As I move forward in my career as a Professional Army Chaplain, my philosophy—my understanding of how I function in ministry must be embedded with the Army Doctrine. This embedment facilitates my ministry to prevent me from working against the system or, simply, working in a vacuum—where I am the only one who understands what I am doing in relation to what is going on around me.
AR 165-1 paragraph 2-3 outlines two competencies of the Army Chaplain one being a professional military religious leader and the other being a professional military religious support staff advisor. In addition to these competencies, the Army Chaplain facilitates Religious support by adhering to three major principles: Nurture the Living, Care for the Wounded, and Honor the Dead. (AR 165-1 paragraph 2-3) Being nested in the core competencies and principles of the Army Chaplain, my philosophy of ministry is embedded in Army Doctrine in my areas of emphasis and function.
As an Army Chaplain, I seek to function as a Pastor, an Ambassador, and a Mentor –or easiest to remember by using the acronym “PAM”.
As a Pastor, it is my desire to provide or perform duties expected by a professional military religious leader. These are the duties traditionally understood to be the Chaplains primary role—but provide and perform also involves enhancing the free exercise of religion in the Brigade. While I do not compromise my beliefs as a Southern Baptist, I do cooperate with other Chaplains and other Faith Group leaders to ensure all Soldiers have the freedom to worship in the manner in which they believe.
As an Ambassador, it is my desire to re npresent God to the Commander and the Commander to God through the role of a professional military religious support staff advisor. Also, in this role it would be imperative that I, as an ambassador, seek to provide the best possible advice from the arena of religious support. As I represent God to the Commander, I also seek to represent the Commander to God through a commitment and responsibility to bring the needs of the command before God in prayer.
As a Mentor, it is my desire to mentor others with in the team to carry on their roles to the best of their abilities. Through mentoring, I seek to provide both competencies, not necessarily directly to the Commander, but to others on the team. My first responsibility in mentoring is to the Battalion Chaplains that I will supervise. It is my duty as their supervisor to encourage them to establish themselves within their Battalions to function in according to Army regulation, and to fulfill the core competencies and principles or capabilities of the Army Chaplain. My second responsibility in mentoring is to the staff. As many of these staff members wrestle with providing the best advice to the commander.
I believe God has placed me in a unique role as an Army Chaplain. This framework for being the Chaplain God has called me to be requires an understanding and functioning in congruence to Army Doctrine.
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This post was written as an assignment give during the Chaplain Captain’s Career Course (C4) in August 2012, Fort Jackson, SC.