not ashamed

this post is one of self-disclosure, in hopes that what i have experienced will help others.  i especially hope that my fellow CHRISTian chaplains will read this, as it directly applies to some of them.  i had a bit of a revelation that hit me the other day that i wanted to share with you.  first, for those who are not chaplains, i feel the need to explain a bit of what we do.  one of our key roles is ensuring the free exercise of religion for all.  part of that is advising the command on issues related to religious expression, especially when it comes to proselytizing.  to clarify, despite what you see on the news, our service men and women are allowed to share their faith, just so long as they are not forcing it on people.  that includes all faiths, and is true regardless of rank, so if you have a senior officer that is using mandatory functions as a platform to subject people to their particular faith view, then we as chaplains have a responsibility to go to that officer and let them know they cannot do that.  and if you have a junior person that is going around preaching to people, we talk to them as well and inform them of the rules. 


so why do i mention all of that?  well, as chaplains, our motto is "cooperation without compromise," and we are expected to assist all in the expression of their faith, whether through provision (ministering our faith to those of like faith) or through facilitation (putting a person in contact with clergy of their own faith so that they can practice their faith).  but sometimes, the institution gets so ingrained into your being that it starts to creep in and change you for the worst if you are not careful.  the realization that the change was happening in me came on friday at a promotion ceremony for one of the officers at my command.  it was held in the chapel (per his request), and invitations were sent out, meaning that it was voluntary, and during the ceremony, he got up and he thanked God and his "Lord and Savior Jesus CHRIST," and then his wife got up and sang a beautiful rendition of "how great Thou art," all verses.  this is where the revelation hit me.  instead of sitting there and being thankful that this man was being faithful and using the blessing of promotion God had given him to advance the gospel and the cause of CHRIST, i was looking around and worried about people being offended out in the audience.  i caught myself doing it, and immediately the Spirit convicted me and my eyes filled with tears as i found myself in the same shoes as the disciples, trying to silence the Saviour and His message.  i had become what i railed against, those who worry more about the world than what Christ commands.  i stopped and asked forgiveness right then and there, and resolved to change and not let the institution assimilate me into the world of political correctness.


in the book of daniel, we see the story of daniel and three israelites that were taken captive by the babylonians.  it says that they became wise in the knowledge and culture of the babylonians, but they never forsook their sacred identity.  as chaplains, and as CHRISTians in enemy occupied territory, we must ensure that we are, as Scripture teaches, "wise as serpents and gentle as doves," becoming versed in the knowledge and culture around us, so that we can adequately speak to its adherents, but never forsaking our true citizenship in CHRIST, much like we see in the book of Acts, when paul speaks to those at mars hill, using their culture to open doors to witness to them.  however, we can easily find ourselves venturing too far to one side or another, either becoming so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good, or vice versa.  i see too many CHRISTians in the name of separatism becoming like the levite and the priest, choosing to pass by on the other side of the road of the man in need of assistance because he was "unclean," instead of getting our hands dirty, and choosing, like Jesus, to spend time with sinners.  but, we have to be careful that in spending time with the world to show them Jesus, that we do not allow the world to infect us and skew our allegiance to our Savior.  otherwise we become like demas, leaving our first love for "this present world."  so let your light shine among men, and never be ashamed of the gospel of Christ!


i ask for your prayers, on behalf of not only myself, but all of our fellow chaplains and co-laborers with CHRIST, that we will stay true to our calling, and that we will be strengthened by His Holy Spirit when we begin to falter, and that our Saviour will continually draw us to Him in His grace.  we have the hope this world needs, and God help us should we choose to hide that lamp under a bushel out of fear of compromising our position!  what we do is important, and the eternity of the people we meet depends upon our boldness!
for my chaplain friends, find a chaplain mentor/accountability partner within your faith tradition to help keep you grounded.  as you minister, remember that we have two sides to our collars, and both are important.  we talk about the importance of balancing them, but many times we tend to see it as being a minister and an officer, when in actuality, it should be being a disciple of CHRIST, and that influencing how we carry out our officer duties.  the two are not independent of each other, but rather the right is dependent upon the left.  we lose the left, and we might as well become a line officer.  it is an honor to serve with you and alongside you, and i will be praying for you as you pray for me!