Kwa Board reply

There are many challenges that military chaplains are facing today. However, the greatest challenge that the military chaplain faces in maintaining their spiritual, emotional, and relational health while being constantly focused on caring for others is the potential of experiencing compassion fatigue, burnout, and feeling hopeless and helpless in meeting the needs of the military service members and their families who are experiencing crises and suffering. Chaplains serve in the military and are under the same stresses as the other service members, but the challenges of a chaplain are unique. This military chaplain faces the challenge of trying to maintain balance between three different masters: his or her faith, the church or organization that has endorsed him or her for this work, and the military’s chain of command.

The first temptation or trap that can affect a military chaplain is the temptation of status. The way that a chaplain can be tempted by status is to seek a rank in the military. This could be the rank of captain, major, or even colonel. In place of seeking a rank in the military, a chaplain can focus all of his or her energy on selfless service and presence to those he or she serves. Dees states that, in order to counteract the status temptation that is inherent in the military environment, a chaplain should seek to “develop spiritual resilience to resist being manipulated by others for their own ends.” This can be done by relying on the spiritual disciplines of a strong sense of calling, prayer, Scripture, and community before a crisis arises. Fisher says that the moral failures of a chaplain can include “neglect of spiritual disciplines; unhealthy relationships (of any kind); and an unhealthy focus on physical well-being in order to ward off feelings of tiredness and stress.” All of these negative tendencies could be avoided by a chaplain if they made intentional practice of self-care a priority. 

However, in order to maintain healthy ministry, the Chaplain must find ways to be resilient and take care of himself. Dees says that, in order to develop Spiritual Resilience Chaplains must have a clear sense of calling, consistent prayer, a deep understanding of Scripture, and good relationships with others. Building these relationships before a time of crisis is key to having people to support the Chaplain in the midst of a struggle. In addition to these spiritual practices, the Chaplain must also practice physical, mental, and emotional self-care. Fisher described self-care as a “balanced attempt to care for the physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional health of self.” Activities such as exercise, adequate rest, meaningful devotional time, lifelong learning, and quality relationships with others can all aid in the Chaplain maintaining healthy ministry.

Another way that a Chaplain can serve his or her fellow Chaplains is by being a good mentor to the younger Chaplains. Having them over for coffee on occasion to talk about their experiences can be very helpful to them. A Chaplain also needs to have accountability with others. This can be found by other Chaplains in the area or by joining a support group made up of other Chaplains. Having this type of support can be a real blessing to a Chaplain and can help him or her stay on track in their ministry to the service members and their families. The Chaplain must strive to be the best Chaplain that he or she can be and look to other Chaplains for guidance, encouragement and support in order to fulfill his or her call to serve others.