Tag Archives: Prayer

Separation of Church and Sports, Part 2

A recent set of articles bemoaned the lack of a “separation of church and sports” in the United States, an idea espoused by those who are tired of players “mixing” their faith and their athletics (see Tim Tebow, Fisher Deberry, Tony Dungy, Chad Hennings, etc.)

Time magazine recently covered the subject from a different perspective.  In “God and Football” they cover the various roles of Chaplains in the NFL.  Some of the comments are oddly similar to those faced by Chaplains and religious adherents in the military.  Read more

Chaplain Strengthens Marriages from Iraq

Chaplain (Capt.) Brent Crosswhite, a US Army Chaplain from Fort Hood, is deployed to Iraq, but still managed to team up with his wife to help strengthen Soldiers’ marriages.

The Chaplain is holding a marriage class in Iraq while his wife leads an identical one for spouses at Fort Hood.  The husbands and wives cover the same materials, and at the end of each session there is a video teleconference with the other class.  One of the goals is to mitigate the 20 to 30 divorces that the average Army brigade Read more

Muslims, as All Americans, Should Continue to Serve

Groups and individuals (and there are several) who have recently proposed banning Muslims from serving in the US military as a result of the Fort Hood massacre are demonstrating naivete and an incorrect understanding of both the military and the US Constitution.

No American citizen should be prohibited from any government role, including military service, purely because of his religious beliefs.

Besides being ludicrous on its face, the enforcement of such a religious ban Read more

Christian Radio, Music Group Team for Military Christmas

A national contemporary Christian radio station and Christian music group Big Daddy Weave are teaming up to provide for needy military families this Christmas.

The campaign is inspired by a song on Big Daddy Weave’s 2009 Christmas album Christ is Come.  Called I’ll Be Brave This Christmas, it is sung from the perspective of a little boy who wishes not for presents, but for the safety and return of his father deployed to war.  The song, which will likely be an emotional one for those with men and women in uniform this Christmas, can be heard on the music player on Big Daddy Weave’s website and previewed on Amazon’s sale page for the album.

K-Love is a national radio station that has long sponsored a “Wall of Prayer” for Read more

Military Religion Question of the Day: Hensley

In May 2009, al Jazeera broadcast a show that included film from a military chapel in Afghanistan.  In the sermon, US Army Chaplain (LtCol) Gary Hensley told his congregation they had a responsibility to be a ‘witness for Jesus.’  He said:

The special forces guys—they hunt men basically. We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down.… Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom. That’s what we do, that’s our business.

As a result, some organizations have accused the Chaplain of violating Read more

Critics Remain Silent During Fort Hood Memorial

The moving and often emotional memorial service marking the loss of life at Fort Hood was infused with military ceremony and tradition.  Military officers explained that memorials were a part of the process in war; the units gathered to memorialize their fallen, send them home, and then gather their gear to continue the mission.

Flags flew at half-staff, the National Anthem played, speakers lauded the fallen, and the sounding of taps echoed the solemnity of the occasion.  Each fallen soldier was represented by a “battlefield cross:” a helmet atop an inverted rifle with bayonet and boots.  A uniformed soldier sang Amazing Grace. 

Another part of the tradition is prayers offered for the fallen, their friends, and their families.  Chaplain (Col) Michael Lembke, Army III Corps Chaplain, wore his religious stole across the shoulders of his military uniform that bore the Christian cross and prayed to “Lord God Almighty,” asking God to “draw us to You” and to “restore to us a spirit of joy and hope.”

The fitting memorial was laden with traditions that critics–including Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation–have repeatedly and vociferously opposed.

Yet today, they remained silent.

The thought that a moving ceremony such as this might be curtailed due to Weinstein’s complaints is an anathema to the American spirit.  Yet that is the Read more

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