Evening star., 1944-10-23
Letters to The Star
A Chaplain in France Explains
the Spiritual Ministry"

the Spiritual Ministry"
To the Editor of The Star:
When chaplain is assigned to an or
ganization that previously was without
a chaplain, every one is rather skeptical
as to his work, and also what his work
exactly consists Of. Because of the OBJ
vious innocency of the general run of
clergymen to worldly strategems, the
chaplain is more or less sized up as an
easy mark in more than one way. He is
put to the test shortly. A fairly good
working knowledge of Army regulations
plus little intestinal fortitude will
prove to be invaluable assets. After you
have few scalps attached to your belt,
honor will be given to whom honor Is
due. The first few months will be time
of developing the confidence of the men
in your organization. If you once win
their deep respect the worst sinners in
the group will be out 70 your services on
Sunday. A little faith, hope and charity
on the part of the chaplain will produce
abundant returns in this respect.
The spiritual ministry to soldiers:
This is, of course, the chaplains primary
function. 1t is marvellous thing that
the Government of the United States
has made this part of our work fore
most. We are urged to be spiritual and
to win men to Christ. In one of the
. last publications from our ETO head
quarters is found this passage: THE
rI1ch nd 1f l,a
paign have kept many of us chasing the
sapphires and forgetting the diamond.
There is no objection to an active life
but care must be exercised to insure
that the activity is for the glory of God
and the salvation of souls. Field work
has tendency to cause the chaplain
to drop to the common level of natural
ism. Let us beware!" What marvellous
injunction! Every chaplain surely has
a field white unto harvest" wherein to
labor.
His Respect for the Soldiers.
One can make spiritual advances by
the preaching of the gospel at formal
and informal services. Then there are
heart-to-heart talks on highways and
in the byways, here and there and every
where. Many times a mans material
needs will be the lead to his spiritual
needs. I feel a tremendous spiritual re-
sponsibility for all these men, when I
think that for the moment may be the
only means God has available I'm urged
to speak a work in season and out of
And tho fruit pf thic Good
in the hearts of these men from multi
tude of homes will prove rejoicing
in eternity. Then, as a chaplain in a
field hospital, my contact is with direct
battle casualties. What a privilege it is
to be of help and comfort to them!
Deliverance by the power of the AL
mighty is the order of the day. One
sergeant in the combat zone told me
this: None of us (about five in his
ack-ack crew. attended church before
coming into the Army and our circum-
stances forbid it now. We all sort of
felt ashamed to go to services when
we got into danger. So just took upon
myself the responsibility and prayed for
my men and myself. I encouraged them
to pray for me and I'd return the favor"
Such hard boiled, practical faith in
God draws out a respect from me that
will cause me to take my hat off to
such men if 1 live to be a thousand
years old When we face God and
eternity we get rid of lot of ballast
and the things that seem worth fight"
ing tend to sort themselves out and
become real
Just as I finished the lines above
there was rather hesitating knock at
my office door Eve happen to be set up
in buildings now. The first time since
we hit France nearly three months
ago.. A man having spent over 100 days
in combat came in, introduced himself
and sat down to talk with me. He told
me that he just didn't know where to
go and felt somehow that I might be
able to give him some word of help
that would carry him on. We read the
Bible, cried, prayed and laughed all in
the space of an hour He accepted
Christ as his Saviour and left for the
front again willing aud. believe, able
to whip his weight in wild cats.
Text for a Future Sermon.
Some day I'm going to preach
sermon from this text, Because they
have no changes, therefore they fear
not God" Psalms, lv.19b. A man can
become SO securely established in his
work that adventure becomes foreign
element. I believe that it does not do
to turn ones back for long on the
bright face of danger. In this work one
never knows what thrills, sorrows, prob
lens, challenges, embarrassments, jams,
and all sort of news and changes may
be awaiting just around the corner.
This constant frontal attack of change
has proved to be a spiritual tonic in
my own life. What blessing; what a
privilege it has oeen just to be a
chaplain in this mans Army! Nearly
SO per cent of my time in the army
has been spent overseas. Others will
agree with me that the chaplain who
has served only in the States has missed
out on 80 per cent of the blessing. The
possibilities for a spiritual ministry over
here are tremendous and many a
chaplain is having field day.
1t is my conviction that any man who
hopes to be of lasting blessing should
never quit school.
A chaplain cannot adequately meet
the demands of his job who is not con-
tinually hacking away constructively on
himself.