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Please HONOR the copyright of these documents by not retransmitting or making any additional copies in any form (Except for private personal use). We appreciate your respectful cooperation. ___________________________ Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) P.O. Box 30183 Portland, Oregon 97294 USA Website: www.tren.com E-mail: [email protected] Phone# 1-800-334-8736 ___________________________ Ministry Focus Paper Approval Sheet This ministry focus paper entitled A STRATEGY FOR CONNECTING MILITARY FAMILIES TO THE LOCAL CHURCH THROUGH THE MILITARY EVANGELIST Written by Thomas Tine Cook and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry has been accepted by the Faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary upon the recommendation of the undersigned readers: _____________________________________ Kurt Fredrickson Date Received: August 3, 2012 A STRATEGY FOR CONNECTING MILITARY FAMILIES TO THE LOCAL CHURCH THROUGH THE MIILITARY EVANGELIST A MINISTRY FOCUS PAPER SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY THOMAS TINE COOK JULY 2012 ABSTRACT A Strategy for Connecting Military Families to the Local Church through the Military Evangelist Thomas Tine Cook Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2011 The purpose of this paper is to present a strategy for connecting the military families of Camp Pendleton to the local church, New Song Community Church, through the evangelical work of the military chaplain. New Song Community Church began to implement strategies contained in this paper in 2006, which has led other churches to implement similar programs to reach families on the base for the cause of Christ. The mission field of the military evangelist is a complex culture, made more so by the constant debate over the definition of the establishment clause in the First Amendment. It is further complicated by diverging religious and political views on the subject of war, which unfortunately the warfighter gets caught in the middle of. It is also a dangerous ministry that takes the chaplain into combat right alongside the very men and women he ministers to. To this work the military evangelist must possess a deliberate sense of calling, for this is a unique field of ministry unlike any other the Christian may embark upon. He or she must also possess a firm biblical warrior ethos to undergird this ministry, balancing the extreme views of war-mongering and pacifism. Without a firm understanding of the theological issues, the chaplain will find himself or herself unprepared to deal with the questions that American warfighters will no doubt have in response to these issues. This paper will consider a model for ministry found in the lives of three men in the Bible, two of whom served God through secular offices. It will also consider the model of Christ himself who balanced his role here on earth and his membership in heaven perfectly. These insights will provide a foundation for implementing a strategy for reaching Camp Pendleton through the unique office of the military evangelist—the chaplain. Theological Mentor: Kurt Fredrickson, PhD Words: 303 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE: THE MISSION FIELD CHAPTER 1. CAMP PENDLETON MARINES, SAILORS, AND THEIR FAMILIES 11 CHAPTER 2. SERVANT TO TWO MASTERS 32 PART TWO: THE MISSIONARY CHAPTER 3. THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS AND THE OLD TESTAMENT 50 CHAPTER 4. THE NEW TESTAMENT WARRIOR 89 CHAPTER 5. A MISSIONARY PARADIGM 121 PART THREE: THE MISSION CHAPTER 6. CONNECTING NEW SONG COMMUNITY CHURCH TO CAMP PENDLETON 143 CHAPTER 7. IMPLEMENTATION AND ASSESSMENT 161 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 177 APPENDIXES 182 BIBLIOGRAPHY 190 iii INTRODUCTION Endorsed Chaplains . in ministry relate to Southern Baptist life and practice in a continuing capacity through the Chaplaincy Evangelism Team, NAMB, and through local Southern Baptist churches. —From the Foreward of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board’s Endorsement Manual The purpose of this ministry focus paper is to present a strategy for connecting the military families of Camp Pendleton to the local church, specifically New Song Community Church (hereafter, New Song), through the evangelical work of the military chaplain. Chaplains come from many different faith backgrounds, are recommended for service by their local congregations, are appointed by their denominations, and are commissioned by their respective service branches. Though called out of their respective denominations to serve as chaplains, too often the local religious bodies from which they are called and the chaplains who are called out of them are at odds with one another, or at the very least they are ambivalent about the existence of the other.1 Too often, chaplains attend their local churches, and may even serve in some capacity, but neither they nor their families fully connect with the local body of Christ for mutual support or for ministry. Some of this may be due to the short assignments of chaplains, which for some can be as short as two years unless they find an open position in the same geographical area. For most junior chaplains, the career path includes the following assignments, in no particular order: a Marine Corps assignment for thirty months, a ship assignment for 1 Churches like First Baptist Church of Norfolk, with the pioneering vision of Gary Sanders, have been making great strides to connect the local church with chaplains for mutual support and cooperative ministry to US military members and their families. 1 twenty-four months, and then a shore or other assignment for twenty-four to thirty-six months. This third assignment can offer the chaplain some freedom to avoid moving his or her family, unless that “other assignment” is specialized with the Coast Guard or some other training command. Most manage to achieve the additional time at one station, but this still only brings their time in a local church to five and a half years at most. Some of the difficulties between chaplains and churches are due to theological or political positions based in an anti-war or sometimes anti-military theology.2 Richard G. Hutcheson, in his book, Chaplain at Sea: Holding on to Values in Changing Times, articulates this as he describes how many within the military during the Vietnam conflict felt they were “rejected as immoral by a large segment of a sharply divided nation.”3 Two phenomena have had a profound influence on how the Church interacts with chaplains and with the military as a whole: the first is the national guilt regarding how veterans from Vietnam were treated; and the second is the influence of liberal theology from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which found fertile soil in which to flourish in the converging movements of the 1960s.4 This is not to suggest that the anti-war movement had its birth in the protests of the Vietnam era, for there are accounts of great men and women who served the military 2 The use of the term “anti-war” in this paper is intentional and distinct from pacifism, whose difference will be elaborated upon in the appropriate chapter. It is an important distinction in developing the theological foundation of this paper, which not only makes room for pacifist views but acknowledges the benefit of such views as a conscience and counterpoint to the violence of the warrior culture. 3 Richard G. Hutcheson, Chaplain at Sea: Holding on to Values in Changing Times (Arlington, VA: The Navy Chaplain Foundation, 1999), 226-242. 4 There is not adequate space to discuss these topics here, but Lee Griffith’s book, The War on Terrorism and the Terror of God, is an excellent example of how the anti-war sentiments of the Vietnam era, which were the offspring of the “social gospel” of the early twentieth century, have and continue to impact the theology of the contemporary Church and its opposition to the military and its mission. 2 in capacities that did not conflict with their non-violent beliefs well before the advent of that historic conflict. It is crucial to understand that with the advent of Vietnam came a very public voice that to this day reverberates in the theological constructions of religious leaders as well as those to whom they minister. These theological foundations color the way in which many of these congregations engage the public discussion, but more importantly how they engage in ministry to military members and their families. Both of these interactions can serve to help or hinder spiritual growth and healing from combat and operational related injuries. This is being played out today in the context of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Denominations struggle with how to support the military and its members, as well as how their anti-war theology has left them with very little religious voice within the military institution. For instance, Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri is trying to boost its training of military chaplains “despite reservations about military involvement and objections to war.”5 Other issues between chaplains and churches are due to a perception that chaplains are somehow “less than” clergy, or even sell-outs to the State. There is ample anecdotal evidence of this opinion across the Internet, and in the writings of some Christians.6 The assumption of many is that in pledging not to proselytize, chaplains will 5 Tim Townsend, “Aiming to Counter Trend, UCC Seminary Will Train Military Chaplains,” The Christian Century (January 11, 2011), http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2011-01/liberal-ucc-steps- boost-ranks-Chaplains (accessed January 31, 2011). 6 As one example, Stephan Mansfield’s book, The Faith of the American Soldier, presents a confusing and contradictory picture of chaplains as hardworking on the one hand, but confused about their role or incapable of providing ministry due to a lack of training on the other hand.

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