by Pastor Richard DeFord, MDiv, BCC/BCPC
What is a chaplain? Frequently, I’m asked this question as a chaplain delivering care in a healthcare and hospice context. What’s very troubling is the continual leftward move from the definition of chaplain.
While chaplains were initially Christian clergy offering soul care to individuals in war, coming face-to-face with the fragility of life, today’s chaplains are from every religion and even no religion at all. Whereas chaplains used to assist individuals in connecting with our Divine Creator in times of struggle, now secular humanist and even atheist chaplains are at the table. For example, we have the case of Harvard University where an atheist was unanimously elected to lead the school’s team of over forty chaplains.
The Association of Certified Christian Chaplains (ACCC) was formed because Christian chaplains, in certain contexts, were experiencing persecution, simply for being "Christian" and for holding true to their deeply-rooted religious convictions in certain Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs. CPE prepares men and women for the work of chaplaincy.
While chaplains are encouraged to leave their story and narrative at the door, some chaplaincy educators actually teach that we’re to pick up the patient’s story as if it’s our own. Some argue that we cannot be both Christian and open to ministering to people of different faiths.
We disagree.
As chaplain organizations move further leftward, more progressive and liberal, ACCC remains true to our Christian faith, grounded in Scripture. As a result, chaplains from all over the country are coming to ACCC for certification—from healthcare, military, corporate, prison, and education.
ACCC believes in the sufficiency of Scripture to govern our lives as chaplains. While we enter into the rooms of people from different faiths, we journey with them through their own narrative while staying true to who we are as believers in Jesus Christ, and to whose we are—we’re God’s people. If we find that a patient is in need of care from someone other than a Christian chaplain, due to opposing views, the ACCC chaplain will gladly coordinate their care with a chaplain or clergy of the patient’s like faith and practices rather than "becoming" a clergy of the patient’s faith.
There is no shame in telling a patient of Muslim faith that we are Christian and will gladly coordinate with their Imam for their care. Most patients are very appreciative of such honesty and many choose to have us provide their care because of that honesty. In those cases, we’re able to provide care with respect of the patient’s faith. We do not, however, leave our Christian faith to provide care that’s based in non-Christian beliefs.
How does this line up with the philosophies of Fallen Soldiers March? Chaplaincy is not solutions focused, meaning we do not typically recommend therapies or "fixes" to individuals in our care. We’re focused on avoiding "fixes" as we help the patient share their narrative and discover solutions on their own. However, a natural progression for chaplains is to also include therapies in follow-up care, outpatient care, and referrals to other counseling options.
Understanding the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture should guide the Christian chaplain in presenting next options to their patients.
Providing referrals to caregivers who do not utilize the Bible in helping individuals move toward wholeness and healing may cause an individual to experience a true existential crisis.
ACCC appreciates the men and women of Fallen Soldiers March who seek to bring the whole council of Scripture to those who are working through the effects this world is having on their souls. We utilize Scripture because we understand that "all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16 LSB).
Richard DeFord, MDiv, BCC/BCPC is a board-certified chaplain and pastoral counselor with ACCC. He is the Administrator of ACCC which serves as a chaplain certifying body for nearly 600 chaplains in the United States. He is endorsed by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He also serves as the Manager of Spiritual Care at Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall, MO as well as Associate Pastor of Katy Park Baptist Church in Sedalia, MO.
[1] "What Harvard’s humanist chaplain shows about atheism in America," The Conversation, September 24, 2021,
https://theconversation.com/what-harvards-humanist-chaplain-shows-about-atheism-in-america-168237#:. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
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