The Church of God Chaplains Commission was established in 1978 when one person brought a unique combination of pastoral ministry experience, professional clinical skills and training, a career in military chaplaincy, and a heart to go “outside the gates” of the traditional Church of God and reach a hurting world for Christ. That person was Dr. Robert D. Crick, along with his wife and life-long partner in ministry, Jeanette. Together, they founded, nurtured, and over a period of 32 years, developed what is now a world-wide ministry that touches the lives of numberless thousands with the special ministry of chaplaincy.
On Sunday, July 25, 2010, Robert and Jeanette Crick were honored and celebrated for a lifetime of selfless and dedicated service through the Chaplains Commission. With over 300 attending the Commission’s traditional pre-assembly Honors Dinner, the Crick’s world-wide chaplaincy family, church and ministry colleagues, and friends joyfully expressed appreciation and gratitude for their 32 years of care, mentoring, professional guidance and devoted leadership. It was a time to appreciatively reflect upon a ministry that began with eleven Church of God chaplains to the point now with almost 100 military Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve chaplains, and some 250 full-time institutional chaplains and over 3,000 part-time and volunteer chaplains serving in hospitals, state and federal correctional systems, mental health clinics, professional counseling centers, nursing homes, hospice associations, rehabilitation centers, business and industry, and countless other settings.
Dr. Crick received his undergraduate degree from Trinity University, the Master of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt University, and his Doctor of Ministry degree from Emory University. He is a Certified Supervisor with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education and a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains.
In 1958, Dr. Crick launched his ministry as an evangelist while serving with the US Air Force in Germany. Upon return to the states, he pastored in Tennessee for three years and in 1961, was commissioned as an Army chaplain. During his military career and ministry, he served in the US, Europe, and Vietnam. As an Army chaplain with combat service in Vietnam, Dr. Crick was awarded the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars for Valor, and other notable commendations and decorations. During his military career, he achieved the Master Parachutist Badge rating with hundreds of jumps including jumps with the 173d Airborne Division in Vietnam.
While in the military, he set up one of the first Clinical Pastor Education Training and Counseling Centers and he set up one of the first alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers for the Army. After retiring from the Army, the Cricks moved to Cleveland and he began work in the General Department of Education. That same year, 1978, the Chaplains Commission was formally established with Dr. Crick appointed as the director. In 1980, Dr. Crick was appointed to the faculty of the Church of God seminary, now known as the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Since then, the Chaplains Commission and the Seminary have been full partners in ministry, education and training.
The Church of God, under Dr. Crick’s leadership of the Chaplains Commission, is affiliated with many different chaplaincy, professional and governmental departments and organizations, to include: the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Association of Professional Chaplains, the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, various state correctional departments, the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces, and many others. These affiliations underscore Dr. Crick’s lifelong commitment for the Church of God to be an equal partner with all denominations and faith groups in every area of chaplaincy service.
Earlier this year, Dr. Crick and the Chaplains Commission completed an 8-year project to build a $1.5 million Chaplaincy and Care Center in Oradea, Romania. This modern, state-of-the-art building was formally dedicated in May. It is a 5-story facility that will serve Eastern Europe far into the future … medical care, benevolent care, a counseling center, chaplaincy training, pastoral conferences and numerous other caregiving ministries.
Dr. Crick’s long-awaited and now-published book, Outside the Gates: Theology, History and Practice of Chaplaincy Ministry, will bring together his lifelong experiences, wisdom, and biblical and practical insights into the special ministry of chaplaincy … to be shared with the next generation of chaplains. This all-inclusive book will no doubt become the training manual and resource guide for men and women in chaplaincy service.
Along every step of the way, Jeanette served beside Bob, carrying out an ever-increasing level of work as the Chaplains Commission steadily grew … handling public relations, bookkeeping and finance, organizing chaplaincy conferences and General Assembly arrangements, and resolving countless large and small crises impacting their chaplaincy families around the world. She has been there for it all.
There is simply not a way to describe a 32-year chaplaincy directorship in a few paragraphs. Perhaps what it means is best understood when seen in the faces of a generation of chaplains, their spouses, children and grandchildren, as Bob and Jeanette would say, “forever burned in our hearts.”
Dr. Crick will continue his ministries as Professor of the Chair of Benevolence, Compassion and Care with the Pentecostal Theological Seminary and as consultant to the Outside the Gates Ministries, Inc.