I once picked up a Prayer Point magazine from Samirtan’s Purse. (I think it was the February 2008 edition.) In the back of the magazine was an article by E.M. Bounds. Titled “Prayer and Vigilance”. At the bottom of the article Prayer Point added this bio:
Edward McKendree Bounds (1835-1913) practiced law in Missouri until he felt called to the Gospel ministry at age 24. After serving as a chaplain in the Civil War, he pastored churches in Tennessee, Missouri, and Alabama. He typically arose at four in the morning to spend at least three hours in prayer. This article is taken from his book “The Necessity of Prayer.”
This quick biography struck me as VERY significant. One of the great teachers of Prayer, was an Army Chaplain. There are others–Oswald Chambers, YMCA Chaplain during World War I. D.L. Moody, Civil War chaplain. These three are spiritual greats. Preachers that have been shaped to some degree by the terrors of war and the interaction with the warriors.
This leads to several questions:
What kind of Chaplain were they?
How did these Greats do ministry?
Were they spiritual powerhouses that became Chaplains?
Or did they become powerhouses as a result of being a Chaplain?
What does that say to me as a Chaplain? How is this experience going to change me? How are we affecting the next generation of Christian through the chaplaincy? What are we doing as Chaplains to grow in our Christian walk? How can we communicate to the Christian community the opportunities that can be afforded by serving some time as an Army Chaplain?
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This post is a rewrite of a post tiled “Great Cloud of Witnesses” from March 2008.
Photo from dvidshub.net