Be There

Go forth and make disciples of all nations. A very lofty goal to be sure.

But what, exactly is a disciple? Sometimes we think it’s just someone who follows the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if we look carefully at the scriptures, and at the intent of our Lord through His myriad demonstrations, we see that a disciple is actually a lot like our “modern day” Chaplain.

Throughout the years, the United States Government has honored the historic separation of Church and State, but not the separation of God and State. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have full-time Chaplains who minister the love of God and who act as spiritual advisors and counselors to those individuals who serve our great country. Chaplains, whose roles are constitutionally upheld by precedent and tradition, have always been an integral part of our country’s society and are still a major source of spiritual strength at the community level.

I recently had the privilege of completing chaplaincy training with the International Fellowship of Chaplains and cannot begin to tell you what a realization dawned on me as they described the roles and responsibilities of Chaplains. I never felt more like a disciple as I did during that training.

The thing that I’ll carry away from my training is this: be there. The “ministry of presence” is all that’s needed some times. Just be there. A former pastor of mine once said, “When it’s raining and your roof is leaking, which would you rather have? A person who says he’ll pray for you or a person with some shingles and nails who says he’ll help you?”

The world needs your prayers. The world needs your help. Be there.