Heavy Load!

Its been a while since I have updated my blog. Dont feel like I have forgotten because I havent, its just that I havent had much time. ALOT has happened thus far since I have been back from CHBOLC. My wife and I have had our third child, Owen Alexander Cameron, born on oct 16. He had to stay in thr hospital for about 3 weeks because his lungs were premature but he is doing great now. I was also able to participate in a baby dedication and five water baptisms during September. My pastor allowed me to participate in those and I am very grateful for that. That brings me to the bad news. On Novemeber 28, my pastor passed way. It was a shock for everyone. He was only 42. The church is dealing well with the loss but we are having  hard time adjusting to it. Myself and the other leaders in the church are scrambling around trying to figure out what to do. It seems like right now, I am so overloaded with so much that I want to quit but I know I cant. With family, work, school, Army and church, it seems like I just cant juggle it all.

School will be ending in a few weeks, which will take the heaviest load off. In turn that will give me more time to spend with my family and help my wife out more around the house. The National Guard has been so tremendous in allowing me to make up my drills at my time, here closer to home. Since the unit has moved 2 hours away to Fort McClelhan, it has been difficult for me to make it there.

The church staff has a meeting this friday night with the district overseer to see what the next step in the process will be. Just pray that the Lord sends us someone as wonderful as our last pastor…if thats possible. I have been having to take off work quite a bit to catch up on school work, house work and sleep. I have not been sleeping well, not since I have been back. I find myself wanting to be back in CHBOLC because it was so much easier that what I go through here at home. I know the Lord has a reason for everything.

I remember the times when pastor and me would sit back in my office after church and we would talk about how we could do more for the church. He had such a passion for the church. I often felt like I carried his load because I knew how much it meant to him. I will never forget those time. I came to ministry under him and he taught me so much. he allowed me to do whatever I wanted and for that I am so grateful. Its just 18 months I went from being a pew warmer, to church treasurer, teaching children, youth and adults, to giving messages and associate pastor. Now I find myself as part of the staff of the church trying to manage as we deal with his absence.

I now know what kind of things to prepare myself for in the future. This was a wake up call for the staff to be ready at anytime for anything.

The funeral was the most wonderul and well put together service I had ever seen. So many people came out. People from all over the US, that the pastor knew and had been friends with.

Dewayne Barrett you will be missed!

A New Day….

 It makes me so sick to ” men and women of god” trying to sell the gospel and prosper from people in “need” of a blessing. We do miss God, and its more obvious when looking at the “tv ministers”. I get tired of them trying to sell me a book that promises me blessings if I just buy it. I wouldnt know it was a Christian based book because they have their faces planted over every inch of the cover and more than likely the back of the book. If pictures were that important, wouldn’t Paul or Jesus have their all over there material? What is going on? When God is moving in Asia like a raging fire on the open prairie, but yet here in the US, its as though we resemble the Israelites during their pagan festivals of Asherah poles and golden calves (or should I say our new SUV’s and buffett’s). I am concerned about the nation and Christianity in the US, if even our so called leaders are commiting adultery, money laundering and so many other addictions. Whats a believer to do? I know, I know…pray and believe in God. But whay good is that, if you don’t live the life of Christ? You say your a Christian, but How could you label yourself  ”Christ like” when you are bound by your music, your children, your careers and what people think about you. I dont think Jesus was concerned about what people thought about Him when He was being mocked, beaten and made to walk up Calvary carrying what would ultimately display Him in front of the world. The reason…He had you and me in mind. Not himself. We like to pass the blame around…so lets blame it on LOVE…

The church (building) is not where we will take back what Satan stole from us, it will take individuals humbling and submitting themselves to God and then coming together in small groups in homes across the country. Churches have become more of advertising agencies than places of worship. We think having church is bringing a friend, singing some songs, giving an offering and leaving “fullfilled” from a powerful and wonderful message. For some, its an emotional state where it appears God is moving but yet it takes 3 songs, a dynamite sermon and a altar call before God moves? I dont think God moves like that..or at least not in the bible. 

Love…

People at church sometimes say that they love you. Ever thought of what that means….I have.

Does it mean that you will call me when im sick? A call won’t provide the satisfaction that I can trust your praying and fasting for me and my family…

Does it mean that you will bring some food to my house when a relative dies? Where are you when I feel lonely and need more than just food….

Does it mean that you “think about me” when Im not there at church? Dont worry about me when im not there….where is your heart? On God or on who’s not there?

Have you held off passing judgment on me because I havent been to church for a few sundays? I must be back slid….I noticed you havent called but of course, its easier to pass judgment….

If thats ”love” you can keep it…Love to me means to die for. I am not asking anyone to die for me. That’s what the US Military is willing to do. They are people who are willing to die for you and me because they love us. Dont think so? Tell me how someone can boldly face the enemy and and not backdown? They may not be the most morale of people but then again neither are most people who attend church. I hear so many Christians so that they “love” everything from cars, music to food and movies. Die for a movie? That must be some movie! I LOVE God, my family and my country. I am called to love my neighbor and I do. Its hard. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to serve in the military. Servicemembers love their country so much that they are willing to die for it. Sounds familiar? Jesus loved us so much that He died for us….I wonder if He loves us as much as we love our food, cars, homes, music, movies, etc? I dont know. As much as I hear that word thrown around, it’ll be tough to beat. You know we can’t an event without food or a decent round of gossip.

Playing Catch up…

I have been home now for more than 3 weeks and im getting settled in better. When I first got back, I had a hard time adjusting but now Im doing much better. Things at work are coming back to me. Engineering is always changing so when you’ve been gone for 3 months alot can happen. Fortunately, not much occured while I was gone. Alot of people at work said it didn’t seem like I had been gone for 3 months, they said it seemed to be only for a few weeks. I can see what they mean. Next week will my 4th week back to work and it just flies by. The time at CHBOLC seemed to drag by, but thats expected when your far from home and really not enjoying what your doing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it at times but many times I wanted to leave. Not because it was hard or strict, mainly because the people really drag you down.

I spent most of the day today cutting grass. It has been raining alot here, almost everyday since I have been home. I was able to cut the grass here at our house and at the rental house and I am exhausted. The military has nothing on cutting grass all day in the heat!! LOL…  I visited one of our soldiers in the hospital a few weeks ago. I hope he is doing good. He is a really good guy. The Colonel from the 167th TSC emailed me and thanked me for visiting him. That really made my day. I don’t do this job for praise or accolades. However, it is nice to be recognized every once in a while. It seems like the job of a chaplain is often overlooked. What I mean is that most people don’t know how much it really wears on you to see people at their worst. Im glad to be there for them but sometimes it refreshing to see the other side of life.

To give you all an education update. I have 3 more classes and I will have my Masters of Arts in Theological Studies. I really excited about that. Degrees really don’t mean much to me, its just that I enjoy the education I get on the bible from it. I have been really blessed to be able to gain such knowledge. I am back at work trying to get back to where I was before I left. Things are coming along really well. I was asked to conduct a safety presentation last week in front of about 25 people at work on some of the things I learned at the officers course. I was nervous but it went very well. I was able to make them laugh alot which helped me relax.

Im so concerned that all these preachers are talking about prosperity and blessings. If you put God first, HE will take care of the other stuff. Seems like so many people only want a blessing from God, and the “preachers” or whatever you want to call them, see that and are trying to take advantage of it. “If you sow a seed now of $1000 you can have a financial breakthrough” or “Buy my new book and you will never be needy again.” WHY DONT THEY SHARE THIS FOR FREE!!! It sickens me to see people making money from the gospel. I can see why our country is in such bad shape. Our hearts have gone from putting God first, to what you see now, EVERYONE wanting some sort of financial advantage.

More to come….

Heavyweight!

Getting back to civilian life isn’t as easy I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being back at home with my family. It just seemed like as soon as I got back, all the weights were put back on me. I know thats expected because I do have alot of responsibilities. With the military, school, work, family and church, I do have alot on my plate. The biggest weight is school. I would like to spend more time with the others things but school takes so much more of my time. I know I will only have to endure this for a few more years and then it will be over with, at least the school stuff will be. For a while….I am thankful for being given such a tremendous opportunity to attend seminary. I never thought I would have been given the education that I have but it has not been easy. Alot of sacrifices!

I keep seeing the Lord putting me in these leadership roles and I can’t understand why. I think I know, but its hard for me to accept it. I feel like Moses did when God called him to go to the Pharaoh. “I can’t do it…….Why should Pharaoh listen to me?” I do enjoy the blessings God has given me and my family, I do enjoy the educational opportunities I have been given..but with that comes a price. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” I am reminded of that almost daily.

How much longer O’ Lord?

Back to Work

Its hard to believe that its been over a week since graduation and that I have been home for a week. I have enjoyed the week vacation from everything. Saturday after graduation we went to Charleston to go to the beach and we ended up going to Patriot’s Point. I enjoyed it more this time because I actually had time to go through it slower and read some of the stuff. We did go to the beach for a little while and the we were off back to Columbia. I already miss the Army life but I will be back it again before too long. Had a good Labor day with family and now just working on some school stuff. Reading, Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament By Christopher J.H. Wright.Tommorrow will be my first day back to work since May and its kinda weird. I feel like I am starting a new job again. I just hope I can remember all the stuff that I once knew. I know it may take me some time to get back into the swing of things.

This past sunday at church, I was able to help the pastor baptize several people and one was my wife. It was a real honor to have my wife as the first person that I have ever baptized. It was a really good day and was good to be back at church and get back to things.

Day Ninety (CHBOLC Graduation)

Today was graduation. The day I have been looking forward to since I got here at Fort Jackson. Even though I am very excited about graduation and getting back home, I will miss it. I have enjoyed that active duty feeling while I have been here. We had graduation rehearsal again this morning at the school house and went through the whole thing and then we were released around 1030. We had to be back at 1300 at the Solomon Center, where graduation will be. There was some uncertainty whether we would be graduating in ACU’s or dress, and the decision was made to come in dress. The word was that since this is the biggest class to graduate from the chaplain school, that there may some media coverage. Graduation went very well. It went by alot quicker that I have expected as well. The Deputy Chief of Chaplains from the Pentagon was the guest speaker. I was also able to meet with my endorser, Dr. McNabb, and get some pictures with him and some other fellow COG chaplains.

Afterwards, we all went to O’Charleys and ate and then went back to the hotel and relaxed. It felt so good to finally be done and now I can relax for a little while. I started back to school on August 24 and thats about to pick up so I am enjoying these few weeks of relaxtion while I can. This class should be a really interesting one. I am taking Old Testament I and the reading materials seem to be very informative.

Anyways, very good day!

God Bless,

Chris

Day Eighty Seven – Eighty Nine

Tuesday we had more training on PICK and LINKS. Its pretty good stuff. The developer and instructor is Dr. Van Epp and he is a really good presenter. I have learned so much about counseling and putting on seminars, that I should be able to help somebody. If nothing else, me and Amanda can use it. Nothing much more than that. Amanda and the babies arrived today.

Yesterday, we didnt have to be at the school house until 1100 to do some minor paperwork and then left around 1200 or 1230. A really good relaxing day. One of the best days we have had here. I spent the rest of the day with the family and took amanda to get her hair done for the banquet. We went to the banquet at the NCO club, got there around  5pm or so and it really didnt start until about 7pm. From 5 to 7pm was more like social hour, just going around meeting other people and introducing amanda to some of my classmates. We had a really good time. I was really dreading it but it went very well and we had a good time. The banquet lasted until around 9:30.

Today, we had to be at the school house about 0820 to do outprocessing, which consisted of us filling out some paperwork for pay and stuff like that.  We then went to the Solomon center to take class pictures and platoon pictures. Then we had to go and do some more paperwork and then at the end of the day we had our first graduation rehearsal. We will have more rehearsals tommorrow and then graduation around 1430 and then, WE ARE DONE!!! Can’t wait! Please pray that everything goes well and we have a good day. We all, me included, are at wits end and we all need a break from each other. We are getting to the point, I think, where we all are getting on each others nerves. Thanks again for all the prayers, without them I couldnt have done it!

I plan to post some pictures as soon as I have time, maybe this weekend.

Keep praying and God Bless,

Chris

Day Eighty Five – Eighty Six (Week 13)

LAST WEEK!!!!

Sunday nothing exciting. Usual relaxing and doing some bible studies. We had a meeting tonite at the hotel with our SGL to get out files and paperwork in order.

Today, we started the next certification which is PICK/LINKS. Its training for single soldiers/married soldiers. About 9 of us received our AER’s (Academic Evaluation Reports) today. Mine was very good. I got the highest marks on leadership.

Tonight was the most unsettling thing we have done so far. We were required to visit the University of South Carolina Medical School’s morgue and anatomy class. I have to admit, it was FAR worse that I expected. WOW! I did not expect to see what I saw or do what I did. I dont want to go into details here but if you are interested, ask me when I get back. Anyways, amanda and the babies will leave in the morning on their way here. Pray that they will be safe. I have packed up and loaded up my car with nearly everything. Just waiting on FRIDAY!!!

Keep praying and God Bless to ALL!

Chris

Day Eight Three – Eighty Four

Friday was another normal day. PT is over so we got to sleep late. Went to the school house and received  more training and then was released around 1630. Not much happened today…

Saturday

Today, we had class for half the day. Actually we got to school around 0800 and left around 1115 or so. Our Family Wellness training ended today. It was VERY good training. I am really impressed with the material. I also enjoyed getting up in front of the group and role playing. Before, you couldnt have paid me, but now I dont mind it at all.  Anyways, we are now certified instructors. The rest of the day was just relaxing, washing clothes and started packing up stuff to leave next week. Cant Wait!!! CPT Riggs and I went out to eat today. We had planned to do it every weekend but we got so busy, we didnt have time. Thanks to everyone for their emails, letters, blog comments and especially prayers. Without the prayers I dont think I would have made it!

A picture is attached of us during training this morning. It isn’t me. We also were allowed to wear civies (civilian clothes) today.

One last thing, if you are planning to send mail, please don’t. Since this is the last week, the mail may not get here in time. Thanks!

Chris

Day Eighty Two

Today was our last day of pt for CHBOLC!!!!!! It was a good one too. We had a regimental run with the Chief of Chaplains, two star general from the pentagon. It was really neat getting to see him after hearing all about him during the course. We got to the pt field around 0445 and didnt start running until 0600. I know, we waited over an hour, its silly but they all wanted to make sure everyone was there and everything was ready for the general and his staff when they arrived. Im not sure how far we ran. I would guess probably about 1.5-2 miles. It was a pretty fast pace too. Probably a C group pace. 9:00 minute mile.

After pt we went back to the school house for classes and the Chief of Chaplains wanted to talk to us for a while. He gave us some pretty cool information. Im not sure how much I can share. The reason being, we had a chaplain from the pentagon to come and talk to us yesterday, i think, about what kind of information we can share and how it can & will be used against the Army and the Chaplaincy. Apparently, there are many people who are trying to get rid of the military chaplaincy. So I dont want to say anything that could ultimately harm it. In a nut shell, he laid out what the Army had in store through 2011.

We then continued our Family Wellness training http://www.familywellness.com/. It is a very good program. I cant wait to get back home and apply some of the stuff I have learned. We also did very well on our triad (fancy term for a team of 3 thats used in counseling) role play. I really did enjoy it. I was really apprehensive at first but once I was up there, I just fell into the role. We have to do another one tommorrow morning. We are being trained as instructors so we have to go through all of the role plays.

We get to sleep late tommorrow. We dont have to be in class until 0820!!! Thats good because this morning we had to wake up about 0350 to get ready to get to the pt field at 0445. At some point while setting my alarm I had changed the time on the clock. So I woke up at 0350 and I looked at the clock on the microwave it said 0250, I checked my cell phone..0250 and just to make sure..i checked my computer and….0250. I woke up an hour early. I decided to shave right quick and go back to bed. So I did and I finally fell asleep about 0340..just in time to wake up at 0350!!!!

With no more pt and no more assignments due, I feel so FREE! Oh yeah, I got a GO on my last assignment so thanks for all the prayers. I told someone that only by the power and grace of God, would I pass the memo and of course, He came through!! Like always! I didnt feel confident at all and was a little concerned but I did pretty well on it!!!

One last thing, they have a “burger joint” here called Five Guys burgers http://www.fiveguys.com/home.aspx . Apparently, they are well know for their burgers all around. Well, I have eaten there twice and they are VERY good. They put your food in a brown paper sack, just like the ones you used for work or school. They put the burger on the bottom and they put your cup of fries on the top, THEN they dump more fries on top of that. So you have a bag thats nearly transparent because of the grease thats showing through.  I highly recommend  it!!!

Amanda and the babies will be here Tuesday and the rest of the family is suppose to come in around thursday or so. So I pretty excited. Im ready to get out of here. Im really going to miss it because we have had some good times here. I think back and it seems like we just started CIMT. I remember how long 13 weeks seemed but you stay so busy its goes by fast! I registered for the fall term at school so I start classes next monday, Aug 24. Im taking Old Testament I, should be a good class!

Well, thats all for now. Keep Praying and God Bless