credibility than to break confidences and trust.
The reason the Army
gave you a SECRET clearance in the first place was that it thought
that you could be trusted with sensitive information.
Be proactive.
Take the initiative now to create an atmosphere of
trust and cooperation.
Those who say "it's none of my business" do
not enhance collegiality.
It is not only your business, it is your
duty.
You strive to do this with your congregation.
Why not also
strive to do this with your peers?
Do not be like the Priest and the Levite in the Parable of the Good
Samaritan, who passed by the injured man because they thought that his
plight was none of their business. Be like the Good Samaritan.
Be timely in your responsiveness. Timing can be critical. Delays on
the part of a pastor or chaplain may result in scars that may never be
healed when the problem may have been resolved through timely
intervention. Procrastination can be disastrous.
"A stitch in time
saves nine."
For example: why wait until a peer receives a career-ending officer
efficiency report (OER) before warning him or her of the consequences
of problem causing behavior or attitudes?
That person's career may
have been salvaged by the insights, experiences and concern that only
you could have provided.
Be patient.
Patience is required
in pastoring your peers.
Your
peers, like you, are only human and
have the same needs and make the
same responses to life problems.
They may be resentful of your
offered help. Nevertheless, continue
to offer patient caring.
Be selfless and unconditional in your ministering. After all of your
patient and proactive investment in helping a peer, you may experience
no reward or "thank you" for your effort.
Be willing, as with
ministry to non-peers, to offer ministry with no expectation of
rewards. Your efforts are their own record.
3.
Ministry to Other Chaplains Problem Scenarios.
The six problem scenarios will give you the opportunity to apply some of the
principles you have learned to real life situations.
Read the scenarios,
then refer to the guidelines for performing ministry to other chaplains, and
decide what plan of attack you would use to deal with the situation.
Scenario Number One:
You are a battalion chaplain
in a three-battalion brigade.
Your brigade
chaplain is trying to build a
unit ministry team. While you are undergoing
a routine physical, you are
confronted with some troubling information.
Your physician tells you that
she is worried about the emotional and mental
stability of Chaplain Jones,
another battalion chaplain and peer in your
brigade.
You
have
not
wanted
to
acknowledge
the
concern
of
the
physician,
but
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