Chaplains Commission Weekly Update – 1/22/2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 9:55 am
Choice Christian Greetings!
As I reflect on the terrible tragedies in Haiti – with 200,000+ dead and unbelievable destruction – the following question: “Would you rather be in Haiti or on the Titanic?” As you know, when the Titanic went down, though nothing close to the magnitude of the destruction in Haiti, there was an interesting image. No more than just a couple of days after the Titanic sunk to the deepest depths of the ocean, it’s existence would probably have been almost undetectable. Sure, there may have been a few pieces of debris still floating around, but for you that know something about our oceans, when a ship sinks, all semblance of that ship having ever existed is gone forever.
As bad as Haiti is, at least, there is a semblance that at one time those buildings occupied families and friends; hotels comforted travelers during their weary journeys; and schools symbolized all that comes with growing up – those better days when children were at play or learning in classrooms. Would you rather be in Haiti or on the Titanic?
As awful as it is, amidst the destruction, in my prayer the other day as I witnessed those scenes, the Lord seemed to say, “These people will live again.” And then my mind took me to Jeremiah 29. After that utter destruction of Israel, about half of God’s people were taken into Babylonian captivity and half were left in the homeland to suffer unbelievable persecution. Yet, we hear the prophet proclaim, “After 70 years, you will live again.” At least if you go to Haiti, you can point to a spot where a schoolhouse once stood and say, “This school can be rebuilt; and we will live again.”
Now apply that image to what is happening in churches in the US and other western countries. There are folks that believe, and practice in their leadership style, that we are like the Titanic, and not Haiti. The challenges are so great that some have thrown-up their hands. I have even heard people say, a few years from now, “You will not even know that the church existed here.” I don’t feel that way. Chaplaincy ministry has taught me that regardless of the destruction, if we will go into those places with the unconditional love of Christ, surely these people will “live again.” Jeremiah not only tells these folks that they will survive, with at least the remnants of their families that are left, but that someday God will deliver them from this place and will restore to them all aspects of spiritual life that have been pressed under the rubble of their destruction. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Would you rather be in Haiti or on the Titanic? I believe that, as long as we can witness the destruction, we can envision with our spiritual eyes, the Lord’s restoration of this house; and that we will increase in number, not decrease. That our sons and daughters will again gather around those places of worship and say, “Truly God, you did not let us remain in our destruction; you restored your house and we live again.”
The Plea for Haiti
I am continuing to ask all of you – pastors, chaplains and agencies – to send a special offering to Operation Compassion for our Haitian mission. Operation Compassion Director David Lorency tells us that they have a long-term plan for supplying goods, and that with donations from you, we can begin to ship not just a few, but hundreds upon hundreds of 30,000 pound compartment loads to Haiti during this critical time. You should send your donations by the following means:
1. Send checks payable to Operation Compassion to:
Operation Compassion
114 Stuart Road NE
Suite 370
Cleveland, TN 37312
2. Use a credit card to donate by going online to www.operationcompassion.org Instructions are provided online.
3. Federal employees can go online, select #12403, Operation Compassion Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) number.
News From the Field
· While our focus is on Haiti, we continue to give God the praise for our chaplains in their daily walk and their daily ministries. Prison Chaplain Joel Hammons, Parchman Penitentiary, Mississippi, writes: “In one month, I had the privilege of giving counseling to 100 inmates.” Or, Clinical Chaplain Rod Harwood, Pendleton, Oregon, writes, “During our annual Christmas food drive, we brought in 2,238 pounds of food and delivered it to a local food pantry which was running desperately low.” Or, Community Service Chaplain Daniel Pacheco, New York, New York, with the simple prayer, “Pray for my brothers and sisters in Haiti who have lost loved ones.”
· Juvenile Center Chaplain Billy Ridner, Maryville, Tennessee, notes: “My wife Robin and I are volunteer chaplains for a juvenile center. For the year 2009, we were privileged to volunteer 536 hours there, providing ministry to 879 kids. At Christmas, we also took part in distributing 80 baskets of food to needy families.”
· Community Service Chaplain Raymond Griffey, Theodore, Alabama, notes: “During the holidays, we were part of a program that gave away 2,000 bags of groceries to the poor. It is amazing how many people are in need.”
· Army Chaplain (LTC) Mickey Jett, Afghanistan, sent this sad but significant note: “My ministry was put into proper perspective as we honored Sergeant J.W.F. We sometimes forget what makes this ministry so important, as thousands are affected by war, poverty, stress, fear, and deep pain. The Sergeant’s memorial service brought together Canadians and Americans; and, shortly thereafter, when I visited a hospital where one of our soldiers had died, I found a doctor in tears because she had just lost one of her patients. Tonight we conducted a ramp ceremony, in which we escorted and honored one of our soldiers and led his body to the flight to Bahrain. There were about 250 coalition forces lined up to honor him. We sent him off with dignity; generals and privates lined the formation; soldiers from Britain, Canada, Germany and other countries were present. Even though he had died of natural causes, we wanted to give him our highest respect. And so now the funeral is over, and my thoughts go to the US, a soldier has died on foreign land, away from his family, and now, his three children and his devoted wife will be facing a future needing the tender care of Almighty God.”
Finally
This week, we have a number of our senior instructors in for our reorganized “Trainer’s Conference.” This program is headed by Dr. Jake Popejoy, who envisions that these long-term chaplaincy trainers will assist us as we expand our ministries around the world. Let me give you one example. As you know, chaplains are often times listed as “immediate responders,” and not “first responders,” during a crisis. The reason why chaplains are so needed during a disaster stems from the trauma left on the hearts of those that experience these events. Even after food, clothing, and medical attention is given, those who went through a disaster are still very much traumatized and need chaplaincy debriefing and care. That is what we envision with these senior trainers and others. We hope to go into Haiti, find those pastors who have received our chaplaincy training, debrief them, and give them the tools to begin to debrief their church members and others. This debriefing, Crisis Response Pastoral Care, will be offered to groups of pastors in a two-day training session for the next year and beyond as required training for this specialized work. While we honor, and work diligently alongside of the “first responders,” we know that our greatest gifts are those associated with more long-term care: helping individuals, long after the crisis has passed, to find internal and deep spiritual hope. That is why I began this update with the statement: “Yes, it will take time to deal with the deep pain of this tragedy, but you will find hope and live again.” That doesn’t happen accidentally. It is not as if you can tell someone “time will heal you.” We all know that is not the case. Time only deepens the pain, and even makes the recovery more difficult. Chaplains know that unless a person is given an intentional, well planned opportunity, to not only revisit the pain, but through professional care, to recover permanently from the pain, s/he may never find a complete path to healing. We know our work is cut out for us. We know that this will be a long project, and it will demand additional finances. But, how could we do otherwise? We are called for this very hour; we will be there; and, through chaplaincy care, “folks will live again.”
Sincerely,
Robert D. Crick
Weekly Bible Verse
Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will be standing firm.
Ephesians 6:13 (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
RDC/als
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