Deployed

CHARLOTTESVILLE–Joel Jenkins, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charlottesville, temporarily changed congregations last year—and the relocation was extreme. Jenkins, a longtime Army Reserve chaplain, was called to active duty in Iraq last June with barely a week's notice.

For the past 11 months, Jenkins has called a forward operating base in Baghdad's international zone home. He is assigned to the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, which employs military and civilian forces from several nations to train and equip Iraq's army, navy, air force and police force.

“The ministry here is very diverse,” Jenkins said. Police units from the United States, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain and Poland and soldiers from Great Britain, South Korea, Macedonia, Romania and the United States are a part of the command.

“We also have multi-components of Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines all in the same command over here, which is very interesting. We are all having to learn each others' ranks, nomenclature and acronyms. If there is anybody who has more acronyms than Baptists, it's the military.”

In addition to leading services at his home base in Baghdad on Saturday and Sunday, Jenkins and his assistant travel to all parts of the country ministering to the troops assigned to the multi-national command.

“We spend two or three days at a time with our folks. Many of the troops are embedded in Iraqi units, so they don't have any kind of chaplain support. Many times they don't have the amenities like a PX, and they certainly don't have a chapel. So, we'll go in and spend two or three days with them and encourage them,” he said.

During his absence from the Charlottesville church, lay leaders have worked with the staff to continue the congregation's ministry, he noted. Lindsay Sadler, the senior associate pastor, filled the pulpit and provided leadership.

Jenkins plans to fill his pulpit at First Baptist in Charlottesville on Father's Day and then take a month to spend with his wife and family before returning to pastoral duties full time in August.

During his time in Iraq, Jenkins has witnessed the toll that living with the constant threat of danger and death takes on the troops.

“We've seen it among those air crews that are up every single day and in the troops that provide PSD [personal security detail] for the admirals and generals,” he said. “We see it in the convoy escort teams called rough riders. I try to spend a good bit of time with those folks in particular.”

He recalled a visit with a young Marine in a personal security detail assigned to an admiral. The Marine described how in his daily travels, he encountered improvised explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades.

“He said: ‘Chaplain, I need to talk to you, because every night I dream that I'm going to die. I die different ways, but by the time I get to the end of my dream, I die.' So, we talked about it and found out that this young man had been brought up in a Christian home but had never declared a personal faith for himself,” Jenkins said.

Their conversation continued, and the Marine ended up praying to invite Christ to take control of his life. Jenkins subsequently baptized him.

“He came back in later and said: ‘You know, Chaplain, I'm not having that dream anymore. My job is just as dangerous, but I don't go out anymore with the fear that I had. I may not come back, but if I don't come back, I'm OK, and I'm at peace about that.' I saw a dramatic difference in him,” Jenkins recalled.

But others react to the stress differently. Some have become emotionally broken and must receive treatment, he noted.

“I'm leaving tomorrow to accompany … one of our soldiers to Landstuhl” Regional Medical Center in Germany, he said. “I normally don't do that, but this is a soldier that I've worked with, and he's requested me to do this. … So, we see a lot of situations like that, and this young man is what I would call post-traumatic stress that he's dealing with, and he's going to need some long-term help. And then when he gets out, he's going to be going back home to his home community and his home church.

“Sometimes against their fears, they continue to do their jobs. Interestingly enough, most of them believe in what they are doing. They realize it is a tough road, and things are not happening nearly as fast as they would like for the better, but most of them believe in the Iraqis they see and meet and work with; they believe they are decent people who basically just want to have security for their children and a decent future.”

But sometimes things get tough even for the chaplain. Recently, Jenkins performed a memorial service—his fifth—for an officer in his command.

“I'm grateful that it hasn't been more than that. Some of our chaplains serving with line units have done 10 or 12,” he said. The officer was a Navy commander who was killed by a vehicle-borne IED. “He was one of four killed in a vehicle, an interpreter and two security officers. Only one was military. We did his service here at our base and had about 400 attending.”

Jenkins hopes churches will pay particular attention to returning veterans, many of whom will be feeling the effects of war for many months or years to come. In addition to whatever ministries may be started by churches close to military institutions designed to offer the love of Christ, he hopes church people will simply express appreciation.

“It touches them if somebody just says, ‘Thanks.' To realize that somebody's been over here, they don't have to make a big speech, but if they'll just put an arm on their shoulder and say, ‘Hey, I just want to thank you for going for us.'

“It's amazing that it helps validate that they were trying to do the right thing. A lot of them are struggling with the attitude of people back home. They're wondering, ‘Do they hate us? Do they think we're bad guys?' … Some of them are struggling. In a sense, they are looking for approval; not so much approval of the conflict, but just of them as persons.

“I think that would be wonderful if somebody knows they've got a vet coming back just to pat him on the back and say, ‘Hey, thank you!' and also probably just to be a good listener if they need to talk.'”

Jenkins is careful, however, not to give the wrong impression of the troops serving in Iraq. “I want to applaud these young folks. … They are here because they love their country. They want to serve their country, and the thing about it is they are all volunteers. None of them was drafted. Every single one of them signed on the dotted line. You would be amazed at the number of them that re-enlist while they are here. They are saying, ‘If I have to come back, I will.' I'm just encouraged about the future of our country when I see the kind of young people who are over here.”

The experience of living with constant danger creates for many a sense of larger purpose and the growth of faith, Jenkins said.

“I have only come across one person who told me that he is an atheist—only one,” he said. “Almost everyone I've talked to has told me that they have drawn from their faith and strengthened their faith. I've heard from people who have gone back home and they tell me: ‘I'm still practicing my faith. I'm still enjoying what it means to me in my life.'”

As Jenkins prepares to return to the States and his Virginia pulpit, he wonders what changes may be in store. He is certain the experience in Iraq has changed him deeply.

He vows not to worry about inconsequential things and love deeply and purely in the spirit of Christ. He is confident he will find ways to show those closest to him that his love is more than professed.

“Because you don't know if you're going to have another day to do that,” he said. “I've learned that here; and you don't know that they're going to have another day for you to bless them.”