Interview With Dr. Glenn Holman
Brandon T. Livelsberger
CHPL 598: Spiritual and Professional Development of The Chaplain
June 8, 2025
Contents
Preparation.....................................................................................................................................3
Opportunities.................................................................................................................................3
Effectiveness...................................................................................................................................3
Ministry and Personal Life...........................................................................................................3
Bibliography...................................................................................................................................4
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ii
3
Dr. Glen Holman is the Chaplaincy Program Coordinator at Augusta Health in Virginia
since 2023. Holman explains how it has been a privilege to the patients, family, and staff and
helping to meet their spiritual needs. In the summer of 1982, Dr. Holman began his first unit of
Clinical Pastoral Education. The interview took place through answering an email due to Him
being in Virginia on June 3, 2025 at 3:55 pm. Boa stated, “Seek out other Christians who know
and use their spiritual gifts. Ask them about their gifts and how they discovered them.”1 This
paper focuses on Dr. Holman’s role as Chaplain and his journey to prepare himself to serve with
humility those who need it the most.
Qualifications
Dr. Hollman explains the impressive educational background that God took him on in
order to prepare him to care for the souls that God will place before him. Hollman holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion from the College of Wooster in Ohio, a Master of Divinity
(M.Div.) degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, and a doctorate
in Pastoral Counseling from Phillips Theological Seminary in Oklahoma. Chaplain Hollman’s
educational path is very similar to the one I am planning to take. Hollman completed his five
units of CPE training at the Bethesda Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio (now TriHealth) in 1982 and
1985-86. Dr. Hollman is a board-certified chaplain who is ordained and endorsed by the
Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Ministry Journey
Dr. Holman explains the impact of the lives he touches on both the patients and the other
chaplains he oversees on a daily basis. Chaplain Hollman described how God took him on a
1 Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical, Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, Revised
Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 326.
4
journey, presenting various obstacles and struggles along the way that God used to bring him to
where he currently is. Paul said, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that
suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,”
(Romans 5:3-5, English Standard Version). Dr. Holman explains that often when we go through
and endure tribulations, God produces a seed of greatness inside us to offer to someone else in
their time of greatest need. The chaplain explains that his journey has been one of being molded
and equipped to guide others on their path to restoration. Dr. Holman reminds his patients of
God’s sovereign hand over his life and how that same hand is upon them.C Boa reminds pastors
and chaplains that we have to to be faithful in the process and let God have ownership of the
results.2 Dr. Holman told me that some of the most successful parts of his ministry are the parts
that he had little control of.
Since 2015, Dr. Holman has been not only a hospital chaplain but also a police chaplain,
providing him with a wide range of people to minister to. Paul once said, “,” (1 Corinthians 9:22,
ESV). Holman explained that his ministry journey was not about what he could do but about
what he was willing to allow God to work through him. He reminded me that ministry is not
about us, but about God and glorifying Him. Andrew Murray reminds Christians, “Do what God
says is your work: humble yourself. Trust Him to do what He says is His work: He will exalt
you.” Holman reminds patients that he is merely a vessel through which God works.
Ministry of Presence
Dr. Holman reemphasized the importance of the ministry of presence and just being
present, reminding the client that they are not alone. During the interview, Dr. Holman pointed
out that sometimes patients may not have family to visit them. Dr. Holman reminded me of the
2 Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image: Biblical, Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, Revised
Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 261.
5
power of reminding the client, to be still and that He is God, (Ps 46:10, ESV). According to
Paget and McCormick, the chaplain acts as a representative for God to stay with someone in
physical, spiritual pain, and tries to fix their problems or recite religious doctrine to them.3 The
morning of the interview, Holman had to sit with a patient who had cancer. He told me as the
couple shared their experience He was able to help them reflect on life and different resources
that could help. He told me he offered to be a source of support in this time. It was not so much
what he said that made a difference, but the fact that he listened empowered them by showing
that their story matters. Dr. Swift explains, “the stories chaplains are invited to co-create are of
lasting biographical significance.”4 A chaplain’s presence can lead an everlasting imprint of who
God is and reminder of how much they are loved. Often when people recognize that the chaplain
have not abandoned them they are more likely to believe that God has not abandoned them
either.5
Effects on Family
During the interview, I asked Dr. Holman to point out both positive and negative effects
His ministry has had on his family. One Negative was it took a lot of time away from the family.
Dr. Holman told me that one of the things he had to learn was that there is a time for everything
(Ecclesiastes 3:1). Balancing work and family has been hard, but as he pointed out, ministry has
made Him a better listener to his family. Dr. Holman states that the effects ministry is not all
black and white; there is a gray area, where God is working to do something amazing in and
through the chaplain.
3 Naomi K. Paget and Janet R. McCormack, The Work of the Chaplain (Judson Press, 2006), 9–10.
4 Christopher Swift, Hospital Chaplaincy in the Twenty-First Century, 2nd Edition: The Crisis of Spiritual
Care on the NHS (Routledge, 2016), 175.
5 Paget and McCormack, The Work of the Chaplain, 10.
6
Conclusion
Christopher Swift once said, “At times when individual narratives collapse, the presence
of the chaplain may contribute to the creation of new meaning and the hope of a sustainable
story.”6 In my interview with Dr. Holman, he reminded me of the importance of the ministry of
presence in a patient’s life. Dr. Holman’s training, ministry journey, and willingness to put his
hand in the hands of God in people’s lives are what make his ministry so powerful. Everyone
has a story, and Dr. Hollmann emphasizes e chaplains role in reminding patients of who the
author is and that he is not done. Holman reminds patients of what Paul said, “And I am sure of
this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”
(Phil 1:6, ESV). Dr. Holman is always encouraging clients with the simple message, 'Until you
get to see Him face to face, He is not done with it yet.’
Bibliography
Boa, Kenneth, Conformed to His Image: Biblical, Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation,
Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020),
Paget, Naomi K, McCormack, and Janet R, The Work of the Chaplain (Judson Press, 2006).
Swift, Christopher, Hospital Chaplaincy in the Twenty-First Century, 2nd Edition: The Crisis of
Spiritual Care on the NHS (Routledge, 2016).
6 Swift, Hospital Chaplaincy, 175.
