I had never seen a "blow-up doll" before.  My infantrymen made sure that shortcoming was fixed.

Being a chaplain in an essentially all-male unit is guaranteed to put you in a tight spot.  Yes, you are officially the commander's advisor for moral and ethical issues, which isn't a problem.  It is the unofficial element, the "man of the cloth" part, that makes you a walking representative of morality.  While there are, of course, those chaplains for whom simply being a moral person is a problem, the real issue is how to balance that perception with approachability - yeah, you're the God guy, but are you a prude, too?

The hardest times aren't always in the midst of the fury.  Sometimes, they are when you are nowhere near it.  When your brothers need you most, in the worst possible circumstances, and you aren't there for them - what do you do?

People think that the scariest thing about war is the shooting and explosions as people are trying to kill you.   Actually, that's the most exciting part.

It's hard to qualify what is "winning" in war when you are a chaplain.  I never shoot at anyone.  I never was in charge of soldiers on cordon and search missions, on guard, or the interactions with locals.

And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hell followed him. ~ Revelation 6:8

The men looked at me as a good luck charm.  You don't want that as a chaplain - you can't guarantee anything, after all.  Things just don't work that way.  That said, I have to admit that our unit never lost a member to combat on whatever outpost or convoy I happened to be.  Even so, with all the flying lead, fragmenting steel, and explosions directed toward us, even I couldn't escape the face of death.

Not many people get to see the Hulk smash through walls.  However, it happened on my base in Afghanistan, on one of those days I'll never forget.

ou know those guys.  After a full day of playing Call of Duty from their mother’s basement, they splatter all over the INTERNETS how they would do such-and-such in combat, brag about their guns, post pics of them with their subdued US flag, OAF Nation, camouflage hats.  But, they’ve never seen a shot fired in anger.  As they say, everybody want to be a tough guy until it’s time to do tough guy stuff.

But I was aware of my lack of combat experience. 

I'll never forget that one question on the quiz -

Briefly explain the following passage:  "Remove not the ancient landmarks which your fathers have set (Proverbs 22:28)."

The following options were available:

I love Rich Mullins, writer of “Awesome God”, and a dozen other songs popular in the 90’s in church circles.  I love his music, his lyrics, and his story – he was a weird guy, but in an endearing way.  One of his songs, “Creed” is essentially the apostle’s creed set to music, but with a chorus that goes like this:

I believe what I believe

It’s what makes me what I am

I did not make it, no it is making me

It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man.

I did not make it – no, it is making me.  There is something about submitting ourselves to beliefs and practices that are external to our own minds that shapes us in ways we would not have otherwise chosen. 

For such is the nature of men, that howsoever they may acknowledge many others to be more witty, or more eloquent, or more learned; yet they will hardly believe there be so many as wise as themselves ~ Thomas Hobbes, "Leviathan"

There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death                   ~ Proverbs 14:12

We have never read, or believed, "just the Bible".  

Before we could read, we were being shaped by our parents, our siblings, our playmates, our environment, our experiences.