Strange Land of the Chaplaincy (BCC Week 1)
The chaplaincy is a strange land, strange indeed.
It is no secret that the rank and file of the U.S. military is a conservative bunch that finds itself definitely on the right side of the spectrum of politics, society, and religion. Consequently, one would expect military chaplains to largely be conservative types as well, but that . . .
Atlantis 'Go' for Rollout
According to nasa.gov, "After Friday's rollout review meeting, NASA officials announced that repairs on the external tank on Space Shuttle Atlantis have been completed. The vehicle is scheduled to roll out to the launch pad on Wednesday, May 16 with first motion at 4 a.m. EDT."
It's neither my mission nor my orbiter . . .
A Famine in the Land...Reflections on Evangelicalism
As a part of our Basic Chaplains' Course, chaplains are exposed to different worship services outside of our primarily Evangelical traditions. This week, for example, we participated in two services that were very far from contemporary American Evangelicalism--we attended Catholic daily mass and an Eastern Orthodox divine worship service. . . .
"Off We Go..."
\Well, the time has come to depart for Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, AL, and begin the Air Force Basic Chaplains' Course, my first Air Force formal school since my 1997 stint at Shepherd AFB, TX for the Aircraft Maintenance Officers' Course. On Monday, we'll officially kick off day one of BCC 07B.
The course promises to be . . .
"Episcopalian" and "Discernment"...Together?
Remember back in the late summer of 2004 when then-Governor James McGreevey of New Jersey resigned in the midst of controversy surrounding his homosexual affair with the man he hired as the Homeland Security Adviser for the state of New Jersey? Despite the fact that his 'coming out' was celebrated by the left as a bold move of . . .
Who Says We're Dumbing Down?
Contemporary American Christianity is often accused of consciously 'dumbing down' in a number of areas including theology and worship. The lack of academic achievement in public schools over the past several decades has resulted in downward spiraling performance expectations from our students simply in order to continue promoting . . .
An Article from Newsweek
Here's a thought-provoking article that appeared in Newsweek this week, concerning the Chaplaincy, especially in the Army. As one who has not deployed in almost ten years, and even then to Air Force locations that were near by no means in the center of hostilities, I cannot imagine the stress these chaplains are under as they seek to . . .