Learning Competence

Chaplains also advise leaders of the organization, institution, corporation, or company. Chaplains are a voice on issues of moral and ethical behavior. Chaplains are a critical part of a leadership team providing a source of faith, hope, safety, and clarity, especially during uncertain times. ey are a calming, reassuring presence in tragedy and times of uncertainty. Chaplains’ perspectives can be valuable to leaders as they respond to crises. Chaplains scan for issues or problems and bring them to the attention of leaders. Most leaders value what chaplains bring to the individual and the institution and welcome them as part of the crisis action response team. A senior military commander described it this way:

e image of a chaplain ministering to battle-wounded troops is a comfort for me, a calm in the midst of chaos, a thoughtful example of faith and fellowship, a focus through the leadership chaos where uncertainty and volatility can become a heavy burden over time. When I was a young squadron commander, a master sergeant committed suicide in my unit. e Air Force places great emphasis on commander involvement and leadership to prevent suicide. I blamed myself for the tragedy. Despite my strong faith, I took my eye off the living in a moment of chaos to focus on how I could have prevented the past. My unit Chaplain saw I was hurting, asked if he could help, prayed with me, and helped me regain focus on leading the unit as we grieved a loss.3

Institutions or chaplain organizations typically select a symbol to distinguish individuals as chaplains. In military service, for instance, Christian chaplains wear a Latin cross, rabbis wear a tablet, and imams wear a crescent.4 e logo of the Marsh Center for Chaplain Studies, a hurricane lamp with radiating light, symbolizes chaplains carrying messages of encouragement, hope, and support amid the storm. Chaplains do not seek the shelter of safety but go into harm’s way to accompany those battling danger, confusion, heartache,

3 is Air Force general shared his thoughts in an email. 4 Military chaplains’ insignia has evolved. Initially, the Army used a shepherd’s hook for all chaplains. Eventually, however, the military adopted different symbols for different faith groups.

loneliness, isolation, trauma, tragedy, upheaval, uncertainty, helplessness, hopelessness, and loss. In doing so, chaplains genuinely make a difference.

WHY BE A CHAPLAIN?

Why would anyone want to be and do the work of a chaplain? Why would any organization want chaplains as part of its team? Why serve the needs of others? What is powerful enough to motivate one to walk the halls of a hospital, cells of a prison, battlefields of war, offices of a corporation, streets with police, shelters for the abused, communities of the elderly, or any place where chaplains serve? Why reach out to the outcast, the misunderstood, and the ignored? e answers to these questions are as complex and diverse as the individuals and the institutions they serve.

An acquaintance once told me, “If you can do anything other than vocational ministry, then do it. However, if God has called you into a vocational ministry, then you will not want to do anything else.” is belief of a divine call into a vocational ministry provides a foundational motivation to persevere through the preparation for and delivery of chaplaincy. Yet, one should explore this issue further and carefully think through other reasons for becoming a chaplain. Simply saying “God called me to this ministry” may gloss over other factors needing personal discovery. Some seek ministry as appeasement to God or others. Some become chaplains to escape from difficult ministry situations. Others seek perceived power or access to an institution. Some seek financial stability. A chaplain, with every encounter, needs to ask whose needs are being met—the chaplain or others?

Consider these questions:

How does your relationship with God determine your sense of identity? Do you believe God has called you to vocational ministry? Do you understand this calling in a broad or a narrow sense? Is the call to a specific institution or style of ministry? What are the educational and certifying requirements? What are the institutional requirements? Does it require physical standards?

Are you seeking to please someone else by going into chaplaincy? Who may be upset with your decision to become a chaplain? Who would be happy with your decision? Do you have a caring heart for others, a passion for making a difference, and a determination to get involved?

Serving as a chaplain may mean very long hours, constant demands, and working within a secular institution or with a specialized group of people. Serving as a chaplain may mean supporting leaders who do not understand or value the chaplain’s work. Chaplains should understand and articulate the value of their work as essential to the institution’s mission. A chaplain’s ministry, however challenging it may be, is equally rewarding.

THE GROWING DEMAND

Chaplaincy appears to be the fastest-growing ministry in the United States. Already commonplace in military, healthcare, correctional, legislative, corporate, and first responder (police/fire/EMT) settings, chaplaincy is expanding to other fields: disaster relief, sports, recreation, national parks, cruise ships, civic organizations, retirement communities, and special interest groups.

In times past, seminaries focused on preparing ministers for denominational service in local churches, with little thought given to chaplaincy. Typically, chaplains moved from a pastorate to a chaplain ministry. en they trained in vocational programs such as Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) or specialized schools that retooled them for cross-cultural ministry. Seminarians today expect a different approach. Many of them already sense a call to chaplaincy and are eager to sharpen their chaplain skills while in school.

Additionally, attitudes are changing toward those interested in chaplaincy. Church pastors and members typically viewed those entering chaplaincy as leaving the “real ministry.” Most, however, understand chaplaincy is a specialized ministry and is equally relevant.

Because of these changing attitudes toward chaplaincy, theological schools offer more chaplain-focused programs.

In the context of well-documented declines in theological school enrollments, specialized education for chaplaincy appears to be an area of growth. Of the 270 Association of eological Schools (ATS) member schools, candidates, and affiliates, just under seventy offer some type of specialized chaplaincy program. Over a dozen schools in the United States that offer accredited master’s degrees but are not affiliated with the ATS also have chaplaincy programs, including Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and interfaith institutions. Most of these programs were started in the last twenty years, and new programs continue to emerge. is education for chaplaincy—sometimes called spiritual care—in graduate theological education sits alongside clinical training for chaplains that is primarily offered by educators certified by the ACPE, considered by many to be the standard for spiritual care and education. Interest in clinical pastoral education (CPE) is also growing.5

is growth in formal chaplaincy education is even more impressive when one considers the declining enrollment in theological schools and significant sociological changes in the US religious landscape.

One of the most important factors in the declining share of Christians and the growth of the “nones” is generational replacement. As the Millennial generation enters adulthood, its members display much lower levels of religious affiliation, including less connection with Christian churches, than older generations. Fully 36% of young Millennials (those between the ages of 18 and 24) are religiously unaffiliated, as are 34% of older Millennials (ages 25-33). And fewer than six-in-ten Millennials identify with any branch of Christianity, compared with seven-in-ten or more among older generations, including Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers.

5 Wendy Cadge, I. E. Stroud, P. K Palmer, et al. “Training Chaplains and Spiritual Caregivers: e Emergence and Growth of Chaplaincy Programs in eological Education,” Pastoral Psychology 69 (2020): 187–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-020-00906-5, accessed 30 August 2021. Cadge, a sociology professor, draws these conclusions from a survey of twenty-one schools offering educational programs for chaplains.

Just 16% of Millennials are Catholic, and only 11% identify with mainline Protestantism. Roughly one-in-five are evangelical Protestants.6

While fewer Americans identify with specific religious affiliations, interest in spirituality remains strong.7 Perhaps this trend is providing part of the impetus for growth in chaplaincy.

Institutions are growing in their use of chaplains. For example, the US Air Force completed a “True North” study to evaluate the effects of embedding mental health providers and Religious Support Teams8 directly in units. e final report acknowledged the benefits of doing so, and the Air Force made a significant investment to implement the plan.9 e journey of becoming a chaplain may be a long, arduous effort, with years of education, training, and credentialing. Yet, with the right motivation, determination, and mentors, chaplaincy opportunities abound for those willing to meet the challenge. We will continue to need chaplains eager to walk alongside others, seeking to understand their stories, discovering together what God desires for all our lives.

6 Alan Cooperman, Gregory Smith, et al. America’s changing religious landscape: Christians decline sharply as share of population; una liated and other faiths continue to grow. (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2015). https://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religiouslandscape/, accessed 30 August 2021. 7 David Masci and Michael Lipka, Americans May Be Getting Less Religious, But Feelings of Spirituality Are On the Rise (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2016). https://www.pewresearch.org/ fact-tank/2016/01/21/americans-spirituality/, accessed 30 August 2021. 8 A Religious Support Team (RST) is a chaplain and an enlisted Religious Affairs Specialist. 9 Department of the Air Force Presentation to the Subcommittee on Personnel, Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate (11 March 2020), https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/ media/doc/Fedrigo--Kelly_03-11-20.pdf [accessed 20 October 2020]. True North moved from a beta test to an execution program for embedding mental health providers and chaplains and their enlisted assistants in units to increase access and build trust and confidence in the caregivers. In fiscal years 2019 and 2020, the Air Force invested $9.9 million annually in True North. Since initial results were promising, the Air Force increased this budget expenditure to $53.3 million for the fiscal year 2021.