There is perhaps no other position that requires the occupant to carefully serve in the often misunderstood relationship of church and state than that of public service chaplaincy. It may well be in the military setting, public hospital, corrections, or emergency services that the chaplain experiences firsthand the attendant challenges and tensions.
BALANCING THE DEMANDS OF TWO MASTERS
The chaplain serves in a unique place for several reasons a few of which will follow. As you read through the list you will note that each has the potential for misunderstanding and tension.
Chaplains Serve Under Two Authorities
The Public Service Chaplain who is officially recognized by an agency, say a police department serves under the authority of that department but also under recognized ecclesiastical authority. That in the practical means that such a chaplain must meet and satisfy such requirements as may be required by both entities.
Ecclesiastical Authority: Clergy service in the public sector can only be recognized by public sector entities when recognized ecclesiastical authority endorses said clergyman. In most cases that means that the chaplain has met his faith body requirements for ministerial recognition, met such experience requirements as levied by that faith body, and then received their endorsement for service with a particular agency.
Public Agency Authority: The chaplain then will most often have to meet the requirements levied by the public service agency in order to serve that agency. For example a background check is often required, specialized training, and even serve probationary time. This leads directly to the next point.
Establishment Clause: If the chaplain serves without an endorsement from a recognized ecclesiastical body the public service agency runs the risk of being seen as establishing a religion.
Misunderstanding: Owing to the drift of culture toward secularism, one should not expect that the unchurched members of the department will understand the ecclesiastical elements of one’s chaplaincy, not should one expect the opposite to be true. Such can lead to tensions.
Chaplains Serve in Unique Places
Once granted entrance into the institution or department, the chaplain serves in places that for a number of reasons must restrict public access.
In the case of the Law Enforcement chaplain two come to mind. Chaplain service may be conducted in a danger or threat environment. As well chaplain service might expose the chaplain to sensitive information that if broadly known might compromise an active investigation. Simply stated you cannot have just anyone and everyone seeking to serve in sensitive places.
There is another unique quality that needs to be considered and that is the chaplain must become acquainted with those he serves based upon a trust relationship. Such comes with two qualities. First is contact time. As someone once said, “Ministry by purposefully loitering.”
The second is understanding. The chaplain in order to serve effectively must be someone who is on some level acquainted with qualities, mind set, department environment, family life, emotional issues, and as well someone who understands the relationships within the department etc.
CHURCH STATE TENSIONS
In the course of serving in the public arena, care must be observed to not violate the conditions of one’s ministerial recognition and endorsement. In an environment in which one entity may not understand the other, there can be issues such as the following.
§ Freedom of religion issues
§ Ethical issues that lead to problems
§ The chaplain can become overburdened with requirements of both entities
§ The prioritizing of ecclesiastical standards and practices (church) over the standards and practices of the department (state) may not be understood
§ The religious approach to service at most times is within but at times it may be necessary to prioritized over state interests
§ The tension when a chaplain is asked to perform services outside the conditions of his ordination and ecclesiastical endorsement
§ Issues that bear upon the establishing of a “state religion” issues are important to the discussion
KEYS TO PRIVATE SECTOR VS PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICE
There can be difficulties when the chaplain does not make a clear distinction between serving as a member (e.g. in a congregation) and serving as a guest (e.g. in a department). Consider the differences as follows using the notion of member or guest.
Private Sector (Congregation/Church) vs. Public Sector (Department/State)
Consider the following comparison of the two sectors and the difference in relationships and roles that are a part of each one. In the following the word “church” is considered to be the local congregation and not the regional or national denomination.
§ The Church is situated in a private setting while the Department is in a public setting
You probably want to check with your denominational attorney on this. I think that even when the local congregation rents out a public building for meetings, it is considered to be a private setting.
Also since your church is a private entity, you may not know this but you can trespass a person from your church property when that person is disruptive or a danger to the congregation
§ The Church is subject to limited outside scrutiny and oversight while the Department has broader outside scrutiny and oversight.
There is little government and media attention and oversight of a Church while the Department is subject to much oversight and scrutiny by its critics, the ACLU, and the media.
For example you can restrict the media’s access to church property.
§ The Church and you as a pastor have limited potential for lawsuit while the Department and you as a member of your Department have greater potential.
Generally speaking except for negligence as in not doing diligence in background checks on child care and youth workers, most churches never have a lawsuit. However, even in small departments it is not uncommon for there to be some sort of court action.
§ The Church has wide speech parameters and can be open about their position on sensitive issues while the Department has much more narrowly defined speech parameters and often must be closed about sensitive issues.
As to speech the pastor can bring whatever message he deems appropriate within the guidance of doctrine and church polity. However, such is not so in your department and wise is the chaplain who is careful in how he packages his doctrine in the public square.
My personal policy while serving in the military chaplaincy was anything that was mandatory got a general prayer unless the senior officer present requested otherwise. Non-mandatory activities were a different matter.
However, let me suggest that you have freedom of religion rights as well. Even so we need to respect those to whom we have been called to serve.
§ The Church has greater freedom to take action which might be viewed in the public sector as discrimination as it seeks to live out its doctrine
For example you may choose to discriminate against someone who does not comply with church doctrine. However, your department does not have that latitude. As long as the person can meet qualifications such as height, weight, strength, intelligence, etc.
This washes both ways as a church might be able to hire a blind pastor but a police department would not be able to hire a blind police officer—well I suppose they could if he could pass the driving test and qualify on the range.
§ The pastor in the Church has limited potential to offend while the same pastor if a chaplain must be careful in order to reduce the potential for offense.
SUMMARY AND CLOSE
Besides the member/guest question, there are other questions that one might consider when sorting through all of the issues involved in serving under two authorities. Among them are the following.
§ Who is it that you are you serving?
§ Where is it that are you serving?
§ How is it that you serving (approach/demeanor)?
§ What is it that you trying to accomplish?
§ When is it that you are serving?
Final Definition
Chaplaincy: “Service (ministry) born of a relationship with an Ecclesiastical body and then with the State”
No comments:
Post a Comment