ATLANTA (ABP) — Alan Rogers has baptized soldiers in an Iraqi river under armed Marine protection. Needless to say, it was a quick job.
“He courageously made a public proclamation of his faith in front of his squad as they crouched in the bushes on the riverbank, providing security for us,” said Rogers, a Navy chaplain. “When he emerged from the water, I said, ‘God bless you my brother.' He replied, ‘God bless you too, chaps. Now let's get out of here before we get shot!'”
Rogers immersed the Marine Corps corporal in the Euphrates River in Iraq, near the Syrian border. It was all in a day's work for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-endorsed chaplain stationed in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
Rogers was commissioned in the Navy Chaplain Corps in 2004 and is assigned to the Third Battalion, Fourth Marines. His role is to facilitate the exercise of religion and accommodate the religious needs and practices of Marines, sailors and their families.
“I strive to bring both a ‘ministry of presence' and a ‘ministry of purpose,'” he said.
Specifically, he gives pastoral care to all members of the unit and their families, regardless of their faith or lack thereof.
“In this context, it's perhaps the most religiously pluralistic ministry setting anywhere,” Rogers said. “I am the ‘chaps' not only for the Baptist, Protestant or Christian Marine or sailor but equally serve those of many faith groups who are afforded the same religious freedoms they serve here to defend.”
Rogers called his situation a “microcosm of the best of the religious liberty of America” and said that environment gives him continuous access to the soldiers. He routinely accompanies them on patrols, in convoys and during meals. Rogers even offers field worship services at battlefield locations.
“This setting provides the best opportunity for me to listen as these men express concerns that would not be so readily discussed in another context,” Rogers said. “Although I only share a small fraction of the hardship and danger they experience … I develop credibility and earn trust by simply being with them….”
Of course, as with any military operation, casualties are inevitable. But ministering to the wounded and dying is arguably the most meaningful of his duties, Rogers said.
“As difficult as this aspect of ministry is, it is also a sacred responsibility and privilege to hold the hand, pray with and offer encouragement to these who are hurting,” he said.
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