Monday was Veteran’s day in the United States, a day in which American’s annually give their audible and tangible appreciation toward Veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Veterans Day is commonly known to be for veterans specifically, for those who have served but no longer are. Yet, often enough, all service men and women, both currently serving and past serving, are honored. Set aside as a national day of remembrance after the horrors of the First World War, Veterans Day (then called Armistice Day) is a sobering reminder of the profound cost our service men and women are willing to give to protect their families, communities, country, and the values that lie therein.
This year we’ve highlighted our military chaplains in our publication The Global Advocate, where we interviewed retired Chaplain Steven Show, and active-duty Chaplain Byron Denman. Helping to tell their stories is one way that we honor their service here at the CGGC. But the CGGC has been supporting Chaplains and military men and women for well over 150 years, even before the outbreak for the first world war or the establishment of a national day of remembrance. While the American Civil War was staunchly opposed by the leadership of the Churches of God, that didn’t prevent the denomination from recognizing the role that Chaplains specifically, but Christians in general, played in the war, helping bring military personnel to relationship with Jesus Christ.
Generations later, we still value and honor our veterans and all active service members who have selflessly put their lives on the line, for years at a time, often in foreign lands and waters. We regret that our veterans are valued during their service but are sometimes forgotten when they get home.
We’ve heard from our chaplains that soldiers are really a cross section of the average American. They come to the military with all the same baggage and difficulties that people have and when they leave the service, there might be even more to deal with. We’ve heard that soldiers often face issues of connection with other people, that they are sometimes hopeless or lost when they leave the structure and brotherhood/sisterhood of the military. Furthermore, we’ve heard countless stories of veterans fighting bureaucracy to get the healthcare and benefits they are rightly owed. And we count it as shameful whenever America asks young men and women to sacrifice their whole bodies and relationships, only to be abandoned when they come back home. We pray for our veterans who have returned home with wounds physical, mental, and spiritual, and stand ready to connect them with church and Christian resources that can help and advocate for their support.
We’ve reached out to a few of our military Chaplains, that they might share their experiences, and tell us what it means to give their life to serving Jesus in the United States Armed Forces.
Pastor Charlie Yost, USAR (retired), Endorsing Agent for Military Chaplains for CGGC
When Desert Shield/Desert Storm kicked off in 1990, it fanned a lingering spark of obligation to serve, ultimately leading to my CGGC endorsement as a US Army Reserve Chaplain.
Reserve Chaplaincy was an extension of my pastoral ministry: simultaneously embedded within several new people groups, without abdicating my responsibilities in the local church and immediate community.
9/11 led to multiple years on active duty which deepened my pride in being a military veteran and serving side by side with some of America’s finest. I was given opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in hundreds of worship services, Bible studies, counseling sessions, 1:1 conversations, and memorial services.
I am thankful to God for the honor to be a US military veteran as well as to the Churches of God, General Conference for its endorsement of me to serve as a Chaplain.
Pastor Matt Shenton, CH (MAJ), US Army Chaplains, Active Duty
For me, military chaplaincy is a calling to serve those who serve our nation. It is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, to offer hope and healing in the midst of hardship, and to uphold the sacred trust between service members and their faith communities.
It is to support and defend the first amendment of the Constitution, the free exercise of religion. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3.8-11)
Brent Mangus, CH (CPT), US Army Chaplains- Army National Guard
Being a Chaplain in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard since 2018 has been a profound honor and privilege. Serving my Field Artillery battalion, I am able to share in the challenges and camaraderie of military life. Whether I’m offering gospel ministry on the gun lines, performing veteran funerals, officiating weddings, or leading Bible studies, I strive to bring faith and support to every corner of our community. The Chaplain Corps motto, “For God and Country,” captures the heart of my calling—it’s a joy to serve both.
To all our Veterans of the United States Armed Forces, we are sincerely grateful for your service and sacrifice.
I think we all understand that there is a terrible cost to this freedom we enjoy and that the cost is shouldered by our veterans and their willingness to sacrifice and even lay their own lives down for the sake of others. Admittedly, it's not something we're prone to contemplate often as it's almost too much to bear or even imagine. We're so grateful for the incarnational work of our chaplains who stand alongside those willing to make such a costly sacrifice.
If you’re interested in hearing more about the experiences of veterans or supporting veteran led initiatives, I suggest the non-profit journal called The War Horse. The War Horse is an investigative journal, founded by Veterans with crowd support. They feature many stories that dig into the experiences of US Armed Forces personnel, and most of their writers are themselves Veterans. In keeping with this, The War Horse focuses on writing seminars and teaching veterans how to move into journalism as a career path after their service. The War Horse believes that it “strengthens our democracy by holding power to account and improving the public’s understanding of the true cost of military service.”
You can read more about The War Horse in their most recent special report about the Battle of Fallujah, and one platoon’s fight for survival, below.
A fair warning for those who do read, the language and experiences are real and authentically explicit. If the topics are challenging for you, or if you don’t like strong language, I suggest not clicking below.
CGGC eNews—Vol. 18, No. 47
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