“Pluralism is foundational, yet it is one of the more difficult issues for many chaplain candidates, chaplains, and even some endorsers to understand and discuss because we’re accustomed to working and ministering in a local congregation where almost everyone we interact with is from our own denomination, with identical doctrine and similar worship style.”
As a battalion chaplain, I was asked to say the prayer before lunch at the annual family Christmas party. I love to pray. I love being visible to my Soldiers so that they know who they can go to when they need help or guidance or counseling. So I was glad for the opportunity. I also love telling my Soldiers about Jesus, but the annual family holiday party isn’t the place to preach the gospel because it is a command event . . . not a religious service.
When the time came, the commander invited me to the microphone and I prayed. I thanked the Lord for the families of the Soldiers. I asked for divine safety and protection. I prayed for the marriages and child-parent relationships. I expressed hope that the events of the day would be meaningful, fun, and encouraging. And I finished the prayer not by saying “in Jesus’s Name, Amen.” Instead, I finished by thanking the Lord for his goodness and blessings, Amen. I returned to the table where I was sitting with my wife, and after a few minutes a young Jewish officer approached me, held out his hand to me and said, “Thank you for being my chaplain, too!
~ Chaplain Paul Linzey, Colonel, US Army (Ret)
Find Chaplain Linzey’s book, Military Ministry: Chaplains in the Twenty-First Century, here on Amazon!
Military Chaplain Guide 