Chaplains Commission Weekly Update – 9/18/2009
Friday, September 18, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Choice Christian Greetings!
Our entire Chaplains Commission staff participated in the recent International Symposium on the Great Commission. Dr. Raymond Culpepper, General Overseer, envisioned the Great Commission as more than simply getting people saved; it calls for the entire church to disciple, equip, and empower each convert for revolutionary, missional service. Dr. Culpepper opened his address by painting a grim picture of the US. He noted that religious researchers looking at the United States have determined that by the year 2050, only 10% of Americans will be regular attendees each week at a worship service. We are fast becoming an un-evangelized nation. I thank God for the conviction that Dr. Culpepper has for a missional church; one that is part of this last day revolutionary movement of God.
For the Chaplains Commission, we believe that the initial step in being part of the Great Commission is that of “unconditional love.” The individuals we deal with are no longer impressed with the church’s great sermons, sophisticated structures, or even their promises of love and care. We deal with those who, for the most part, have been victims of a very dysfunctional social and religious system. Therefore, their journey back to the church begins with the character of the chaplains and other Christians they encounter. It’s not what is said; it’s action and authenticity that now counts. It is our belief that the best way to be a part of the Great Commission is to start doing what God has empowered us to do and quit trying to do what only God can do. Above everything else, we must love people, accept them like they are, and give them–regardless of the situation or their response to our messages of hope–the very best care possible. It is in and through these acts of unconditional love and care on our part that the Holy Spirit convicts and opens the way toward an altar experience of confession and redemption. Programs will not do it any longer. We need genuine, trained caregivers whose primary goal is to receive persons at the point of their greatest needs. It is through those acts of care that God allows us to be part of “His” Great Commission. Our pledge to Dr. Culpepper and the church is the fact that every one of our chaplains (more than 3,000 serving in 71 different countries around the world) will be at the center of this movement to restore the integrity of the Great Commission.
Pre-Symposium Staff/Board/Chaplains Get-Together
Prior to the Great Commission Symposium, we (the staff, board members and Atlanta areas chaplains) gathered together for dinner, fellowship, and testimonies. Board members Larry Owens (ex-officio), Dan Boling, Richard Pace and Tommy Powell were present. Several of our Atlanta chaplains gave testimonies of God’s grace and healing. We were privileged to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Pastoral Counselor Lloyd Looney and his wife Connie; we heard the testimony of Law Enforcement Chaplain Marvin Ellis who, after extensive cancer treatment, has now been declared “cancer free;” and, we heard from Clinical Chaplain Larry Perritte and his wife, Sue, about how he dealt with a devastating health problem this past year and is now back in ministry. Army Chaplain (COL) Richard Pace, Command Chaplain, Fort McPherson, Georgia, gave an account of his recent trip to visit troops in Kuwait and other critical areas. It is the Commission’s policy that anytime the Commission staff visits an area for a conference, course, or some other event that we pull together all of our area endorsed chaplains and family members for an enrichment experience.
Prayer Requests From Our Chaplains
¨ Prison Chaplain, Dr. Betty Standifer, Chattanooga, Tennessee, gives this report: “When I walked into the prison this week, deep grief overwhelmed me. I learned that one of the women that I had been working with, for unknown reasons, had died rather suddenly. Trouble had followed this precious woman all of her life. She came from a difficult home life where there was always fighting; she suffered severe depression; and the first time I visited her, she cried through the whole session. I believe with all my heart that she had accepted Jesus; and I pray that the love of God will now surround her broken family.”
¨ Hospital Chaplain David Moore, Ypsilanti, Michigan, requested that we pray for his dear mom. He reports that she is in full remission from cancer, but needs the Lord’s continued touch.
¨ Pray for our chaplains who are deployed. To Kuwait, Chaplain (CPT) Tom Baize ; to Afghanistan, Chaplain (CPT) Jonathan Hurt, Chaplain (MAJ) Roderick Swanson, Chaplain (CPT) Chris Underwood; to Iraq, Chaplain (CPT) Patricia Nichols, Chaplain (CPT) Ismael Serrano; to Qatar, Chaplain (CPT) Matthew Boyd.
¨ Pray for our most senior Community Service Chaplain, Jennie Hill, Columbia, South Carolina. She is 87-years-old with a long-term nursing home chaplaincy ministry. She has been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer.
¨ Army Chaplain (CPT) Timothy Staggs, Fort Knox, Kentucky, requests that we pray for the family of a drill sergeant who murdered his wife.
¨ Continue to pray for Clinical Chaplain Joe and Kathryn Schuck, Lanett, Alabama, as they process their grief from the loss of their son, Mark. He suffered with multiple physical problems over the years; but, from all reports, he was a tremendous witness to everyone who came into contact with him. The final memorial service for Mark will be held this Saturday at the Faith Temple Church of God, Lanett, Alabama.
¨ Clinical Chaplain Daniel Wessell, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, requests prayer for his wife, Cheryl. She recently underwent exploratory surgeries, resulting in the removal of scar tissue from a previous surgery. She is expecting a very slow recovery; and remains physically exhausted.
¨ Community Service Chaplain Eilene Kuzmann, Kennebunk, Maine, requests that we continue to pray for her healing from two hip replacement surgeries. She reports that God is blessing her. Following the surgeries, she was able to meet her preaching commitments in England during July and August.
Chaplaincy Testimonies
· Chaplain Connie Uy, Chaplaincy Coordinator for the Word for the World Christian Fellowship, Manila, Philippines, sent this report: “We are embarking on a community development program for the less fortunate. We have been offered a 1,000 square meter lot for our use in caring for the aging. We intend to teach them some livelihood programs so that they will not remain dependent on others. We have lined up many other projects to train and place chaplains in our military communities, prisons, hospitals, and other areas. Through our chaplaincy programs we will teach the poor the techniques of farming and fishing, as well as other vocational skills. This is a big task, but we believe that our God has made us equal to it.”
· Chaplain Keith Honeycutt, Penrose, North Carolina, Director of the Blue Ridge Prison and Jail Ministries, reports that hundreds of bibles and devotional materials were given to inmates this month with many of the bibles in languages other than English. This chaplaincy center now has 50 active volunteers, representing 10 different denominations. Sixty-five churches in the community support these chaplaincy ministries.
· Prison Chaplain Joel Hammons, Parchmen Penitentiary, Mississippi, reports: “With thousands of inmates, our chaplains are in constant need of your prayers and support. Recently, I served communion to 72 offenders. I made many death notifications and preformed a burial at our Penitentiary cemetery. This was a person whose family did not even claim the body. Thank God we are able to bring dignity to the most forgotten.”
· Prison Chaplain Carl Adams, North Hampton, Ohio, reports: “In one of our recent services, I noticed that a middle-aged man of Arabic appearance was greatly touched by the presence of the Lord. Even after the service, tears remained in his eyes. He told me that he was a Palestinian, born in Jerusalem, and raised as a Muslim. He was taught that Jesus Christ was a good rabbi and prophet, but not the Messiah. While in Jerusalem, visiting with friends at the site thought to be the tomb of Jesus, a miracle took place. He said that his hand and arm felt as if they had been charged with some kind of energy field. And then, he sensed the presence of someone there with him near this site. Frightened, he turned and ran out of the tomb. As the years went by, he pondered this experience. Now in the US and in prison, he once again encountered the story of Jesus. While listening to others give testimonies of Christ, he again felt this presence that he had felt years before. It was then that he gave his entire life to the one who died and had been raised from the dead.” (Chaplain Adams has had an active ministry in Ohio Correctional Institutions for the past 10 years. He has lead hundreds to the Lord. As a member of the Ohio Death Row Ministry Committee, he has been privileged to be with inmates facing execution. In reflecting on an inmate who was recently executed, Chaplain Adams stated, “Going back to 1995, this inmate gave his heart to the Lord. And now, we can be assured that he is enjoying far more freedom, peace, and forgiveness with his Savior Jesus Christ than any of us on the face of the earth.”)
Finally
Recently, I had the opportunity to preach at a local church. I began by asking the congregation, “Would you give me the anointing for a sermon that touches your needs?” They looked rather puzzled until I let them know that, according to the word of God, the power lies within them, the Body of Christ, and not just in the one who has the privilege of occupying the pulpit. If we have done anything right in these 31 years of chaplaincy ministries, it is that we have recognized that those in the field know better what their needs are than we do. This is why we have revised our training materials many times and why we are now developing a Local Church Chaplaincy Training program. We do it because pastors and other leaders who took our Community Service Chaplains Training courses wanted us to develop a course so that they could appropriately turn their local churches into chaplaincy outreach centers. Those sitting on our pews know far better than we do what the Lord wants to do in our local churches, through our chaplaincy programs, and all of our church ministries. Where did we get the idea that we could develop– in a germ-free, closed environment– ministries for the body of Christ without even consulting them? It would be like devising a children’s program or a program for seniors without ever entering into dialogue with kids and our senior adults. Chaplaincy is never about us; rather, it is always about those we serve.
Sincerely,
Robert D. Crick
Weekly Bible Verse
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 (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. Jake Popejoy, jakepopejoy@aol.com
Community Service Chaplaincy Administrative Information, wroberson@cogchaplains.com
Special Projects, 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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