Chaplains Commission Weekly Update – 5/14/2010
Friday, May 14, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Choice Christian Greetings!
In my upcoming book, The Theology, History and Practice of Chaplaincy Ministries, I make the following statement: “The imbalance of the church is seen in it’s over or under commitment to either the Temple or to the marketplace.” The church, then, must think of itself as having two dynamic responsibilities: first, to establish good, faithful, and responsible ministries within the proverbial gates of the Temple, i.e., the local church; and second, to equally lay claim to ministry outside the gates of the Temple in the marketplace. That is, we boldly lay claim to our place within the Temple and enjoy the benefits of the traditional ministries which it provides (worship, Sunday school, youth ministries, and the list goes on and on), while equally laying claim to that blessed ministry which expands into the community. The bold reality is, to be a Christian, one is dynamically and deeply attached to both entities, for both are the dwelling places of Almighty God. While those within the gates may have experienced Him personally, it goes without saying that God still claims every creature, both within the gates and outside the gates, as His “own.” Such a theology helps the church from being overly embedded in either context.
To be attached only to the local church or denomination could cause us to do what chaplaincy tries to avoid: peer out at our wounded world from within our safely guarded, “gated communities.” Such an attitude would assume that our responsibilities with God ended at the altar. In reality, our responsibilities as a Christian only begin at the altar. From this altar experience we begin to understand and lay claim to our responsibilities for ministry “beyond the gates.” The ideal Christian, and of course that which chaplaincy promotes at the core, is one that is rooted in the traditions and ministries inside the gates; while, at the same time, recognizes the call and commitment to minister outside the gates.
Everything I have tried to promote these 32 years centers on these two principles: strong identities as Pentecostals and a strong commitment to take the best of our Pentecostal theology and practices to the most desperate places of this world. To go into these desperate places, we must have a strong “Temple” identity. We don’t go there as Baptist, Methodist, or Roman Catholic, as good as these folks may be, but we go as “Pentecostals.” Pentecostalism is not simply a footnote to Evangelicalism; it has its own ebb and flow, its own theology, and its own unique practices. For example, consider our “Pentecostal” model of counseling. While we embrace all the best therapeutic practices for helping individuals and families, we are always ready for the Holy Spirit to break in on the “professional process.” These “ah-ha” moments come because, at an altar of prayer, we were filled with the Holy Spirit; and, while we are professional, we are ready, always, to let the Spirit alter our man-made processes.
The very language that we use in regard to these two identities, the Temple and the marketplace, lets us know how important it is that we know who we are and whose we are. But, equally so, as strong Pentecostals, we expect our chaplains to be highly professional and skilled with the very best clinical insight and training. That is one, among many reasons, why we require and maintain educational/clinical standards. In summary, it is the best of both worlds. The best of the Temple and the best of those lessons learned in the marketplace. It gives credibility to us, both within the gates and outside the gates. This, among many reasons, is why we lift up Jesus as the prototype chaplain/minister; he was genuinely committed to the Temple, while equally committed to reaching and living among the disenfranchised of the community. Chaplaincy leads the way in helping the church to understand the principles of Temple and marketplace integrated ministries.
Help!!! Our New Chaplaincy Project in Haiti
We are appealing to all of those who love chaplaincy and its unique ministries to assist us in our Haitian chaplaincy project. Our project, labeled “Post-Earthquake Response for Haiti,” is described as follows: “We will assist Haitian students, pastors and laity in dealing with their post-traumatic stress from the recent earthquake.” The first phase of this project has already been completed; we gathered students, faculty, and key Haitian leaders for a debriefing workshop with the goal that they will be able to, through the power of the Holy Spirit, transform their status as “victims” into that of “caregivers.” The second phase calls for a permanent trauma center building, which will house our pastoral debriefers and other counseling personnel over the next several years. These counselors and debriefers will be in Haiti once a month, conducting a two-day post-earthquake seminar. The first day will be primarily in lecture/class format; the second day, participants will be broken into small, debriefing groups. The instructors and small group leaders will be made up of trained US and Haitian volunteer and full-time chaplains. This special project is led by Tom Offutt, the Director of Special Projects, and Jake Popejoy, Chaplains Commission Director of Training and CSC. During this second phase, we will complete our building, purchase an all-terrain vehicle to transport workers and others, and begin to network with several other benevolent organizations and agencies.
The third phase, a long-term project, will offer similar training and workshops on a monthly basis to pastors and other leaders. These trained leaders will in turn be able to work, both in groups and individually, with lay persons who have been traumatized by this national catastrophe. Many of these lay persons, as well as the pastors, have lost loved ones; their churches have been destroyed, or seriously damaged; and, they are living in an area where even the bare essentials for life are missing.
What are we asking you to do? We have set-up a special Chaplains Commission Haitian Post-Earthquake Response Fund to finance this two-year project. The need is a $100,000 commitment within the next three months. We have already gotten a commitment of $50,000; so we are asking you to consider an offering, either personally or from your chaplaincy fund, to help finance this project. Additionally, as this project develops, we will be asking for chaplaincy volunteers to join us in the awesome task of helping to debrief and to bring back some semblance of normality to an entire nation. Send your donations to the:
Church of God Chaplains Commission
Attn: Haitian Post-Earthquake Response Fund
PO Box 3330
Cleveland, TN 37320-3330
Chaplaincy News
· Jail and Prison Chaplain Karen Sherman, Longview, Washington, sent this testimony: “I recently attended a drug court graduation (two-year county program) for addicts. Three of those graduating were saved during this program; and they are now active in local churches.”
· Law Enforcement Chaplain Ernest Kight, Siler City, North Carolina, reports: “Recently, I had an unbelievable experience. We had a robbery at one of our liquor stores. As police chaplain, I was asked by the management of the store to talk to their employees, as well as to help debrief them from the stress resulting from this incident. During the debriefing process, I was given the privilege of sharing my faith.”
· One of our most successful local church/international programs is housed at the World Outreach Worship Center, Newport News, Virginia. This ministry is directed by Chaplain Jack Smith. From March 2009 to March 2010, listen to these interesting statistics: 4,000 chaplaincy contact visits to the surrounding communities, more than 3,000 meals and other benevolent acts preformed, more than 500 converted through chaplaincy outreach, many healings and restorations, chaplaincy courses in four other major cities in the US, chaplaincy courses in Sudan, Congo, Zanzibar, Rwanda, Uganda, and other countries outside the United States. Additionally, through this local church chaplaincy program, several African military bases have hosted chaplaincy training and conferences.
· Prison Chaplain Margaret Pogin, Louis Park, Minnesota, sent a report of her ministries at several women’s prisons in her area. She states that several were healed in services and 50 women stood up to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.
· Pastoral Specialist/Therapist John Corcoran, Miamisburg, Ohio, reports: “In addition to my work as a full-time therapist, I also have the privilege of working with Celebrate Recovery groups, police and fire departments, and a number of other community agencies. In one experience during the past month, I was called to give response to a terrible accident; a cyclist hit a Lincoln Town Car head on. The scene was horrific. I spent hours on the scene providing care and debriefing to family members of the victim, as well as to the fire/EMS/police officials.”
· This week, Army Chaplain (COL) Charles Howell, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, will move from his present assignment of that of “Command Chaplain” to the Installation Management Command (IMCOM). We have been privileged to have Chaplain Howell as the Command/Senior Chaplain to such a strategic area; where, our sons and daughters who are victims of a prolonged war are given comprehensive spiritual, emotional and medical care. Our prayers and best wishes go to the Howell’s in this new area of responsibility. On a joyful note, Chuck and Sharon inform us that their daughter gave birth to twin boys; Wyatt and Brendon. We send our sincere congratulations to the Howell’s and their extended family.
· Our congratulations go to Dr. Hector Chiesa, Bronx, New York, for his outstanding commitment to international ministries through numerous local, regional and international programs. Dr. Chiesa has been a consultant/caregiver to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other areas devastated by national and other disasters. Among many honors, Dr. Chiesa serves as the President of Radio Vision Ministries.
· Law Enforcement Chaplain Terry Wigley, Saraland, Alabama, at a jointly sponsored law enforcement conference, was given special honors for his 31 years of chaplaincy ministries in law enforcement.
· Boy Scout Chaplain Jim Brinkley, Zionsville, Indiana, was recently approved by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America to serve as a chaplain for the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree. He, along with other chaplains, will be conducting worship services and providing religious instruction and counseling to over 40,000 Scouts and leaders.
Special Announcement
Our sincere congratulations go to Army Chaplain (MAJ-P) Jeff Walden, San Antonio, Texas, and his family, in his recent selection to the prestigious rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Send your notes of congratulations to Chaplain Walden, his wife Roslyn, and their children, at: jeffandros@aol.com
Special Reports
1. Dr. Erik Vasquez, who fills our Chaplaincy Academic Chair at the South American Theological Seminary, Quito, Ecuador, sent this annual report, including: “The establishment of chaplaincy institutional studies at the seminary; new certificate in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling program launched; a BA in Theology, with specialization in Institutional Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling; and, a Master’s program in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Theology.” We congratulate Dr. Vasquez for having one of the most comprehensive chaplaincy training programs found anywhere in the Church of God.
2. Army Chaplain (LTC) Mickey Jett, currently deployed to Afghanistan, sent an article, which was published on Faith News Network, April 26, 2010. Let me quote a couple of phrases from this very significant article. He states: “One of the most effective avenues for missional outreach is through military chaplaincy, especially in the Middle East. In my position as a Joint Command Chaplain for the International Security Assistance Force, I have the privilege and opportunity to daily touch the lives of troops from over 42 different countries that are part of NATO, as well as the lives of the Afghan people.” Also, in the article, he continues: “At our headquarters, we host high-ranking officers; generals, colonels, and a wide spectrum of visiting officials and dignitaries. Yet, for me as a chaplain, this is simply an opportunity to present Christ’s message as I wear the cross of Jesus on my uniform. I am constantly reminded that military chaplains are needed today just as the prophet was needed in Jeremiah’s time. Jeremiah preached God’s word prophetically during times of war and upheaval, when he was surrounded by death, destruction and moral decay. Now, 3,000 years later, through military chaplaincy, I have the unique opportunity to follow in the steps of this great heritage.”
Finally
Special holidays are extremely critical in the areas of chaplaincy ministries, particularly for those chaplains who offer care to those individuals are separated from their families, such as the military, in nursing homes, or in prisons. Chaplains know that the suicide rates go up among those who are stressed and disturbed on some of these special holidays. That is definitely the case with Mother’s Day. While we celebrate moms around the world on this special holiday, we must not forget that for many, this is a painful reminder of broken promises and dreams. For some moms, it brings back the memories of children who died in an awful automobile accident. Or, for soldiers in a far away area, it reminds them of that much needed unconditional love that they see when in the presence of mom. On Mother’s Day, Prison Chaplain Dr. Betty Standifer, Chattanooga, Tennessee, conducted worship services for female inmates, most of them mothers. It was a combination of joy, especially for those who recently committed their life to Christ, and grief over the fact that they were away from their children and, in some cases, the guilt of having neglected them. In a recent service at the prison where Dr. Standifer serves, she had her women inmates to bring to that service pictures of their children. Dr. Standifer reports that it was one of the most significant events that she had ever been privileged to lead; women weeping almost uncontrollably as they lifted the pictures of kids, many very young, some of them old enough to be parents. “They may have been in prison,” Dr. Standifer stated, “but they are still mothers, daughters, and the church’s too often forgotten individuals.” Our blessings go to our chaplains and their families; and, most especially, to our chaplains’ spouses, who, everyday, not only lift-up before God their own children, but those of the men and women they are called to serve. And, let us not forget that many of our chaplains are mothers. Some of these mothers are in uniform, serving in Iraq, away from their kids on this special day. May God give them, and all mothers, the special blessings that come only from Jesus Christ who, from the cross, recognized that very special person in His life: His earthly mom.
Sincerely,
Robert D. Crick
Weekly Bible Verse
Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use His words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
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
RDC/als
Correspondence
Categories: Weekly Update
Post a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.