"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)
Isaiah listened and obeyed the call of God on his life as each of our chaplains has done. But once Isaiah heard what his assignment was, his question was, "For how long, O Lord?: Isaiah 6:11 (NIV). Many of us have found ourselves asking the Lord a similar question. We are willing to serve Him until we understand the assignment. Then we want out of the deal.
His will is always god and perfect, but sometimes we need the grace which He promised would be sufficient. We are told to "...run with perserverance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1 (NIV). I sometimes find myself asking God to let me run someone else's race instead of my own. Their race looks better than mine. I know our chaplains sometimes feel this way when they are given new assignments and new ministry opportunities arise.
Some of our chaplains have received new assignments in the last few months and are in the process of moving. They need your prayers as adjustments are made, households set up, schools found, and ministries begun. As Christians we don't always get the posts we ask for , but we do know our god is sovereign and He never makes mistakes. "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his hseep follow him because they know his voice" John 10:3b-4. The joy comes in following His leading!
In this issue you will meet chaplains in transition and hear stories of how God uses chaplains to further His kingdom work.
By Bruce and Patti Butler
My wife and I have been married for about two years when I was commissionied a Second Lieutenant in the US Army. We were stationed at Ft. Polk, LA where we lived in duplex-type post housing. Patti and I were the stereotypical young military couple, absorbed in ourselves and our plans for the future.
About a year after we settled in, our duplex neighbors were transferred overseas. However, the other side of our duplex remained empty for only a few days. While running out the door one morning, I noticed a car in the driveway. I figured that a new family was moving in. Later, from my office, I called my wife and asked if she had seen the car. Not only had she seen the car, but she had met the new couple, Chaplain John and Carol Riggs. Learning he was a chaplain I responded, "He's a what?" I said. "There goes the neighborhood!" So that was our introduction to John and Carol.
Within six months of their arrival, they became our friends. Soon Patti and I were attending a Bible study in their home. Before a year went by, they introduced us to their frined Jesus Christ!
My wife accepted the Lord and I returned to fellowship with Him. Patti was baptized by Chaplain Riggs on her birthday, January 17, 1975. I rededicated my life to Him at the same time, having accepted the Lord at eleven years old. Their friendship and willingness to love us just like they found us was the perfect introduction to Jesus, who does the same.
Sadly, we moved away that summer when I left the Army and returned to Arizona. We did, however, take our new friend Jesus with us! That was 24 years ago.
God does not make mistakes. He moved John and Carol next door so that we might hear His Word and be saved. They continue to be His willing tools, instruments, and servants. Since that day in 1974, we have brought our friend Jesus to every relationship and every assignment God has given to us.
P.S. The neighborhood was never the same again!
Editors Note: Bruce and Patti live in Mesa, AZ, and are active members of Trinity Baptist Church.
This is an excerpt from an article written by Sarah M. Earle in the Concord Monitor.
[Rev. Bill] Paige's sermons are simple, sometimes less than five minutes long, and often preached to a congregation of one. His life is a little more complicated.
For the past 12 years, Paige has been at work on a mission field just minutes from downtown Concord, NH, but as foreign to some as the jungles of Africa, and often as difficult to penetrate.
Paige is a community chaplain ministering to a congregation spread over six nursing homes in the region. His goal is to comfort and cheer those nearest to heaven, with the messages of God's love.
"One of the things I have realized is that pastors and churches are very busy," said Paige, a former pastor of churches in Colorado, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. "It's easy to lose track of their elderly members...There's a real need for this type of ministry."
Every weekday Paige visits a different nursing home in the area, traveling up and down the halls to call on residents. Some of his members of the congregation are referred to him by pastors in the area. Others are referred by nursing-home staff. Paige leaves a sign-up sheet at the social worker's office, asking them to list residents who might benefit from a visit.
There's never a shortage of interest on this mission field. "Dealing with people in this age group...there's kind of an openness to spiritual things," Paige said.
Last week he helped a small group of residents say good-bye to seven of their friends who had died in recent weeks.
Though his meetins are not always profound nor his messages always understood, Paige believes he's achieving his most important goal. "I come just to be a friend," he said.
Editors Note: Bill Paige is a CBAmerica-endorsed chaplain with the New Hampshire Army National Guard.
Attention Pastors!
I want to make you aware of an opportunity to minister in the secular workplace as a chaplain. Marketplace Ministries, a faith-based Employee Assistance Program, has asked me to help them find chaplains to work with employers and their employees who need assistance with funerals, hospital visits, terminal illness counseling, accidents, death, significant personal or family issues. They are looking for On-Call Chaplains and will pay for pastoral care services provided. This is an excellent opportunity to minister in your community. They are looking for both full and part-time chaplains.
If you would be interested in such a ministry alongside your present pastoral duties, let me know and I will put you in touch with Marketplace. They are curetnly working in 37 states and serve 150 companies.
Back