Chaplains Commission Weekly Update – 3/27/2009
Friday, March 27, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Choice Christian Greetings!
Good Chaplains are not born; they are developed through years of daily doing “the right things for the right reasons.”
The more I look at the church and at our national problem, with its economic meltdowns and religious deteriorations, the more I am determined at the core of these problems is the erosion of basic ethics. How did we get into these messes, ecclesiastically and nationally, in America? We have to assume that someone, whether church leader or politician, failed to take care of “first things first.” In one of my earliest ministries as an exhorter and newcomer to ministerial service, I witnessed this problem which, among other things, made me realize that leaders often fail to recognize the difference of “what is mine, and what is ours.” Most of us have preached at least once, for me probably dozens of times, on the Good Samaritan story as found in Luke 11:30-37. We often think of various themes present in the story, such as, “What is yours is mine, I will take it;” “What is mine is mine; I will keep it;” “What is mine is ours, I will share it.” The ethics of this story, as it impacts our nation and our church, seems to center around that phrase, “What is yours is mine, I will take it.” Whether a government official or a church leader, we often handle properties that God puts in our care without remembering “where they came from.” The government has given away billions of dollars with little thought that this money comes from those of us who diligently pay our taxes, and, most especially, future generations who will be responsible for this huge debt. Likewise, who among us on the church front, when spending or appropriating our budgets and our revenues, remembers that the person(s) to whom we owe the highest ethics and the greatest responsibility may be the impoverished widow who faithfully offers her meek tithe to her beloved church? Thus, ethics must begin with those most basic responsibilities of ministry, whether a pastor or a chaplain.
Poor ethics do not begin with misappropriation of funds, shady dealings in our relationships, or, in the case of one investor, stealing some 50 billion dollars of other people’s monies. They start with the failure to do those little things as an act of establishing a foundation for the bigger things. As ministers, it is simply keeping the promises and the vows we make as we enter ministerial service, such as, reporting on time; adhering to the basic tenants of our faith; whether we are in public or in private; or, something as routine as our daily prayers and daily devotions. If we let these little responsibilities erode, we can be sure what follows will be ethical misconduct. The Good Samaritan story began with someone who thought “what is yours is mine, I will take it.” The other characters in the story, representing church leaders, are good people who somewhere along the way began to violate these basic principles. It is these small, seemingly insignificant principles, that allow for a strong foundation if and when we are called upon to make decisions of communal and global consequences.
Chaplains Commission Board Session
This week our Chaplains Commission Board met, worshipped together, and dealt with several cutting edge chaplaincy ministries. Among those were:
1. A new Local Church Chaplaincy training program, to be implemented shortly;
2. Development of chaplaincy ministries in cooperation with the Hispanic Department and Hispanic churches around the world;
3. Preparing our chaplaincy materials and courses with an on-line/distance learning format in cooperation with our educational institutions;
4. The completion of RAFA, our medical/care/chaplaincy center being built in Oradea, Romania;
We, also, took time out for a wonderful worship service with music and preaching provided by one of our new Board members, Reverend John Morgan, pastor of the Regency Church, Jacksonville, Florida. He took us to the 23rd Psalm and zeroed in on those passages which underscore that intimate, personal relationship we have with our Lord, particularly in times of crises.
Other Chaplaincy News
· We just received a full report from Dr. Eric Vasquez, our Chaplaincy Coordinator and Professor of Record in the Chaplaincy Chair at the Center for Latin American Chaplaincy, South American Theological Seminary, Quito, Ecuador. Through our Chaplaincy Center/Chair, Dr. Vasquez offers the following educational opportunities: a certificate in Basic Chaplaincy; a three-year chaplaincy major; a degree in Theology, with a specialization in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care; and, a certificate in Advanced and Care Pastoral Ministries, which consists of fifteen intensive modules of specialization in chaplaincy areas. It should be noted that SEMISUD (South American Theological Seminary) is the only education institution that has a full degree program in chaplaincy studies.
· We just completed a Community Service Chaplaincy course at the Westgate Chapel in Edmonds, Washington, with Dr. Jake Popejoy as lead instructor. He reports that there were 54 students in the course; 22 additional students were scheduled for the course, but because of snow storms, were unable to cross the Cascade Mountains to attend. Dr. Popejoy stayed a few extra days after the weather improved so that he could offer the class to those 22 students.
· Veterans Affairs Chaplain Michael Doan, Marion, Illinois, tells us that he will be accepting a Wing Chaplain position with the Air National Guard.
· We are sad to let you know that Michelle Byrd, Cheraw, South Carolina, the daughter of Prison Chaplain Robert Dawkins, died this week of a heart attack. She was only 34 years old; and leaves behind a loving husband and daughter, age 12. I know that you will be praying for the Dawkins’ and their extended family. Send your condolences to Bob and Libby Dawkins at: rmd@embarqmail.com
· Chaplain/Dr. Sheila McClaughlan, Inverness, Scotland, sent this report: “We need your prayers. Paul’s (her husband) brother suddenly died; and, following last week’s Sunday service, one of our members, Dawn, after completing a beautiful hymn, collapsed with a brain tumor and is in critical condition.”
· Clinical Chaplain Frank Nation, Cincinnati, Ohio, informs us that he is taking a new position at Good Samaritan Hospital. In his new role, he will be the manager of the Pastoral Care Department, supervising the Clinical Pastoral Education program. He replaces Father Niklas, who has served in this position for the last 35 years.
· Local Church Chaplaincy Coordinator Jack Smith, World Outreach Worship Center, Newport News, Virginia, just completed a Local Church Chaplaincy course for 200 pastors and laity in Panama.
· Dr. Gary Smith, pastor of Christ the Redeemer Church, San Marcos, Texas, sends this comment concerning Church of God Clinical Chaplain Michael Doan: “I have known Michael for many years; as a friend and fellow Air Force Chaplain. My many thanks go to him for reaching out to minister to my 76-year-old father who is in a nursing home in Knoxville, Tennessee. My dad is permanently confined to a bed suffering from paralysis; a gentle spirit, who lived a very wild and care-free life. Chaplain Doan ministered to my dad with special care.”
Congratulations
The military chaplaincy promotion system is rather unique. When a Chaplain falls into the zone for a promotion, he/she competes with other outstanding Chaplains. The military has a saying that they “promote the very best among the best.” In the recent Army selection for the rank of Major, we had three candidates who fell into this promotion zone. They were Army Chaplains (CPT) Charles Popov, Chris Wilson, and Eugene Mack. All three were selected for the rank of Major. Send your congratulations to them at: Charles.j.popov@us.army.mil (Popov), wavmack@msn.com (Mack), jon.c.wilson@us.army.mil (Wilson).
Short Testimonies
Community Service Chaplain Bobby Williford, Jessup, Georgia, states: “My wife, Jackie, and I are endorsed as Chaplains to nursing home facilities. Several of the residents of our nursing home have accepted the Lord as their Savior.”
Community Service Chaplain Janice Parker, Cleveland, Tennessee (Janice was formerly one of our staff persons), reports: “My husband and I have a chaplaincy outreach to Native American reservations. In February, we visited four different locations in North and South Dakota. From a 54-foot trailer, we provided goods to needy individuals on several Native American reservations. I had the privilege of ministering to a Native American grandmother, who the previous week, had lost her 18-year-old grandson to suicide. They tell me that on one of the reservations where we ministered the suicide rate is 7 times higher than the national average.”
Finally
In conversation with Board member Dr. Michael Reynolds, pastor and educational director, Chicago, Illinois, we both agreed that there is a difference between tolerating diversity and embracing it. With considerable passion and grief, Dr. Reynolds and I imagined the time when our church and all churches in America would begin to embrace diversity, not merely tolerate it. It is like having a large family gathering, with several members missing. While there may be festivity and joy, there is loneliness for that son or daughter who is not present at the table. The same applies to the church. Where are our missing family members of color and ethnic/language diversity? Where are the church women who should be in prominent places at the table? And, most especially, where are our members who are wounded or lost due to some bad circumstance in their life? Wouldn’t we want all of us to be present? Can the church, or any of our chaplaincy ministries, be satisfied until we learn the difference between tolerating diversity and embracing it? Let’s hear your comments. We send our prayers and blessing to our Chaplains and family members around the world.
Sincerely,
Robert D. Crick
Weekly Bible Verse
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
Contacts
Director, Dr. Robert D. Crick, cricksot@att.net
Full-time Chaplaincy and Public Relations, Dr. Jerry McNabb, jmcnabb@cogchaplains.com
Community Service Chaplaincy and Training, Dr. Doc Williams, dwilliams@cogchaplains.com
Community Service Chaplaincy Administrative Information, wroberson@cogchaplains.com
Disaster and Compassionate Care, Reverend Tom Offutt, tomoffutt@att.net
Prayer and Family Care, Elaine Offutt, elaineoffutt@att.net
General Information, chapcm@cogchaplains.com
Web Site/Page: www.cogchaplains.com
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