Chaplains Commission Weekly Update – 11/25/2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Choice Christian Greetings!
Happy Thanksgiving!
On behalf of our Church of God Chaplains and Pastoral Specialists around the world, Happy Thanksgiving! We are grateful for so much, to include:
Almighty God, who sent Jesus Christ, in the form of a human, to take away our sins and make us recipients to a “redeemed life.” All of us were “outside the gates” of redemption when He found us. We did not go to Him, but He came to us. It is by grace that He found us, in bondage and sin, and, convicted our hearts and brought us to an altar of prayer. It is by grace that He gave us the wonderful opportunity to be part of the body of Christ; by grace He nurtured us, trained us, and by grace He gave us the holy privilege of chaplaincy ministries. He showed to us that it is not just about “us,” but “them.” It is about a wounded world; single moms trying to raise a house full of kids, with no finances. It’s about those in prison, the widows, the homeless, the inmate, though he is charged with multiple murders, has given his heart to the Lord and awaits execution. It is about our military chaplains; the thousands they serve, water baptisms in the middle of a desert, revivals in a strange land, chaplains, whose passionate call has taken them around the world. It’s about our clinical chaplains who serve the wounded, the distressed, the diseased and the hurting. It’s about our chaplains on university and college campuses, those in the marketplace, and, our chaplains who speak other languages and are involved in other cultures, in 72 different countries, in homeless centers, gospel rescue missions, among the common folks whose pain is sometimes unbearable. By grace we were all introduced to one of the greatest ministries of the church; chaplaincy “outside the gates.”
On this day we are also thankful for our membership and association with the Church of God; our Care Division, an umbrella of other departments who have the same passion and love as we do for those disenfranchised; a denomination that loves and supports our chaplains, and, those who sit on the pews, who pray for soldiers, inmates, hospital patients; and, especially during the holidays, send packages, letters, make available resources that tells us that we are not alone as wounded healers.
More than anything else, on this day, I am so thankful for our chaplains and their families. For all of our chaplains; whose magnificent gifts and commitment have made this a core of chaplains unequaled to anywhere else, or at any place. They are professionally trained, sitting in many very important positions, but, they are filled with the wonderful Holy Spirit; believing that God witnesses through us in His own language, and, believing that we are still experiencing last day revivals with healings, conversions, and, a mighty move of God. Happy Thanksgiving Church of God Chaplains!
Return From South Africa
What did someone once say about a certain place? “You can’t get there from here.” After an all-day journey by plane, sitting in airports, and simply experiencing the fatigue of travel, I began to feel like “you can’t get there from here.” But we got there; to South Africa, had a great care conference and chaplaincy course; and, renewed colleagueship with those that really want and believe in chaplaincy. We had some 100 students at Reverend Stafford Petersen’s church, Cape Town, South Africa; and, arranged for additional care conferences and chaplaincy courses at Durbin, South Africa, March 2010. I met with South African Military Chaplain (LTC) Addie Burt, and his wife. We shared stories of our chaplaincy ministries, and, came to understand that this is a common ministry with a common goal. My many thanks to those that were with us on this extended trip; Dr. Donnie Smith, Executive Director of the Care Division, Reverend David Lorency, President of Operation Compassion, Dr. Johnny Sweet, Director of the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home and Coordinator of the Global Children’s Care Network, and Dr. Jake Popejoy, primary trainer for our chaplaincy courses.
Other Chaplaincy News
· This Thanksgiving week it is appropriate that we mention a chaplaincy couple who are heavily committed to care and benevolence ministries. They are Community Service Chaplains Andrew and Cherry Landrus, Crab Orchard, Tennessee. Like every month, this past month they ministered to 112 different families, giving food to 587 individuals, including 143 children under the age of 18. During October they provided, through their backpack program, 624 weekend backpacks to feed children attending various schools.
· Law Enforcement and Fire Department Chaplain William Howard, Saginaw, Michigan, requests prayer for their departments, in that they have experienced high unemployment and cuts in resources.
· Chaplain Keith Honeycutt, Blue Ridge Prison and Jail Ministries,Penrose, North Carolina, reports that during the past month they honored volunteers at a special event, giving out hundreds of bibles and devotional materials, and, shared the faith with inmates in several worship services.
· Clinical Chaplain John Corcoran, Miamisburg, Ohio, was recently installed as the President of the Ohio Association of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselors.
· Air Force Chaplain, Captain, Chris Underwood, Colorado Springs, Colorado, just recently returned from a deployment in Afghanistan. His ministries in Afghanistan were recently featured on the Faith News Network. A few of the comments are as follows: “I dealt with many patients who had multiple injuries; bringing comfort and the care of God to their lives. War doesn’t discriminate; we also had local Afghan children who were victims of the conflict. One service member had been hit by an IED, lost his foot and experienced a broken leg. He was so grateful to be alive and wanted our prayers as he made his way back to be with his family. Another soldier, who had a large print Bible, told me that he just recently was saved. With tears streaming down his face, I had the privilege of praying with him.”
· Chaplain Rodney Vickers, Pastoral Counselor, Norfolk, Virginia, just returned from the country of Columbia, where he conducted a marriage and family conference for 60 pastors and leaders.
· Prison Chaplain Dr. Betty Standifer, Chattanooga, Tennessee, who ministers to female inmates, updates: “I visited with a young woman, age 23, who will be in prison for a long time. She told me of her crimes, how much she hated others, especially her mother. The pain was so deep. Another woman, in her 40’s, was on her knees on the top of her bed. This precious woman simply rocked back and forth, praying these words, ‘O God forgive me. Please forgive.’ She told me about her life of drugs; forever on the run. She had been brought up in the church, but now was so far away from God. We read Psalms 139 together. Tears flowed down her face as we shared. Her arms showed obvious signs of cutting with a razor. As we go through this Thanksgiving, please pray for my inmates, and the homeless. More than 1 in 7 American households struggle to put enough food on the table. That is 49 million people. So let us be thankful, share some food, snacks or groceries with another family. Happy Thanksgiving!”
Finally
Thanksgiving is not about “us,” but about “them.” And, it is not too late to do something for “them.” Pick-up the phone and call that lonely and distressed friend; or, quickly get to the grocery store and surprise someone with an arm load of groceries. Or, swallow your pride, go ahead and give money to that guy at the entrance to the expressway who holds the little sign that reads, “Just need food for my kids.” Do it even though you might suspect that he could be collecting money for other purposes. Or, call one of our deployed chaplain’s families, with a message of, “Just thinking about you; I am here when you need me.” And, the list goes on and on. Be creative. Step outside the boundaries, push back the turkey and the gravy and say, “O Lord, how can I bless and be blessed this special week?” It is a privilege to be connected with you in ministry during Thanksgiving, and every day, as we, “together,” reach a broken world “outside the gates.”
Sincerely,
Robert D. Crick
Weekly Bible Verse
Let the words of Christ in all their richness live in your hearts and make you wise.
Colossians 3:16 (NLT)
Contacts
Director, Dr. Robert D. Crick, cricksot@att.net
Full-time Chaplaincy, Dr. Jerry McNabb, jmcnabb@cogchaplains.com
Community Service Chaplaincy and Training, Dr. Jake Popejoy, jakepopejoy@aol.com
Public Relations and Recruitment, 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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