Friends of ArmyChaplaincy.com, thank you for reading. I am overwhelmed by your encouraging words, visits to the site, and the kind correspondence you send expressing support or asking for information. Despite the recent loss of virtually all of the reader comments that were posted on the site–a great source of personal frustration and embarrassment–ArmyChaplaincy.com is moving ahead to expand the resources we provide.

Here are a few things you can expect to see this year.

News

The news excerpts frequently posted on the site will be decreasing in volume. Primarily, only links to articles about the history of the chaplaincy or faith in the military will be posted. Instead of the individual links to news items, we’ll publish a weekly compendium of news items with my own summaries of news. You still get the same news, but it will be in a more convenient and informative format.

Commentary

Not only will I be contributing more commentary on chaplaincy-related and Army-related matters, but we’ll feature columns by both special guest contributors as well as material from regular contributors.

Photos, videos, and other media

In order to assist chaplains with the practical aspects of military ministry, we’ll be adding more photos, videos, slides, and other media resources. The goal will be to provide both instructional and informative materials that can be used by chaplains and chaplain assistants in planning and executing religious support.

Free stuff

Each month, we’ll offer a free book to those who subscribe to our email list. There’ll also be other giveaways for readers of the website. Keep your eyes open for free books, CDs, and other great stuff.

Chaplain goodies

Speaking of stuff, there are things in the works to offer neat chaplain goodies soon. I won’t spoil the surprise, but there’ll be clothing, books, and some other special things available. Everything offered will be in good taste, created while keeping in mind practical considerations of the military lifestyle, and designed to be useful. No shiny, useless trinkets here.

How can we help you?

There are even more things ahead, but I’ll save some details for later.

If you have a suggestion about how ArmyChaplaincy.com can be more helpful, leave a comment below. I want to hear from  you. If you’re engaged in military ministry, what sort of information can we publish that will help you minister? If you’re a civilian trying to learn more about faith in the military, what questions do you have that we should address?

Dear readers,

I regret to inform you that virtually all of the comments at ArmyChaplaincy.com disappeared unexpectedly and unexplainedly last week. Despite best efforts so far, we have been unable to recover them. We are still working to do so, but there seems little hope of recovery.

The problem seems to have occurred as the result of a glitch encountered when upgrading software on the back end of the site. This caused a catastrophic failure in the comment system, and we have been unable to fix the problem with backups.

This is quite an embarrassment and frustration to me, and I ask your forbearance. Please continue to leave your comments, and we will continue to interact.

There are still several new site features in the works, and you will see them soon. The best way to find out about these and other great things is to sign up for our free email newsletter.

Thanks for reading,

Daniel J. Sparks, Editor

Chaplains, what’s one of those things you learned the hard way? What’s one of those things they didn’t teach at the schoolhouse? What’s one of those things that you learned in your first battalion through trial and error?

I’m brainstorming about something that, for now, I’ll simply call “Project Things They Didn’t Teach Me in Chaplain School,” and I’d like to hear about your experiences.

So, chaplains, what do you wish the instructors at CHOBC/CHBOLC had addressed but didn’t?

The correct way to spell chaplain is C-H-A-P-L-A-I-N.

Note, the critical second “A”.

Ways that chaplain is sometimes incorrectly spelled:

• chaplin
• chapalin
• chaplian
• chaplan
• chaplen
• chapalan
• caplain

You might think I’m joking, but these are actual search terms used to find this website via Google or other search engines. They are also used to search within the site.

Chaplain assistant is also sometimes incorrectly spelled in these ways (only addressing the assistant part):

• assistent
• asistant
• asistent
• asstant

Other commonly misspelled words used when searching for info on this site:

• transcripts (trabscripts, transcrips)
• marriage (marraige, marrage, merriage)
• accreditation (accredition, acreditation, acredation)
• candidate (canidate, candate, cantidate)
• chaplaincy (chaplincy, chaplency, chapliancy)

If you’re searching for something here but can’t find it, check your spelling, and you may be able to locate the item.

Free copies of The Army Chaplain will be given away to 10 participants in the ArmyChaplaincy.com “Ask the Chaplain” event on Saturday, 21 May. The live question-and-answer session will be held 1000-1200 MDT.

During the event, Chaplain Daniel Sparks will select 10 participants to receive the books. Winners will receive their books by mail within two weeks after the event.

Visit ArmyChaplaincy.com on 21 May to ask your questions about Army chaplaincy, and you could win a free copy of the book!

Click here to read more about the event.

About The Army Chaplain

The Army Chaplain: His Office, Duties, and Responsibilities, and the Means of Aiding Himwas originally published in 1863. William Young Brown, the author, was one of the first Army hospital chaplains. President Abraham Lincoln personally requested that Brown serve in this position prior to the authorization of military hospital chaplains by Congress.

This historic text contains advice and guidance for military chaplains in all positions. While circumstances of the Nineteenth Century were different than those faced today, the principles contained herein are applicable for ministry in today’s military environment. Chaplains will find in this book encouragement and admonition to be wholly engaged in preaching the gospel and in providing pastoral care to those in their charge.

This reprint edition includes the unabridged text in a new typesetting.