Called to serve in a 'critical role' worldwide

Jonathan BlairBP

Brig. Gen. Douglas Carver, the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Chaplains and a former Georgia Baptist, speaks to Southern Baptist chaplains during a luncheon June 12 at the Sheraton Four Seasons in Greensboro, N.C. Carver, a native of Rome, is the first Southern Baptist chaplain to be promoted to active duty in the Chief of Chaplains office in more than 50 years. The gathering was held the day before the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP) — “Times are dangerous and difficult. But God has raised you up for a time such as this,” Brig. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Chaplains, told more than 100 Southern Baptist chaplains at an appreciation luncheon June 12.

Introduced as “the chaplain of chaplains” in the U.S. military, Carver, the U.S. Army’s 22nd deputy chief of chaplains, is the first Southern Baptist chaplain to be promoted to the Chief of Chaplains office for active duty in more than 50 years.

“We’ve got the finest chaplains in the Southern Baptist Convention we’ve ever had. We’ve got 2,579 chaplains ministering in 73 different areas,” Pete Sharber, director of chaplaincy evangelism at the North American Mission Board, said.

New responsibilities

In addition to serving in the military, SBC-endorsed chaplains also work in prisons, corporations, law enforcement and the health field.

Sharber, who retired from NAMB on July 1, and his wife, Faye, received a standing ovation during the luncheon. His successor, Keith Travis, was introduced.

Travis is a Colonel in the U.S. Army, serving as a division chaplain in Birmingham, Ala. He is a native of Virginia and graduate of Carson-Newman College and Southeastern Seminary. Travis and his wife served six years as missionaries with the International Mission Board in Costa Rica and Mexico. He began his new responsibilities with NAMB July 1.

In addition to serving as pastor in Virginia, Travis served as minister of missions at Byne Memorial Baptist Church in Albany and as pastor of First Baptist Church in Putney.

Hard road of ministry

“You don’t realize the critical role you play in people’s lives,” Carver said. “God has ordered you into some pretty tough places – not just in Iraq, Afghanistan or Africa, but also in hospitals, truck stops and detention facilities. You are reaching people who would never darken the doors of a church, people who are disillusioned with the institutional church. Yet you show up and God, in His relentless pursuit of souls, sends you to minister to people with needs.”

According to Carver, the U.S. has military chaplains serving some 240,000 military service members in approximately 130 nations. “These chaplains are in harm’s way, separated from their families back home, and ministering to the spiritual needs of some who may meet God today,” he said.

Carver, a native of Rome who grew up in Dykes Creek Baptist Church, was quick to point out that chaplains’ wives and children play a critical role in their successful ministries. “They don’t ask for it, sign up for it or volunteer, but they serve so gracefully.”

His wife, Susan, is a native of Cartersville. She was baptized at Pleasant View Baptist Church in Rome.

The one-star general said the war on terrorism is making chaplains’ jobs only more difficult.

“I work in the Pentagon, a building with 25,000 people in it,” Carver said. “It gets pretty intense. We are a nation at war. I just wonder how many of the 10,000 Baptists coming to this convention understand that and are praying for the war on terror?

“It’s a war that is already longer than World War I, World War II and Korea. This is going to be a long war. Most of us think it’s already been too long. But there are military leaders who believe it’s going to be a 30-year war.”

Carver said one Washington politician recently was quoted as saying that the United States is in the most critical time in its history since April 1861, just prior to the start of the Civil War.

“I believe that this long war we’re in – against violent religious extremism – is a war contending for the future of humanity as you and I know it,” he said. “We’re living in challenging and distressing times.

“But as chaplains, this is my time and your time, your destiny. Like Daniel, you’ve been raised up to speak light into the darkness. Like Moses, you and I have been made shepherds to walk people from the darkness into the light of Christ Jesus. Like Caleb, we have been given a mountain and a vision to claim for the glory of God. Like Gideon, we have been given an army to lead.”

Loftier things

Carver told the chaplains not to allow the horrors of war and what they might see put a hardness on them.

“We have to remember that without the wisdom of God to help us radiate His love and presence, we can all grow a hard appearance. Our job is to keep our passion for the Lord, stay in the Word and pray like never before.

We can’t harbor hatred or resentment. Convince those we minister to that vengeance belongs to God. Talk about loftier things – like forgiveness and even pray for the souls of terrorists. When you do that, you’ll reflect Christ.”