Michael Paddy – Module Seven Written Assignment – CHPL500

The United States Army National Guard Chaplains’ Ministry

Worship, Counseling, Visitation, and Readiness-War-Time Preparedness

The United States Army National Guard is a unique group of soldiers who having served

full time now serve in an “on-call” capacity to serve their country when called to do so. The

chaplain serving in the National Guard can play a very unique role also. Serving in their

ministry in the civilian arena, they can still serve their country fulfilling their calling to a wider

base congregation. How do they do this and is their ministry very different from the calling of

their local civilian congregation?

Worship – The pastor’s duties in a civilian congregation would include the performance

of a weekly worship service. Depending on the denomination this would include the sermon

preparation, choosing of music and Bible readings. It might mean a bulletin or sheet with

information and order of service for the minister and the congregation. In the National Guard, a

chaplain is faced with the need for flexibility. The normal weekly routine turns into an

environment where the indoor comforts of a church or sanctuary become the outdoors in any and

all environments. The beautiful pulpit could be replaced by a tree stump. One service can turn

into several in one day and several over many days depending on the deployment. It also means

that the denominational restrictions and practices of the chaplain’s home church can see many

different soldiers and military personnel from diverse denominational and religious backgrounds

in one service. It also means trying to provide important religious observances for people of

different faiths, (Bergen 2004, 196)

Counseling – The minister who serves in the National Guard as chaplain will find

themselves in a plethora of situations where the best counseling books and education might fall

short of the great needs the chaplain encounters in their service to their God and to their country.

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Michael Paddy – Module Seven Written Assignment – CHPL500

Though the best counselor is always the one who is a good listener, wise counsel must be given

to the soldier in the military context. This can only be done through the immersion of the

chaplain in the military. Transitioning themselves from their civilian roles to military monthly

and during a call into active duty must be challenging but necessary to bring good counsel to

those who serve. And the very important role of the National guard during crisis and disaster

gives the chaplain great opportunity to serve and counsel civilians as well. Giving them at the

moment of greatest need a wise counselor who wears the uniform can be a very rewarding

career! A chaplain in the National Guard can be the “incarnate model” necessary to be relevant

and empathetic when interacting with them. They understand what it means to be pulled from

their everyday life and enter the military world.

Visitation – A chaplain in his civilian role as pastor of a congregation sees visitation as a

necessary evil, making sure the congregant feels important and noticed. Especially the elderly

and shut in who cannot always make it to church, the kind words and ear of the pastor means a

lot to them. The soldier serving in the National Guard might feel the confusion of their civilian

life mixed with their duty to serve monthly and annually as well when they are called up for

extended duty. Just having that visit from the chaplain, working side by side along them can be

an incredible morale boost to them while serving.

Readiness-War-Time Preparedness – The monthly and annual duties of those serving

in the National Guard especially for the chaplain can only give the training necessary for those

who might have to see action in a conflict or war overseas. Nothing can really prepare anyone

for some of the tings one sees in war, but the chaplain can be prepared by knowing their calling

has a dimension that calls all those in ministry to understand suffering and trails and how to deal

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Michael Paddy – Module Seven Written Assignment – CHPL500

with it. Getting any and all training can cause even the most faithful chaplain to ask themselves

what in the world they were doing in such a place, (Bergen 2004, 191).

Conclusion – The duties and calling of the chaplain in all areas of service to God and to

their military congregants has many similarities and many variances that can seem wide when

they leave their own congregations and enter into their military service roles in the National

Guard. The respect for the collar and the uniform go hand in hand in the military and for the

chaplain serving in the National Guard brings great opportunities for the minister looking for

service not just to God but to country also!

References:

Doris L. Bergen, Editor, The Sword of the Lord, Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-

First Century, (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Publishers, 2004)

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