Many years ago I was a pastor in a Christian sect that has a long history of pacifism, yet I felt an overwhelming desire to go into the Army as a chaplain. How could I reconcile the pacifist beliefs of my denomination with the ministry to soldiers whose duty was to fight and kill as necessary in the nation’s service? Could I tell a soldier who was drawn to Christ that he must lay down his arms and study war no more? (As I had been instructed when God called me to himself when I was a young sailor.) As you can well imagine, I was torn. Was it to be the teachings of the church or the calling of God (as I believed then and yet still believe)?

I am a “Whole Bible” Christian. I know that David’s God is my Lord Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity. So I was reading the stories of Abraham rescuing Lot, and the conquest of Canaan, and the wars of David and feeling the tension between what I had been taught and what my bible related.

Let me throw a clarifying paragraph in here. My former denomination has many faithful followers of Christ on its pews. No human institution, and denominations and churches are human institutions run by men, has a grasp of the absolute truth of God. No preacher or professor is right on everything – and that includes me! So while I am convinced from scripture that what I had been taught to believe by my church was wrong, that does not mean they were wrong about the big things like what is contained within The Apostles Creed and the other historic creeds of the church. There are churches and denominations and there is The Church, the body of Christ, the redeemed of the Lord, the congregation of the born again to which some members of denominations (churches) belong. Churches that are faithful to the Core of the Christian Faith (The Kerygma) are part of Christ’s Church; those that are not, are not.

Now back to my story. I was pitched on the horns of a dilemma and knew not how to get off. In my troubled state I had a dream and my struggle was resolved. In this dream I was driving my Bronco down a city street and came upon a group of young men beating and robbing a man. I stopped, prayed, “Lord God, give me strength and courage!”, and leaped out to join the fight and rescue that man. When I awoke I knew that fighting to defend the right is right and I should become an Army Chaplain. Long story short, almost three years later I was reporting to Fort Hood, Texas and the First Cavalry Division as a Chaplain (1LT) and embarking on a ministry non-pareil.

We are living in interesting times. The war between good and evil that began in heaven and has been waged on this planet since Adam and Eve is getting hotter, whether in Afghanistan, or the US Supreme Court, or the wars and natural disasters that are occurring around the globe – evil surges and retreats throughout history and ours is one of those times when evil is advancing. I am agnostic whether this is the prelude to the final battle or not. Christians throughout the millennia have always believed, “This is it!” whenever evil seems to be gaining the upper hand. What we can know with certainty however is that the battle is at hand and there are no pacifistic bystanders – not now, not ever – everyone is fighting on Christ’s side or Satan’s. Every pastor, every elder is called to be a chaplain encouraging their soldiers to face the enemy and fight. Victory is certain; Christ has promised it to all who will stand and fight.
So be of good courage! The Lord will gain the victory with many or with few. All who believe an obey shall wear the crown of life. Fight!