Charlie Reynolds
CBF Associate Endorser for Military Chaplains
What is saving my life right now is serving as the CBF associate endorser for military chaplains. I feel like my whole life, including 57 years in ministry, has been preparing me for this opportunity.
My first ministry position was serving as the Royal Ambassador (RA) leader for eight young men in my church in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia when I was 16 years old. For seven summers I served first as an assistant counselor and, in the seventh year, as director of the Peaks of Otter RA Camp and Mountaineering School. As a professional minister, I have served as a missionary journeyman, minister of youth, church planter and pastor before serving God and country for 28 years as an army chaplain. God is allowing me to use those years of ministry experience to empower our CBF military chaplains in their ministry.
There is nothing more fulfilling than being a mentor/counselor for our CBF chaplains. On my worst day as an army chaplain, Gerry Hutchinson, a former CBF endorser, was there for me. Being there for our CBF chaplains is what gives me life. Every time I visit one of our chaplains and meet with their commanders and supervising chaplains, I am always amazed by the ministry they are performing, often in extremely difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances.
One of the accomplishments of which I am most proud is the initiating of our Military Chaplain Church Sponsorship. Renee Owen, the director of CBF Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling, Carrol Wilson, our chaplaincy and pastoral counseling specialist, and I cannot do all that we want to do to support the almost 900 CBF chaplains. We are asking CBF churches to sponsor a military chaplain. We are hoping that we will have enough participating churches to expand this ministry to our V.A., healthcare, correctional facilities and law enforcement chaplains. I believe that every church should have the blessing of sponsoring a chaplain. If you are interested, email me at creynolds@cbf.net.
I wrote a book, soon to be published by Good Faith Media, called, A Quest for Warrior Priest: Enlisting Warriors as Healers and Peacebuilders. I close my book with these words: “Every breath you take belongs to God. Each breath is an opportunity for God’s healing presence to enter your life. Every day is an opportunity for God to use your life to bring healing and redemption to his world.”
Thank you for supporting our CBF chaplains who live out these words every day. I challenge you to live them as well.
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Today, consider where in your life you feel connected to your authentic self and calling. In what role, whether professional or personal, do you feel most fulfilled and connected to God’s work in the world? After pondering this question, consider offering a prayer for CBF military chaplains around the world, as they work as agents of peace and healing in the midst of challenging circumstances.