. His awards include the Combat Air Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and many other individual and unit citations. Bishop Jones has also won numerous “Top Gun” awards. He was one of the last Top Gun award winners in the F-111 before its retirement in 1996. Bishop Jones was the pictorial subject for the book Superbase 11: RAF Upper Heyford by Jon Davison. He also was the Wing Top Gun for the 27th Fighter Wing while a member of the 524 Fighter Squadron flying F-16s in his last year of flying fighters on active duty in 1998. From 1998 to 2005, he served as an Instructor Pilot with the Air Force Reserve. His final assignment before retiring in 2009 was as the Reserve Advisor to the Commander and Director of Staff for the Air Force Doctrine Center, collocated at Maxwell AFB and the Pentagon. In this role, he directed the activities of over 100 geographically separated military personnel in the writing of Air Force and Joint Military Doctrine to include work on Joint Publication 1-05 on Religious Affairs in the DoD.

Civic and National Organization Membership

Bishop Jones was elected by his peers to serve on the Executive Committee for the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces (NCMAF) in 2012. In January 2017, he was elected to serve as Chair-elect of that organization. Bishop Jones is also a charter member and serves on the Executive Board of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. In 2016, Bishop Jones was selected to serve on the Board of Advisors to the Anglian Institute. Bishop Jones continues to advocate for Air Power and served from 2011-2013 as the President of the Birmingham, AL Chapter of the Air Force Association. In civic areas, Bishop Jones is an adjudicator for the United States Pony Club (USPC) and serves on the National Quiz Committee for that organization. In January 2010, he was awarded a Presidential Service Citation for his community service and volunteer endeavors; and in 2012, he was named a Distinguished Honorary Alumni of Nashotah House Seminary in Wisconsin. In his off-time, Bishop Jones enjoys working with his horses and outdoor activities. An accomplished musician and a member of Phi Mu Alpha, he also enjoys vocal performance and little theater. He is an 'in demand' speaker and teacher of Eucharistic and Covenantal Theology.