Note #0204 (
Chief of
Chaplains
Chaplain (BG) Donald R.
Miller
Greetings
in the name of our faithful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Military
chaplains are attached to the separate branches of our military. Civilian chaplains function in hospitals,
hospices, police and fire departments, prisons and colleges as well as other
institutions.
Military
chaplains do not enter the military because they are in favor of war. They do so to minister to those who go to
war. Chaplains of police departments and
prisons do not attach themselves to these outfits because they are pro-crime. They do so to minister to the spiritual needs
of criminals and of those who enforce the laws criminals break. Chaplains of hospitals and hospices are not
for sickness and death. They are there
to minister to those touched by physical suffering and their caregivers as
well. Please forgive me for stating the
obvious but some of us will be accused of being pro-war because we choose to
minister to service men and women and their families.
Although
the USCOC is not a military chaplaincy it is very similar in that it has a
military structure and those granted chaplain status are ordinarily officers. But first and foremost USCOC chaplains are
ordained ministers. And as such our
commission from Almighty God must come before our commission from the Corps. Our primary duty lies in our service to God
according to the rites and practices of our own churches. But the Corps, and our membership in it,
enhances our ability to minister to those in uniform and their families. Thank God the USCOC has accepted
responsibility for practical religious ministry to the personnel of our armed
services and their loved ones.
Chaplains
are certainly different from civilian ministers. But I like to think of chaplains as very
special people. Pastors and ministers of
the Gospel must minister to the flocks given them by God. But chaplains must minister to a wide range of
people. Some of them will be religious
and some of them will not. Some of them
will be Christian and some of them will not.
But all of them, being made in the same image of God (Genesis 1.26, 27),
will have spiritual and practical needs that we will have to address (Galatians
6.10).
And
this will require more of us than we may think.
Being Christians we already have a love for one another as the Lord
requires (1 John 4.20 – 5.1). But we
must be ready and able to show love and compassion, respect and courtesy, and
wisdom and grace to many who will neither share our interest in the Savior nor
respect His teachings. We must be
willing to preach our sermons and teach our lessons with our lives rather than
our lips and with our manners rather than our mouths.
This
reminds me of the following poem (author unknown):
I'd rather see a sermon
than hear one any day.
I'd rather one would walk
with me,
than merely show the way.
For the eye's a better pupil
and more willing than the
ear.
Fine counsel is confusing;
but example's always clear.
And the best of all the
preachers
are the men who live their
creeds.
For to see good put in
action
is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do
it
if you'll let me see it
done.
I can watch your hands in
action;
but your tongue too fast may
run.
And the lectures you deliver
may be very wise and true;
But I'd rather get my lesson
by watching what you do.
For I may misunderstand you
and the high advice you
give;
But there's no
misunderstanding
HOW YOU ACT AND HOW YOU LIVE!
As
ordained ministers we can become quite parochial, that is, quite wrapped up in
our own faith communities and programs and ways of doing things. As chaplains we have to break out of those
patterns and relate to others very different from ourselves. Believe it or not this will actually enhance
the fellowship and unity we have in Christ.
You
see, our picking at one another and our being consumed with our differences and
how irritating they are to us may be distracting us from what the Bible says is
our primary responsibility: to love one another. So as we function as chaplains let us be
reminded that we are not called to be masters of pettiness but ministers of
practical Christianity. Further, we may
never get an opportunity to declare the Gospel to whom we are called to
minister. But that should not keep us
from our primary obligation to them: to love them as ourselves (Matthew
22.39). Let me say it again. Our first obligation to one another and to
those to whom we minister is to love them – not convert them to our point of
view, etc. These lessons, it seems to
me, are grasped sooner by chaplains than anyone else.
Here
are some closing Scriptures to consider:
Matthew 5.43
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.' 44 "But I say to you, love your enemies,
bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those
who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 "that you may be sons of
your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 "For if you love those
who love you, what reward have you? Do
not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 "And if you greet your
brethren only, what do you do more than others?
Do not even the tax collectors do so?
48 "Therefore you shall be
perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Romans 12.9
Let love be without hypocrisy.
Abhor what is evil. Cling to what
is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with
brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not
lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12
rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in
prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints,
given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do
not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with
those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate
with the humble. Do not be wise in your
own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of
all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you,
live peaceably with all men.
God bless,
Chaplain
(BG) Donald R. Miller
Chief
of Chaplains