Where to, Chaplain?
By J. WARREN HASTINGS, Ph.D.
Minister, National City Christian Church, Washington, D. C.
THE chaplain did a good job in the war. To this we all D. C., it was my privilege to meet and visit with ma agree. Clergy and laity alike are proud of the remark- chaplains during the war. Most of these men were fr able record made by the "men of the cloth." Their achieve- my own communion. Some were not. On a number ments during the period of the war are an inspiration to occasions I attended luncheons and banquets which wei all of us. only for chaplains and ministers. Thus I was able to ta
Whether he was serving in the swamps of the South Pa- with chaplains other than those of my own denominati cific, the plains of North Africa or in the midst of deso- All of this experience was to the good and as a result of lated Europe, the chaplain had an unusual opportunity to these meetings my appreciation of and regard for t observe the intimate life of the men he endeavored to chaplaincy was deepened. minister to. He saw men in all sorts of different environ- I have, like most all ministers who served their church ments and settings. He saw all phases of the lives of men. during the war period, heard many service people spe Whether they were wounded or critically ill in the hos- of the outstanding contribution some chaplain has mad pital or were in the midst of a handball tournament which to their lives or of the tremendous help and power he h, the chaplain had planned and organized, the spiritual been to their outfits. advisor was there to witness, counsel and help. Where the It is down the trail of appreciation of the chaplain ad men were, he was. Did ever any religious leaders have my friendship for him that I ask the above questions. better chance to study the men of their parish than the Turn, then, to the specific questions. Has being a chap chaplain? We emphatically say "No!" lain improved the minister or will it prove detrimental
Moreover, the chaplain had an unusual opportunity to him? You answer, "It has helped to make him a finer, travel in different countries, visit strange places, witness stronger, more effective servant of his Lord." Well, has it? the social and economic customs of foreign peoples and One chaplain of my acquaintanceship has told his denoi see the various religions of the world at work. Most of us national leaders that he considers himself among the ablest have to be content with a course in comparative religions men of his communion and that he is interested only in a while we are in seminary. The chaplain was able to com- very large church. Incidentally, this man was servmIng pare religions firsthand. with fine success to be sure, a medium-sized church when
Our knowledge of the actual operation of a mission sta- he entered the service. Another chaplain told me that he tion on a foreign field has come to us by word of mouth, could not return to the same general type of church he left written reports, a recitation of personal experiences and because he had become accustomed to a larger income than pictures. Our mental grasp of a mission station and how it his kind of a church could pay. operates is largely colored by our imagination. The chap- I realize many of these men have given several years of lain has "sat where they sat," and he has seen with his eyes their lives, in many cases, of their best years, to the serve and heard with his ears what goes on in a mission station. ice of our country. I am also very conscious of the fa The chaplain is a most fortunate human being. that I stayed home, served a good church, and had all th
Even if the chaplain never got out of this country he had comforts that home could afford during the trying and most unusual opportunities to study men close up. How- difficult days of war. ever, in this article, we are thinking primarily of the chap- Move closer to the personality of the chaplain. Has hi lains who saw service outside of the United States. faith in God grown as a result of his war experience?
The question uppermost in many minds is, "What has have read the writings of several chaplains who reported the rich experience in the service done for the chaplain? how vital their religious services were at the front, on a Is he a better minister of religion because of it? Is he a ship going into action, or in a foxhole. God was very close more understanding pastor? Is he more effective as a to them in those terrible hours. They must have felt the personal counsellor? Is he now, after the many things he presence of His Spirit more intimately than ever before set up in the service, more efficient as an organizer? Is he The returned chaplain should, therefore, show unmnls more missionary in his outlook? In short, is he a better, takable signs of a deepening faith. Possibly you have seen more effective, more vital witness for Christ than he was many evidences of his deepened faith. when he went into the service?" Is the chaplain, and I include of course any chaplain
I realize that no one is qualified to answer these ques- who served in the recent war, whether he is now out of the tions and that they are very intimate. It is, however, im- service or not, more passionate in his passion for foreP perative that some solid thinking be done by all of the men missions? Most chaplains I met fully agreed with th who have served as chaplains in the last war. Many of much quoted statement of the soldier regarding his forced them have returned to churches. Others are teaching. Prac- stay with some island people that "due to the work of th tically all are staying in religious work. missionaries he was feasting instead of being feasted
As pastor of a large downtown church in Washington, upon." In their deepening of faith do chaplains have 30 The Army and Navy ChaplOi