The chaplain is the theologian in the firehouse or the police station. She is the crisis counselor at the Red Cross shelter in the aftermath of a hurricane. He is the marriage counselor to the troops in the harsh environs of the Iraqi desert. She is the career counselor in the halls and cubicles of the multinational corporate headquarters. And he is the tough-love father figure to the teenagers in jail.
Or, as Doug Carver, U.S. Army (retired) chief of chaplains and head of chaplaincy at the North American Mission Board, put it at this year’s Chaplains Conference in late September: “Chaplaincy at all levels is an extension of the body of Christ.”
It’s a lot to ask of the men and women who may or may not be formally trained in theology or counseling, which is one of the reasons the South Carolina Baptist Convention regularly offers training to volunteer and vocational chaplains around the state.
“These conferences are really helpful,” said Carmen Carella, volunteer chaplain for the Surfside Beach Fire Department. “I’ve gotten training in suicide prevention, post-traumatic stress disorder, and – I learned about Muslim beliefs and how to minister to Muslims. I was able to use that training just two weeks ago with one of the guys in our station, enlightening him about Muslim beliefs.”
In South Carolina, chaplains serve in public safety departments, correctional facilities, Fort Jackson, and as needed for disaster-relief situations. They counsel, pray as requested in public settings, answer religious questions, and often are as respected as they are teased.
“Oh yeah, the guys tease me all the time,” admitted Kenny Moore, pastor of Davidson Street Baptist Church in Clinton and chaplain at the Clinton Public Safety Department.
” ‘Oh, here comes the preacher, now, y’all clean up your mouth!’ But it’s all in good fun, and I know they are also glad I’m around,” Moore said.
“Honestly, chaplaincy has been the most humbling thing in my ministry. These officers and firefighters – they don’t owe me a thing. I don’t deserve to wear a badge, because I haven’t been through the training they have, but they want me to ride along with them on patrol, and on special response teams, even on drug busts and responses to domestic disputes. I’m so honored they let me into their world.”
Moore related the story of a sergeant at the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Department, where he previously volunteered, who was closed, even borderline hostile, to Moore’s proffered, albeit low-key, ministry. When Moore learned the sergeant had killed a civilian in the course of a firefight, he wrote the officer a note telling him he was sorry it had to happen and that he would be praying for him. The sergeant called Moore, thanked him, and kept the note as a special memento.
“It was the smallest thing, and I had no idea it meant so much,” Moore says. “Another officer I’d been getting to know – one day I’m riding along with him, and all of a sudden he swerves to a side road, parks the patrol car, and just begins to bawl. I knew God had put me there, the right time in the right place.”
It’s precisely those kinds of conversations that this year’s training was designed to address. John Van Epp, author of several counseling books and founder of Love Thinks, was the key teacher, leading interactive sessions on the counseling relationship.
About 55 chaplains from around the state attended the conference. Regional and individual training is also offered by the state convention throughout the year. Events are supported by a combination of Cooperative Program funds at the state and national level. Janie Chapman state missions funds also contribute to chaplaincy ministry. – SCBC