By Doc Williams, Chaplains Commission
Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee is unapologetically a Christian school and part of the Church of God with International offices in Cleveland, Tenn. This context was the exciting environment for the Commission’s latest effort to prepare young people for ministry “beyond the gates” of the local church by teaching the Basic Community Service Chaplain Training course.
Dr. Robert Crick, Chaplains Commission Executive Director and Dr. Jerome Boone, Chair, Department of Christian Ministries began discussion about the feasibility of teaching a course on chaplain Ministries at Lee campus. With the assistance of Dr. Doc R. Williams, Chaplains Commission Director of Training, the course became a reality in September 2008.
The course was taught in a 3-week format covering 30 hours of training in chaplaincy ministry for 14 students. As the students experienced the dynamic teaching of Dr. Crick, Dr. Jerry McNabb, Commission Direct of Fulltime Chaplains and Dr. Williams, the excitement in the class grew. The students quickly realized that chaplaincy ministry is different from traditional church ministries. They learned that chaplains put into practice the Lord’s command to “Go!” into the world with the message of God’s love in Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-20). They learned to work hand-in-hand with local church ministries and how to become a “bridge” of care and service into the community. They also learned that care and service to others precedes evangelism which is a work of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:5-11). Those students desiring to be pastors learned to pastor not only the local church but the entire community. The clincher came for the students as Dr. Williams taught them how they could become certified as Community Service by none other than the Church of God Chaplains Commission. The final step came as William Lamb, Lee Director of Field Experiences, taught them how they could take their learning’s “To the Streets” by “shadowing” practicing chaplains in the local area and serving with community and campus helping agencies to learn what chaplaincy is all about. The class concluded on September 25 with 14 students ready to enlist in the “Army of the Lord.”
The Chaplains Commission believes very strongly that essential skills training and denominational endorsement with the Word of God in one hand and the demonstration of the love of Jesus Christ in the other, paves the way for ministry “beyond the gates” of the local church and empowers caring Christians for care and service to suffering humanity (Heb. 13:12-13). This very first Lee University class, with 30 hours of intense training under their belts, went away with more than just training in chaplaincy but empowerment for ministry in Jesus’ name.
The Church of God Chaplains Commission prepares Christians to “Go” according to the mandate of Christ in Matt. 28:18-20 with the understanding of their Lord that “… whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, your did for me” (Matt. 25:40) . The Commission believes that Chaplaincy ministry is God’s hand at work in His church preparing an Army for caring community ministry in these last days.
To learn more about chaplaincy classes and the ministries of the Church of God Chaplains Commission, visit the Chaplains Commission website at www.chaplains.com [1] or email wroberson@cogchaplains.com.
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Dr. Jerome Boone (far left) and Dr. Doc Williams (far right) with the Chaplains course students at Lee University. |