| Culturally people, chaplains1 included, seemingly are ill-equipped to navigate unscathed the carnage inherent in the aftermath of war. War today has extreme consequences for our military. Often, these tragic circumstances necessitate a different and higher level of integrated treatment for those returning home. There is little to no sources that specifically address this phenomenon, of caring for the invisible yet genuine woundedness of combat chaplains. Chaplains are extremely susceptible to burnout which if left undetected, untreated, and unredeemed could result in personal, professional, and relational harm to themselves, their families, and those to whom they serve. After all, "there is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, 'Mine!'" to include both the chaplains and the traumatic combat ministry exposures they experience.2 It's imperative to develop a means that assists the personal, professional, and spiritual health of combat chaplains.;The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the question: "What should constitute the design for a postventional-care methodology, pastoral-team collaboration, participant-mediated process, Christian-spirituality centered, and sabbatical-ministry model in Colorado Rocky Mountains that would be therapeutical, triumphal, and transformational for military chaplains suffering from spiritual wounds following traumatic combat ministry experiences that promote the recovery, reflection, reconnections, reaffirmation, and restoration of the chaplain's character, capacity, and calling?".;Each time the author uses the words chaplain or chaplains he is using it inclusively for both genders and exclusively for the military institution. Z William D. Romanowski, Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture [Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007], 13. |
