Aug 9

Written by: Michael A. Milton
8/9/2008 12:27 PM

I write to young seminarians, and others who are seeking to discern God's call on their lives. If you have never thought about ministering the Gospel as a military chaplain, or if that is what you are planning to do, let me tell you one little story about why it is worth thinking about.  

I am on annual training with the Army Reserves. I serve as a reserve chaplain in the USAR because of the burden the Lord laid on my heart for 18 year-old enlisted sailors trying to figure out their place in this world, and for 58 year old Army officers trying to figure out the same thing years later.

In the midst of generals and privates, admirals and seamen, stands the military chaplain. He is there to help them find God in the midst of their private wars just as surely as the ones fought with bullets and bombs.

Well, last night I was trying to find a new shirt to replace the one that now bears the stains of a run away ink pen. There, at Fort Meyer, in military clothing, as I stared into a sea of green shirts, a young specialist saw me and said, “Hey Chaplain, what you are looking for is over here!” This fine young man guided me to exactly where I needed to be. I thanked him and asked him if he was part of the Old Guard that stands over the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and provides ceremonial support for everything from military funerals to twilight tattoos on the mall, in Revolutionary War uniforms. The Old Guards exists, in short, to remember, to honor, and to point to a higher cause.

“Where are you from, Son?” I asked. “Iowa.” “And what's next for you?” “Sir, I am on my way to Afghanistan.” My look must have communicated a sense of awe. “Yes Sir, but I want to go,” he added as if my look had said, “I am sorry you are having to go.” With conviction he said again, “Sir, I want to go.”

I asked him if I could pray for him. With my wife and son, I put my hand on this young man’s shoulder, and we went to God in prayer. As I said “Amen,” this young man made the sign of the cross. He thanked me with a face that spoke from the heart. We parted.

I think about the conflict brewing between Russia and our ally Georgia. I think of the growing instability in Pakistan. I think of the gray-brown, rugged terrain of Afghanistan where he will be in just a few days. I think of the thousands just like him, who will be standing guard. In their midst will be a chaplain. It is a ministry like no other. It is a ministry for our time.

I am honored to have prayed with that young man, because ministry in the chaplaincy happens, not just in a chapel, but wherever troops gather, train, fight or stand guard. Let ministers consider if God is calling them to take their stand beside our troops today.

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