Date of Award

4-2008

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

Abstract

How can the Keesler Air Force Base Chapel provide spiritual care for airmen who are spiritual but who are not religious? The Department of Defense challenges the chapel to promote the spiritual health of all airmen while the chapel mostly provides religion-based services. The chapel's efforts, therefore, ignore airmen who do not fit into a particular religion. The problem will be addressed by suggesting that the chapel incorporate a spiritual conversations gathering into the existing religion-based services. The chapel needs to embrace spiritual-but-not-religious airmen by offering a spiritual conversations gathering and conducting an annual spirituality survey. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide an understanding of how to respond to postmodern spirituality and to help motivate Christian chaplains to view themselves as missionaries so that they embrace the spiritual-but-not-religious students. Accomplishing a spirituality survey and leading a spiritual conversations gathering are the primary ways to embrace the spiritual-but-not-religious students. Such efforts may uncover new forms of spiritual care that, if implemented, will motivate airmen to turn toward the chapel for their spiritual care. Chapter 1 describes the problem and claim, illustrates the problem with a narrative, and presents contextual factors such as demographics, structure, timelines, and symbols. Chapter 2 desc1ibes the spiritual-but-not-religious student airmen, influenced by postmodern culture. Based on a 2007 student spirituality survey, spiritual-but-not-religious airmen are not interested in chapel participation. Chapter 3 reveals that the chapel's spiritual care efforts are funneled solely through traditional religious programs, ignoring those who are spiritual-but-not-religious. Chapter 4 provides biblical guidance for a spiritual conversations gathering. Chapter 5 briefly outlines a history of the church's adaptation to culture. Chapter 6, the concluding chapter, suggests that a spiritual conversations gathering is a way to adapt to the spiritual-but-not-religious airmen.

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