The Confusion of the Military Pastor
By yan Xiong 04/05/2004
In army, pastors, doctors, and lawyers belong to special branch. Because military schools can not provide these professionals, they have to be recruited from the society. The age of these professionals can be as old as forty. Since the army is very short of ministers, their age can reach fifty. In the USA, pastors, doctors, and lawyers need to receive 4-year education, a few years of graduate study, and pass examination to get license. A military pastor is different from doctors and lawyers as he/she has dual responsibilities. On the one hand, he/she is responsible for religious issue. Alternatively, he/she is staff officer and need to attend military meetings so that he will know what soldiers will be doing.
Pastors do not bring guns. Each pastor has a safeguard with gun. According to Geneva Treaty, if a military pastor is captured, he/she can not be treated as a captive. His/her duty and right still exist. He/she can till walk around freely to do his/her work. Consequently, a pastor usually stays with a doctor near headquarters in a battleground. He/she is safer, but very busy because soldiers are weary and need a lot of care in the wartime.
However, there is such a situation: Usually before soldiers set out, a pastor will pray for them. The riskier a task is, the less possible for a pastor to start out with the soldiers. Whenever seeing off the soldiers to the frontier, I feel sorry. But the army has strict rule, I can not do what I want to. Yesterday, our battalion went to BIAP for the task. It was decided for me to go there today, but a big fight happened at last dusk. The upper-level pastors found me, hoping that I was not going today. I am a little confused.
Speaking from my personality, I like dangerous places. Moreover, it is rooted in my mind to be a role model so that I can speak with strength on stage. On the other hand, it is reasonable to obey the regulations. US Military is ruled by law from the outset. Sacrifice is not the goal. Subsequently, its heroism concept is different from that of CCP Military. If a fellow soldier is captured, he is regarded as a hero certainly. This is very different from the approach of CCP Army.
I started to understand that duty is bigger than heroism. Also, Holy Spirit is telling me that God is almighty. This is unlike the communism propaganda, which emphasizes the influence of human beings. Then, humans can not actually make it.
Nonetheless, I still pray to God for my chance to go with the soldiers, bleeding and sweating together with them, so that I will know and love them more. If a pastor is patient and meticulous, he/she will send the gospel to people’s hearts with the might of God. People’s spirituality will be improved. Young warriors will benefit from the improvement all their lives.
I am still gazing at the direction of my leaving fellows. Maj. Williams knows my thought and told me that I could go tomorrow.
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