April 1, 2002
Chaplains seeking BGCT endorsement
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.--As command chaplain for the United States Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs, Col. David Park lives in a culture that values integrity, innovation and camaraderie.
___The need for a place to stand without compromising his theological integrity, the desire to be a part of an exciting new venture and a hunger to belong to a closely knit family of chaplains led him to seek endorsement by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Park said.
___On March 25, Park accompanied Bobby Smith, director of chaplaincy relations for the BGCT, to Washington, D.C., to meet with the U.S. Armed Forces Chaplaincy Board and formally request that the BGCT be approved as a chaplain-endorsing agency.
Col. David Park
___Once a denominational entity receives U.S. Department of Defense recognition as an endorsing agency for chaplains, hospitals and other entities generally recognize the endorsement as valid.
___Park was part of a nine-member chaplain study group whose report and recommendations to the BGCT Executive Board led to creation of the chaplaincy relations office and the BGCT's request for recognized status as an endorsing agency.
___"The Baptist General Convention of Texas is answering the requests of Baptist chaplains to have a chaplaincy endorsement program that affirms the authority of Scripture and states that the Bible is God's truth without any mixture of error--without the necessity of signing a creedal statement," Smith said.
___"These chaplains want to make a conservative statement of their faith that affirms God and the Holy Bible while maintaining their beliefs in the priesthood of the believer and the religious freedom of each believer and local church."
___The new endorsement process will respect the previous experience of chaplains by "grandfathering" into the system those chaplains who were endorsed previously by other Baptist agencies, he added.
___If the BGCT is granted the anticipated recognition, Park will become the first chaplain endorsed by the Texas Baptist convention.
___"I'm proud of my Texas heritage and gratified that I am able to take this step," said Park, who was born in Houston and grew up in Uvalde, San Antonio and El Paso. He graduated from Baylor University in Waco and earned two degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
___In the late 1970s, Park and his wife served three years as Southern Baptist missionaries in the Philippines before he was called up for active duty in 1980.
___Park's military career has taken him to bases in Washington state and Washington, D.C., Germany, Korea, Alabama, as well as "three good years" at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio.
___Currently, Park is responsible for overseeing the ministry programs of 100 personnel in the U.S. Air Force Space Command chaplain service.
___Park sees the opportunity for BGCT endorsement as a tremendous boon to military chaplains who cannot accept the "creedalism" he believes is reflected in the way Southern Baptist Convention agencies are using the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message.
___"By endorsing chaplains, the Baptist General Convention of Texas provides a theological umbrella under which military chaplains can serve while maintaining their own theological integrity," Park said.
___Acknowledging that he and many other chaplains are "struggling" with demands by the SBC North American Mission Board that they affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message in order to retain SBC endorsement, Park offered appreciation to the BGCT for offering an alternative.
___"It frees us up from the tension we've lived with because of theological differences, and it allows us to focus on what we're called to do--minister to men and women in uniform," he said.
___Park said he respects many of those chaplains who have no problem affirming the new Baptist Faith & Message. But he noted, "The theological identity that Baptist General Convention of Texas endorsement offers us is a real plus to chaplains who feel somewhat estranged from the Southern Baptist Convention."
___Park added that he looks forward to being a part of the genesis of a new model for chaplaincy endorsement--one focused on network-building, mutual support and professional growth.
___"I deal with a very dynamic culture. These people not only are very patriotic and dedicated, but those in Air Force Space Command particularly are sharp and technologically oriented," he said, adding that it is essential for chaplains in that environment to stay up-to-date.
___"I believe the BGCT has available resources to help us update our training as it applies to ministry, counseling and pastoral care," he said. "The Baptist General Convention of Texas is in a prime position to make its influence felt around the world through military chaplains."
___While Park expressed deep appreciation for particular individuals at NAMB, he said the BGCT offers something a large national organization with a small staff relating to chaplains cannot supply.
___"I think one of the biggest benefits to chaplains will be the relational ministry the Baptist General Convention of Texas, through Bobby Smith's office, can provide," Park said. "That is extremely helpful for military chaplains who are assigned to a base far removed from their home state, and even more so if they are deployed overseas."
___Smith, who has served both as a hospital chaplain and as a Texas Baptist pastor, said the desire to provide a "relational ministry" for chaplains was the prime reason he accepted his new role at the BGCT.
___"I want to provide pastoral care to pastoral caregivers," Smith said. "I hope to be proactive in their lives so they can be proactive in their ministries. My intention is to go to the chaplains where they live, work and minister, and stand beside them."
___That personal involvement and interest extends not only to the chaplains, but also to their families--a benefit Park identified as particularly attractive to chaplains who may be distantly removed from extended family and home churches.
___"When it comes to the care that the BGCT could demonstrate to families, talk about a Good Samaritan kind of ministry--you can't quantify the value of that in terms of dollars," Park said.
___Editor's note: Chaplains and pastoral counselors desiring additional information about potential endorsement through the BGCT should contact Bobby Smith at 333 N. Washington, Dallas 75246-1798, (214) 828-5381, brsmith@bgct.org
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