To Raise Up a Godly What?

Robert L. VanAntwerp Jr. Major General, USA President, Officers' Christian Fellowship
Bruce L. Fister Lieutenant General, USAF, Retired Executive Director, Officers' Christian Fellowship

In our series, "What Does it Really Mean?" beginning in the September 2002 COMMAND magazine, we investigated each of the major segments of Officers' Christian Fellowship's mission statement, "Christian officers exercising biblical leadership to raise up a godly military."

We discussed the attributes of a Christian officer and we addressed what Christian officers are commissioned to do; that is, exercise biblical or servant leadership. And, in the final article of the series, we identified what we thought were the attributes of a godly military. Those attributes were: core values of our military that can be found in Scripture; leadership that exhibits the characteristics of a servant leader; a chaplaincy that is strongly supported by the institution; a recognition that God is the real source of power; and a military significantly populated by Christians.

The mission statement of OCF seems straightforward and simple. "Christian officers" expresses who we are. "Exercising biblical leadership" expresses what we primarily do. But, "Raise up a godly military?" Is this a realistic vision and can OCF make such a claim? Is this even an appropriate vision for a group of Christian officers sworn to defend the U.S. constitution that says, " . . . no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States?" Our vision is bold and it demands a bold mission statement that we should understand and be able to defend with respect to expectation and appropriateness as applied to the United States military.

To begin with let's discuss the source of our proclaimed end-state. The term "raise up a godly military" was derived from OCF's vision statement that claims, "a spiritually transformed military with ambassadors for Christ in uniform" as the Lord's vision for our ministry. This vision was revealed to the OCF council as the Lord's direction for our ministry and became a part of the OCF constitution, when approved by the OCF membership in 2000.

The OCF mission statement, "Christian officers exercising biblical leadership to raise up a godly military" takes us to an end state as the vision for our ministry. But what exactly is a vision? Is it something that is totally achievable or is it something toward which our ministry will always strive?

For sure, our God, the Lord of all creation, could form an American military composed completely of Christians, a military completely transformed spiritually for the glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But, would this be biblically consistent? In 1 Timothy, chapter 2, Paul writes, "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (italics added).

So it is the desire of God's heart that all men come to the knowledge of the truth, but this does not mean that God has willed that everyone in our military, our nation, or our world should come to salvation without condition. For Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (italics added).

The condition is, "that whoever believes" with the requirement to confess Him as Lord. And, our charge is to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…" where our "nation" is the military society of the United States. If the Lord didn't want us to have a part in the process, He would not have issued those instructions of Matthew 28:19.

So our conclusion is that the vision of a "godly military" is a desired end-state toward which we are directed to strive by Scripture. As Christian officers, "exercising biblical leadership" is a primary method of carrying out this great commission. The end-state seems irrefutable because Jesus said, "to go therefore and make disciples" and our calling is to military service.

So, if in the course of exercising our called duties we make disciples at our bases, posts and aboard our ships, we'll be moving our military closer to our vision and we will be acting in obedience to our Lord. We acknowledge that the vision is achievable only in so far as God wills, but it is our job to strive toward a "godly military" leaving the results to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But is it appropriate from our military's or nation's perspective to strive for "a godly military?" The answer we believe is found in our nation's history and in statements from our nation's leaders down through the ages.

Let's begin with the Declaration of Independence. The very last sentence states, ". . . with a firm reliance on the protection for divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

This statement seems to be a simple reflection of the faith in an almighty God found in our nation and among the signers of the declaration. George Washington, in 1776, wrote, "The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations." The last stanza of the Star Spangled Banner clearly expresses our nation's dependence upon God:

"Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. . .
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'"

When we look at General George C. Marshall's comments concerning the importance of the spiritual condition of a soldier we gain additional insights."I look upon the spiritual life of the soldier as even more important than his physical equipment . . .the soldier's heart, the soldier's spirit, the soldier's soul are everything. . . ."

In March 2002, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, closed his Liberty Day Proclamation by quoting the last words of our oath of commissioning. ". . . that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

These are just a few of the hundreds of writings and proclamations issued down through the ages by American leaders who claim divine protection for our nation, place our nation's trust in God, claim the primacy of the spiritual condition for our soldiers, and who claim God as our source of strength. From our nation's history we conclude that not only does the vision of "a godly military" not conflict with our national values, but it is an imperative.

In conclusion, OCF can make a claim for "a godly military" as a realistic and supportable vision. This vision may never be absolutely fulfilled-that is dependent upon the Lord. But we are called to strive toward the mark as Christians and ambassadors for Christ in our military.

In that role we need to respect unbelievers, pray for them and be prepared to share the "good news" in a gentle and loving way. But, in all this we must remember the bottom line: "His [Christ's] murder wasn't the last word-the last word was that he had conquered death for all of us by rising from the dead." Through our lives we are compelled to deliver this message to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coastguardsmen, and their families in order to "raise up a godly military." The OCF vision for our military is bold and it is appropriate.