Preaching
In the forest, under the parachute, soldiers
bring the Word. They are of different faiths and traditions and yet they all
preach what is in their heart. How strong faith is.
As we were analyzing preaching today I
began to reflect on my own heritage of preaching. Its expositional of course,
but then more than that, it is less direct than traditional preaching. It is
interesting to me that I leave so much unsaid in my messages. It must come from
teaching in that I expect the hearer (student) to come to the correct conclusion
because of the evidence presented. This is how I like to think – I do not
mind being guided, just don’t make the conclusion for me. I tend to do
this with others as well. I will have to be more careful in the future about how
I present material to soldiers, none of whom have been my students, thinking in
a trained way, they are warriors – taught to think in the Army way. Thus,
it becomes imperative to me to think in the Army paradigm as well. The challenge
becomes, “how can I bring this sacred (the Bible is so far removed form
the soldiers range of decision-making sight) into the secular mind of the
Soldier? This is the challenge of being a chaplain.
Posted: Tue - February 15, 2005 at 01:18 PM