Tag Archives: douglas carver

Great Awakening at Fort Leonard Wood and Beyond

As previously noted, more than 2,000 US Army trainees have professed faith in Christ recently at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Chaplain (Capt) Jose Rondon…began to track what has been called a “spiritual awakening” on the military base in March, when he reported that more than 200 professed faith during chapel services on the base on March 11 and March 18. By June 24, that number had risen to 880 professions of faith and has continued to rise throughout the summer – reaching 2,077 on Aug. 19.

Retired Chaplain (MajGen) Doug Carver said the revival wasn’t limited to FLW [emphasis added]:

More than 2,000 troops gathered Read more

Statement from Chaplain (MajGen) Doug Carver on Scott Squires

From US Army Chaplain (MajGen) Doug Carver (retired), as quoted at the Baptist Press, reacting to the Army’s decision not to punish Chaplain (Maj) Jerry Scott Squires, despite an official investigator’s recommendation it do so:

“This is great news for both Chaplain Squires and all of the military chaplains who are serving our men and women the U.S. Armed Services,” said Gen. Douglas Carver, executive director of chaplaincy at the North American Mission Board (NAMB). “It is a significant victory for all who support and defend the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, especially regarding the freedom of religion…”

Carver thanked Squires’ commanding general “for having the moral courage to make the correct but difficult decision regarding the investigation into Chaplain Squires…”

“Few chaplains have endured the investigative scrutiny that Read more

President Gives US Military Transgender Directive

Last Friday President Trump issued a formal directive for the Department of Defense to reverse the decision by former President Obama to allow transgenders to serve in the US military. Noting that transgenders had been banned from serving up until just last summer, the reasoning was fairly benign:

The previous Administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude that terminating the Departments’ longstanding policy and practice would not hinder military effectiveness and lethality, disrupt unit cohesion, or tax military resources, and there remain meaningful concerns that further study is needed to ensure that continued implementation of last year’s policy change would not have those negative effects.

The outcry from sexual activists was swift, with Ashley Broadway-Mack — the activist “devout Christian” homosexual milspouse — calling on “Congress or the courts” or just about anybody to “take action to reverse Trump’s policy.”

Of course, it isn’t “Trump’s policy”, as the President’s memorandum notes, and gender-based activists are flailing for a course of action because they likely realize there isn’t really anything they can do. President Obama Read more

Former Army Chief of Chaplains: Christians in the Crosshairs

carverFormer US Army Chief of Chaplains (MajGen) Doug Carver expressed grave concerns about the US military’s new transgender policy, questioning the DoD’s decision to implement the policy without regard to stakeholders like chaplain endorsers:

Military chaplains endorsed by the North American Mission Board, along with other Christian chaplains, appear to be “in the crosshairs of this new policy,” NAMB executive director of chaplaincy Douglas Carver told Baptist Press, noting religious liberty concerns.

Coming from a (recently) retired senior Army officer, that’s not an Read more

The Need for Military Chaplains

The Southern Baptist Convention recently noted the value of US military chaplains even here at home — in the wake of the second Fort Hood shooting:

“This tragic event highlights the critically important ministry of chaplains,” Doug Carver, executive director for chaplaincy at the North American Mission Board, said. “They are able to minister immediately in situations like this, even before churches can respond, because chaplains are there in the military community as soldiers themselves.

“The armed forces don’t see chaplains as pastors in uniform. They see them as members of the family,” Carver said. “The culture in the military is so close-knit that when a soldier is hurt, that means a family member is hurting. Military life is family.”

Carver’s point is an important one: Chaplains are not Read more

“Chaplains Share Christ Where Local Church Can’t”

Baptist Press highlights a story from the Southern Baptist’s North American Mission Board, which notes it sends chaplains around the world to reach where the church cannot — including through the US military:

From foreign battlefields to American corporate board rooms to hospital bedsides to the front seats of police cars and more, Southern Baptists minister through their chaplains in some of the most hard-to-reach locations…

A current military chaplain noted the reach of military ministry:

“When chaplains preach during our worship services here on post at our Protestant services, they have the freedom to preach a powerful evangelistic message,” said Col. Jeff Houston, the installation chaplain at Fort Campbell, Ky. “We regularly baptize folks who have come to trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.”

Notably, Read more

Congress Hears Testimony on Military Religious Freedom

The House Armed Services Committee heard testimony from several DoD and civilian sources on Wednesday on the topic of religious accommodation in the US military.  Witnesses included Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, Ms. Virginia Penrod, US Army Deputy Chief of Chaplains (BGen) Charles Bailey, US Air Force Deputy Chief of Chaplains (BGen) Bobby Page, and US Navy Chief of Chaplains (RAdm) Mark Tidd.  The statements, questions, and answers in the hearing were quite interesting.  The hour-long CSPAN-worthy video can be viewed here, with highlights discussed below.

Military.com summarized the session as “Lawmakers Accuse Military of Anti-Christian Bias,” and the Religion News Service noted “Top brass say they’re not aware of bias against military chaplains.”  It would seem the public perception of the hearing was somewhat different than what the participants thought.

Retired US Army Chief of Chaplains Chaplain (MajGen) Doug Carver Read more

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