On Twitter this morning, I noticed this nice piece about the roles of pastors and chaplains. http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20120310/NEWS01/303100015/Spirituality-difference-between-pastor-chaplain.
Several years ago, there were discussions within the church that pastors should train parishioners to be the true ministers. "Equipping pastor," "transformational ministry," and other terms were common. I thought that some of these discussions (and books) were valuable.
But what distressed me was a sneering and egotistical attitude expressed by a few parish ministers about pastors who preferred traditional pastoral roles (or had fewer skills in the training of volunteers): "Oh, they just want to be chaplains."
While also expressing the iffy collegiality that one sometimes finds among clergy, that attitude---"they just want to be chaplains"---devalued both the chaplaincy and misunderstood the difference and similarities between chaplains and parish pastors. This article, though, gives a good, short portrayal of both.
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