11 February 2009

Yesterday's Joke...which actually happened.

So, there I was, no s#!t, sitting in my brigade unit ministry team (UMT) meeting and we're talking calendar. Suddenly, this little thing called "Easter" popped out and began to cause trouble. What are we going to do about Easter?

Tradition holds that all the General Protestants combine into one mass service and hold a Sunrise Service. Animated discussion ensued on who we should get as a guest speaker. (Because the service was so large and we had a humongous audience, it only holds that we should get a guest speaker; none of us could be good enough.)

The first suggestion was a guy who had lost his arms and legs in an automobile accident and has a "great testimony." The second suggestion was a guy who had been seriously wounded in Viet Nam and "was a good preacher." The third suggestion was a former Special Forces guy who had written a great book and is now a pastor of a church in Iowa.

The discussion of timelines (do we have enough notice to get one of these guys), logistics (is it just our brigade or will we include our sister brigade across the hill), and finances (can we just do a special offering on Easter for the speaker) then ensued and hit a fever pitch. The whole time I sat back and observed.

Finally, after a few minutes, the brigade chaplain looks at me and asks, "Tom, what do you think?" I replied, "I think we should preach Jesus Christ and Him raised from the dead." Everyone in the room looked at me as if I had just farted.

All of us in that room are CHRISTIAN chaplains and this is arguably THE BIGGEST day of our year; it's the day that we remember the peace and hope for this life given through the resurrection of our Savior. It's the whole reason to do one, big, mass service...so that we can emphasize the importance of the day! It's not about great speakers, good programs, or special offerings. It's about realizing that death has lost its sting, God wins, and we all get to live happily ever after!

Add this to the list of reasons why I am leaving the chaplaincy: we have lost that which separates us from every other staff officer. We have lost our ability and commitment to preach the Gospel and to change lives with its power. We'd rather be "relevant" and "inspirational" than be prophetic or apocalyptic. No wonder we are marginalized so much.

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