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The Gap
My philosophy of Ministry revolves around and seems to gravitate towards what I call “the gap”. It may sound odd, but I see in the history of chaplaincy the need to deal with “the gap”. Throughout history “the gap” has existed and the church has searched for a way to deal with “the gap”.
So, what is “the Gap”? Throughout history “the Gap” has been described as: need of God, thirst for God, the search for God, seeking God, absence of God the list could go on and on. So why is “the Gap” so important, because it needs someone to stand in that gap where one has a need for God but may not realize it. That is where Chaplaincy comes into my philosophy.
All the chapters in “The work of the Chaplain” mention “the gap” and the way that they manifest in different situations and communities. It points out the need in situations where someone or a group of people need someone (Chaplains) to stand in and show God to them. If they weren’t there to bring the love of God then no one would be there, that is “the Gap”. My philosophy is that if I don’t stand in “the Gap” then who will bring God to the lost for they will not know how to seek it themselves.
For example, while I was a student at Clemson University, I did not know God well and definitely didn’t seek him out. I was quite involved in a romance with alcohol and partying. Almost every evening you could find me in the local watering hole with my fraternity brothers. Every week a young woman wearing a “Campus Crusade” shirt would come in and say hello to everyone and invite them to come to one of their services, no pressure, no preaching, just a “hello enjoy your evening and I hope that one day you can join us”. I had heard people on campus say things like why would she go into bars and be around those people, and she even wears her campus crusade t-shirt. Well hearing these things I was intrigued to talk to her and hear what she had to say. The next time she came into the bar we had a long discussion and she shared her feelings and witnessed Jesus. After speaking with her I asked her “why do you thumb your nose at other campus Crusaders by coming to hang out with us sinners”. Her answer was simple and short “if I hadn’t who would have?”. You see she knew where “the Gap” was and she stood in it bringing God to people who would not have been exposed. She didn’t bother to worry about what people thought, and as I grew to know Christ what she did was very much like the actions of our Lord and Savior see Mark 2:15.
I see in our studies for this course that there are many ways that chaplains go to the Gap, maybe by just being there or actively seeking out the people in the Gap. This is my belief that a chaplain should stand in the Gap because if we don’t who will. See the church body is not defined by walls and buildings it is in us and we need to take the church to the streets and anywhere that there is a need for God.