GRAND RAPIDS, MI – I came along side his bed and he said “I don’t need a chaplain because I believe just like the Indians.” I asked him what kind of Indians and he told me all about it. I asked him, “Do you truly believe what you just said because your doctor told me that you only have two weeks at the most before you go to the “happy hunting ground.” He already knew this because his doctor had explained it to him before they sent for me.
He looked down at the floor then raised his head with tears running down both cheeks and said, “I really, really need to get ready to meet Jesus. I’ve been impressing other truck drivers for many years with the Indian story but I know Jesus is out there. How do I apologize to Him?How do I get ready to meet Jesus? I want to go to heaven.” After a short trip down the Bible’s “Romans Road” he prayed to receive Christ as his Savior. We were both a tearful mess in happiness. I never made it back in time for the second hospital visit because he didn’t wait the two weeks to go meet Jesus.
To be a Chaplain is to be in the right place at the right time and that is a matter of being inside the will of God’s calling. You can find yourself as a minister of the Gospel in a hospital, prison, battlefield, or disaster scene and that is what it means to have the Chaplain’s Sacred Moments. If you are called by God to be a chaplain or feel called to give prayer support to our Michigan Chaplains please feel free to contact me (bdennis@bscm.org). You can also visit our Baptist State Convention of Michigan website (www.bscm.org) and visit the Chaplaincy page under “Sending” or directly at bscm.org/chaplain. There are several topics addressed about the chaplaincy and links for even more information.
2017 BSCM EVENTS FOR CHAPLAINS
Soon, we will be scheduling a one-day Chaplain Training and Fellowship Meeting at BSCM Ministry Building (8420 Runyan Lake Road, Fenton, MI 48430). It will be a good time to swap “Sacred Moments Stories” and learn from each other.
I am working with the Salvation Army to make Crisis Intervention Classes available to our chaplains. These will help our Michigan chaplains get the required classes for their endorsement from the North American Mission Board. Watch the BSCM.org website for the dates and locations of the upcoming meetings and classes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chaplain Bob Dennis is the new Chaplain Coordinator for the BSCM. He became a North American Mission Board endorsed chaplain for the State of Michigan after ministering as a pastor in the Woodland Baptist Association for many years. He currently is a chaplain assigned to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.