CLUB Chaplain Cameron Butler reveals his passion for the game, his greatest challenge at the club and how he had a brush with law as a kid!
Cameron Butler is the Melbourne Football Club Chaplain and the National Director of Sports Chaplaincy Australia (SCA). He is a born and bred Melbourne boy. Despite becoming a much-respected figure in the community, Butler had some brushes with authority growing up.
“I went to Caulfield Grammar for my first four years and then went to Scotch College after that. I got expelled from Scotch College - not my proudest day, but I got reinstated after a few shenanigans. I got to finish at Scotch in 1985. I then went to art college and was a computer-based textile designer during the 1980s and 1990s. I was involved in software development. At the same time - and it was a major part of my life - I studied to be a minister from about 18. At 22, I became a minister at a local church. I still remain an ordain minister.
Butler was a self-confessed “friendly rat-bag” as a kid.
“Because I was expelled from Scotch College, a lot of people think ‘you’re a minister and ministers aren’t meant to get expelled’. But I’m not conventional, whereas people put you in a mould and think you’re a goody two-shoes. I was always a bit of a rat-bag as a kid, believe it or not, but never boisterous in any way.”
He also had a run-in with the law when he was growing up.
“The police came around to my house when I was 11 years old. I had been up on the roof of my house, wearing my army greens, with an air rifle and with my headphones and cap on. I was pretending to be a sniper and shooting at things. The neighbours saw that and called the police. Then I saw the coppers come around to the back door and they said ‘what are you doing? I said ‘I’m just playing’. They asked to see my gun and it was just a kid’s slug gun I’d got from Hong Kong. As I brought it out, the cop freaked out and put his hand on his gun and then he settled down. He realised I was an 11-year-old kid running around having a bit of fun. My sister then said ‘that’s it, you’ve got a police record now’, so there you go.”
At 22, Butler became a church minister. He was then a church minister at Doncaster for seven years, before joining Melbourne in 1997.
“One of my passions was to make a difference outside the four walls of the church. We had a pretty big church of about 300 people at Doncaster. It was growing really rapidly and I really wanted to do something outside of the church. One of our local ministers was the Chaplain of the Richmond Footy Club and I thought ‘how good would it be to be a chaplain of an AFL footy club’. My journey probably went on for two years, before I became involved in the Melbourne Football Club.
Butler believes becoming Melbourne chaplain was an answer to a prayer.
“I got a call from [former football manager] Danny Corcoran, when Neale Daniher was coach. I started at the end of 1997. I thought all of my Christmases had come at once, because my two loves in life are serving God and I love footy. I was able to do both together - and how cool is that? That was my break.”
He was introduced by Corcoran as the “Reverend Cameron Butler, here for your spiritual well-being” on his first day at the club.
“That was his opening line. It caught me off-guard a bit, but it was really good, because it made me realise that sports in Australia recognises the spiritual dimension - not just the physical dimension. There are a whole range of dimensions that make up a human being. One part of that is the spiritual component. So that was a real highlight for me and meeting all of the players, most of who I didn’t know who they were.”
David Schwarz proved to be Butler’s first challenge as club chaplain.
“I knew of Jimmy Stynes and a few others and as the likes of Jimmy and Garry Lyon came up and shook my hand, there was this one big muscly fella, who walked past and looked at me and grunted. He just walked past me and didn’t even give me the dignity to shake my hand. He ignored me and I thought ‘there’s my first project’. It was David Schwarz. We didn’t talk a lot in the first six months or the remaining five or six years of his career, but since then we’ve become good mates and I’ve conducted his wedding. So 10 years later it’s turned around. That is a highlight.”
The 2000 season remains one of Butler’s greatest highlights at the club.
“What is remarkable is that before the start of the season, Neale Daniher got everyone in the middle of the MCG and said ‘guys, I want you to imagine what it would be like if we made it to the grand final this year and where you’d be standing when the final siren went’. He got everyone to do a bit of positive thinking or imaginative thinking. He said ‘where would you be Neita, where would you be Schwarta and where are you going to be to some of the trainers?’ We didn’t have much of a chance to get into the grand final that year and six months later - there we were in the grand final. That was a real highlight for me.”
But he considers every day a highlight.
“When you’re doing what you love to do, you don’t work a day in your life. What I’m doing around the footy club and around the Australian Sports Chaplaincy - I get to meet people in sport and who I am as a minister. I just love it. I’m so blessed. I also love watching movies and spending time with the kids. I love playing ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Conflict: Desert Storm’ on the x-box and I love playing two-square with the kids. I love art galleries - I enjoy my art. Because I’ve come out of a technology background since the mid ‘80s, I love technology.”
Long-term, Butler wants to see Chaplains in every Australian sporting club.
“My vision and passion is to see Chaplains in every sports club in Australia - be it AFL, any ball sports or whatever. So in 50 years, it’ll be the norm to have a Chaplain or someone who is there as a support and is committed to the people of that club. It’s about making the gospel relevant to people - that’s the best story that’s ever been told, but it has to be relevant. The only problem is that the church and Christian faith is seen as irrelevant, but it’s not. That’s a passion and that’s what I see beyond. Already, the VCFL (Victorian Country Football League) wants to have a Chaplain in every Victorian footy club and that’s happening right now and AFLNSW also wants it. So being part of that is really exciting.”
Cameron Butler is the Melbourne Football Club Chaplain and the National Director of Sports Chaplaincy Australia (SCA). He is a born and bred Melbourne boy. Despite becoming a much-respected figure in the community, Butler had some brushes with authority growing up.
“I went to Caulfield Grammar for my first four years and then went to Scotch College after that. I got expelled from Scotch College - not my proudest day, but I got reinstated after a few shenanigans. I got to finish at Scotch in 1985. I then went to art college and was a computer-based textile designer during the 1980s and 1990s. I was involved in software development. At the same time - and it was a major part of my life - I studied to be a minister from about 18. At 22, I became a minister at a local church. I still remain an ordain minister.
Butler was a self-confessed “friendly rat-bag” as a kid.
“Because I was expelled from Scotch College, a lot of people think ‘you’re a minister and ministers aren’t meant to get expelled’. But I’m not conventional, whereas people put you in a mould and think you’re a goody two-shoes. I was always a bit of a rat-bag as a kid, believe it or not, but never boisterous in any way.”
He also had a run-in with the law when he was growing up.
“The police came around to my house when I was 11 years old. I had been up on the roof of my house, wearing my army greens, with an air rifle and with my headphones and cap on. I was pretending to be a sniper and shooting at things. The neighbours saw that and called the police. Then I saw the coppers come around to the back door and they said ‘what are you doing? I said ‘I’m just playing’. They asked to see my gun and it was just a kid’s slug gun I’d got from Hong Kong. As I brought it out, the cop freaked out and put his hand on his gun and then he settled down. He realised I was an 11-year-old kid running around having a bit of fun. My sister then said ‘that’s it, you’ve got a police record now’, so there you go.”
At 22, Butler became a church minister. He was then a church minister at Doncaster for seven years, before joining Melbourne in 1997.
“One of my passions was to make a difference outside the four walls of the church. We had a pretty big church of about 300 people at Doncaster. It was growing really rapidly and I really wanted to do something outside of the church. One of our local ministers was the Chaplain of the Richmond Footy Club and I thought ‘how good would it be to be a chaplain of an AFL footy club’. My journey probably went on for two years, before I became involved in the Melbourne Football Club.
Butler believes becoming Melbourne chaplain was an answer to a prayer.
“I got a call from [former football manager] Danny Corcoran, when Neale Daniher was coach. I started at the end of 1997. I thought all of my Christmases had come at once, because my two loves in life are serving God and I love footy. I was able to do both together - and how cool is that? That was my break.”
He was introduced by Corcoran as the “Reverend Cameron Butler, here for your spiritual well-being” on his first day at the club.
“That was his opening line. It caught me off-guard a bit, but it was really good, because it made me realise that sports in Australia recognises the spiritual dimension - not just the physical dimension. There are a whole range of dimensions that make up a human being. One part of that is the spiritual component. So that was a real highlight for me and meeting all of the players, most of who I didn’t know who they were.”
David Schwarz proved to be Butler’s first challenge as club chaplain.
“I knew of Jimmy Stynes and a few others and as the likes of Jimmy and Garry Lyon came up and shook my hand, there was this one big muscly fella, who walked past and looked at me and grunted. He just walked past me and didn’t even give me the dignity to shake my hand. He ignored me and I thought ‘there’s my first project’. It was David Schwarz. We didn’t talk a lot in the first six months or the remaining five or six years of his career, but since then we’ve become good mates and I’ve conducted his wedding. So 10 years later it’s turned around. That is a highlight.”
The 2000 season remains one of Butler’s greatest highlights at the club.
“What is remarkable is that before the start of the season, Neale Daniher got everyone in the middle of the MCG and said ‘guys, I want you to imagine what it would be like if we made it to the grand final this year and where you’d be standing when the final siren went’. He got everyone to do a bit of positive thinking or imaginative thinking. He said ‘where would you be Neita, where would you be Schwarta and where are you going to be to some of the trainers?’ We didn’t have much of a chance to get into the grand final that year and six months later - there we were in the grand final. That was a real highlight for me.”
But he considers every day a highlight.
“When you’re doing what you love to do, you don’t work a day in your life. What I’m doing around the footy club and around the Australian Sports Chaplaincy - I get to meet people in sport and who I am as a minister. I just love it. I’m so blessed. I also love watching movies and spending time with the kids. I love playing ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘Conflict: Desert Storm’ on the x-box and I love playing two-square with the kids. I love art galleries - I enjoy my art. Because I’ve come out of a technology background since the mid ‘80s, I love technology.”
Long-term, Butler wants to see Chaplains in every Australian sporting club.
“My vision and passion is to see Chaplains in every sports club in Australia - be it AFL, any ball sports or whatever. So in 50 years, it’ll be the norm to have a Chaplain or someone who is there as a support and is committed to the people of that club. It’s about making the gospel relevant to people - that’s the best story that’s ever been told, but it has to be relevant. The only problem is that the church and Christian faith is seen as irrelevant, but it’s not. That’s a passion and that’s what I see beyond. Already, the VCFL (Victorian Country Football League) wants to have a Chaplain in every Victorian footy club and that’s happening right now and AFLNSW also wants it. So being part of that is really exciting.”
