What do you do as a chaplain?” people sometimes ask me about my work in the hospital. “I visit people, pray with people, listen to people, and serve them according to their needs,” I reply back. “Sometimes I hold on to them when bad news has come.  Sometimes I merely hand them a Kleenex or a cup of ice water or a cool washcloth when they are in the middle of a crisis. Sometimes I go to the floor with them as they fall into a heap crying unbelieving at the hand life has dealt them. Sometimes I quietly sit by them and rest my hand on their shoulder.”

This type of ministry is called the ministry of presence. Jesus first introduced this “style” of ministry when He chose His twelve disciples “that they might be with Him . . . “ (Mark 3:14). The bottom line is that Jesus has called me to “be with” the people just as He has called me to “be with” Him. A lot can happen when we “be with” Jesus and when we “be with” others.

Dr. Brita Gill-Austern says of chaplaincy: "A ministry of presence through pastoral counseling is characterized not so much by the skill, knowledge, or technique as by the chaplain’s manner of being with another. It is a ministry of being, not merely of doing. I cannot heal another person; I can only create the environment and relationship where God’s healing may take place.” This “ministry of being” happened the other day I popped my head in a patient’s room to say a happy hello only to find her laying flat on her back with her arm thrown over her face. I quickly quieted myself and asked her if I could do anything. She shook her head “no” as tears ran down her face into her ears. “I don’t know what is going on, but I’m sorry for your pain,” I softly said. Then I slipped my hand into her hers and just stood by her bedside for several minutes. The ministry of presence can silently communicate care and compassion for those whose world has caved in on them. 

People have told me so many times, “I just don’t see how you do it.  I couldn’t do your job.”  To which I reply, “Me either . . . except for the grace of God.”  Being a chaplain would be impossible for me if it weren’t for God’s grace filling and renewing me. I could not come alongside people’s heartaches and heartbreaks unless God has His arm around my shoulders as I have my arm around the shoulders of others. Unless I continually abide in the Vine, this old branch (talking about me)  is only good for a couple of rat-ta-tat-tats and that’s about it. On the days I try to abide in Jesus, I find that my  “branch” often shows signs of buds and blooms.  Why? Because the Vine has surged His life through me as I pour out my life to others.

The other day I walked in the room of a woman who told me how glad she was that somebody came to see her.  She was family-less.  No one knew she had surgery. All she had was a crossword puzzle book.  The room felt as lonely as it did empty.  I asked her if she had a church home.  No, not really, she said.  Would she be open to me calling a Baptist church in her area?  Sure, that would be great, she said.  I did call and the Minister of Discipleship from that Baptist church came to see her and pray with her.  He was all smiles as he told me the church would follow up with her when she got home. She won’t be family-less anymore.

Then there was the man who needed me to witness his living will. His chest had been cut open so deep that it hurt to just breathe. Multiple IV bags where hung above his head.  Multiple machines were monitoring his vital signs and heart beats.  After I signed his living will, I asked him if I could pray for him.  “That won’t be necessary,” he said with assertion and confidence. I smiled and wished him well. He smiled back and said thanks.  Leaving his room, I shook off the feeling of rejection and contemplated his response. I grieve for those who are dangling over the edge of a cliff yet refusing help from the One who loves them. As I made my way back to my office, I gave that burden to God and smiled once again, grateful for the opportunity and adventure of walking with God in the ministry of chaplaincy.