David Vaught went to the U.S. Military Academy in 1965, war raging at home and abroad, to defend the Constitution. Fueling his patriotism was a deep-seated Baptist faith imbued with a passion for the First Amendment. But those values led…
Clergy ask Texas to end policy banning chaplains from execution chamber
Interfaith clergy, including leaders in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, released a statement July 23 calling on the state of Texas to drop its ban on prison chaplains from its execution chamber, imposed after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the state could not execute an inmate without allowing a Buddhist chaplain to be in the room at his time of death.
Pastor-chaplain confronts the bad theology facing women in ministry and grieving parents
It’s bad theology to tell someone your baby died because God knows what God is doing. No, your baby died because we may not know why.
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Dad and daughter offer ‘ministry of presence’ as CBF chaplains
Chaplains Sarah Greenfield and Alan Rogers share a rare bond that encompasses God and country as it transcends family and vocation. Commander Rogers and Lieutenant Junior Grade Greenfield are father and daughter, both commissioned as officers by the U.S. Navy…
For Baptist chaplain, strains in police force are real and painful
Tommy Deal wept the day five police officers were gunned down in Dallas last summer. Distraught, the Baptist minister jumped into his car in search of police to comfort — even though he was in Dalton, Ga., not Dallas. Geography didn’t…
Ministers offer a spiritual word to the stressed on Election Day
Remember 2012, when Obama versus Romney seemed like a contentious presidential election? It was enough for a group of Mennonite ministers, who responded back then by launching the Election Day Communion movement. The idea was to inspire Christians to use…
Common missionary and military lives prepared Baptist chaplains for marriage
As a couple, Jim and Jo Kirkendall take the concept of “having things in common” to a whole new level. Both grew up overseas as children of missionaries with the then-Foreign Mission Board. Both became Navy chaplains – and met…
‘God sent you here,’ child tells minister in violent community
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Cecelia Beck has established herself as a presence in the lives of children, youth and adults since moving to the “Weed and Seed” neighborhood of Shelby, N.C. “It is important to be present in order…
Companies report rise of chaplains in the land of cubicles
On any given Sunday, most Americans do not attend church. Most will, however, show up to work throughout the week. These individuals still experience times of uncertainty, personal and family turmoil, loss of love ones and other moments where they…