Chaplaincy is My Jam

When I worked as a pastor, it seemed my job was to help Christians to become better Christians or convince people to become one. It never really clicked for me.

As a chaplain, my job is to help all people be more fully human and know their sacredness.

Chaplaincy is my jam.

— Nathan Albert (@nathanalbert) January 28, 2022

Once upon a time, I tweeted the above about chaplaincy and it took off a bit online. I got a lot of people asking questions about the difference between chaplaincy and pastoring. Seems quite a few pastors long to work outside of a congregational setting. So, here's a quick post about it.

Chaplaincy is my jam. It’s sweet and wonderful.

In my mind, when I was in seminary, I assumed I HAD to be a pastor in a church. I also (wrongly) assumed that I could transform the church. Obv, that didn’t happen. Working for a church wasn’t for me, it was bad for my soul, and I probably wasn’t the greatest pastor for a church.

Chaplains are present with people as they seek to be fully human. We see the whole person. We are with people through their suffering, aware of their needs, present to the truest humanness. We are often exposed to the pain of another. We listen, we hold space.

We don’t convict or convert people to our religious tradition.

We journey with people as they traverse their own. To be honest, our theological opinions don’t really matter most days, except one- seeing the sacred in the human before us.

Sure, a lot of people can say this sounds like what a pastor should do. True, I guess. But my time as a pastor was focused more on having the correct theology, not pissing congregants off, explaining to congregants how I wasn’t a heretic, or sending emails.

It’s hard to BE a pastor when so many pastors have to DO so much.

As chaplains, we play a lot of roles. At times we are advocates, guides, friends, listeners, elders, shepherds, connectors, facilitators, celebrants, observers, hosts, teachers, creators, and much more.

My image for a chaplain is a bowl. I’ve recorded a podcast episode and a short blog post. It’s a helpful metaphor for the work that I do.

Most of the time though, being a chaplain simply means being a person with another person, being human with another human.

We all need more chaplains. We all need more jam.

Truth Bombs and Cheese with David Rice

SEASON TWO - EPISODE 27: TRUTH BOMBS AND CHEESE WITH DAVID RICE

Truth bombs and cheese.

This has been the theme of so many of my conversations with David Rice. David is one of those guys who, when he speaks, you listen.

Over the few years that I have known David, he has spoken so many truths that I needed to hear. He may not even know the impact that his words, encouragement, and truth bombs have had on my life and soul.

For years, I have kept a journal where I catalog thoughts, quotations, and ideas I want to remember. I have multiple quotes from David in this journal. Under one quote in the journal I had written: “Another truth bomb from David.”

In this episode of the podcast, David and I talk about spiritual formation, church, and...cheese.

Yep, cheese; my guess is you didn’t expect that one.

David is a pastor, practical theologian, former cheesemonger, chef, gardener, father, husband, and a vessel for truth bombs. You can learn more about David via his website  and you can connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

As you continue on this journey of spiritual formation within a church and as you wake up to the reality of God in your life, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

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How Little We Know

In the last few years, I have been immersed in interfaith conversations and partnerships.

It has been SO good for my soul, my faith, and my life’s work.

I’ve regularly attended interfaith clergy gatherings, which are a start of a good joke: A rabbi, an imam, a priest, and a pastor are having lunch together…

Working with students coming from a wide range of religious traditions, listening to podcasts, reading authors from other faiths, and networking other university chaplains from across the country as they minister to students in our pluralistic landscape have greatly impacted every area of my life.

Recently I attended a beautiful webinar, hosted by a religiously diverse group of chaplains, where we looked at contemplative breathing and prayer exercises from different faith traditions. It was beautiful. Afterward, I tweeted:

It humbles me how much Jews, Muslims, Humanists, Buddhists, and Agnostics know about Christianity.

It disappoints me how little Christians know about Judaism, Islam, Humanism, Buddhism, and Agnosticism.

My Christian faith has become deep and expansive the more I have come to understand other traditions. My prayer life has expanded as I have come to learn prayers of other traditions. My spiritual practices have evolved and transformed as I have discovered the ancient practices of other religions.

Through it all, it has brought me a greater respect and appreciation for all religions. It has also encouraged me to hold tight to the beauty of my own religious tradition and live as, I’ve stated elsewhere, a Contemplative Ecumenical.

We Christians know so little and we have much to learn. And, when we do, our faith will thrive, our relationships will grow, and our connection with the Divine will increase.

A Yearly Contemplative Breakfast with Matt Nightingale

SEASON TWO - EPISODE 22: A YEARLY CONTEMPLATIVE BREAKFAST WITH MATT NIGHTINGALE

Do you have that person who you grab a drink with maybe once a year and it’s as if no time has passed at all? That’s how my friendship with Matt Nightingale has worked.

Matt and I met probably twelve years ago. I think we initially connected through Twitter and our friendship then developed at a yearly conference we attended. It became our yearly tradition where we’d always have breakfast together during the conference. Our breakfast always ended up being hours of conversation and countless cups of coffee. 

In this episode of The Why Behind the What, I have the privilege of interviewing my friend and colleague, Matt Nightingale.  He is a pastor, spiritual director, an educator, ted-talker, musician, father, and does a lot of work surrounding spirituality and sexuality. He has a profound journey and his story is incredible. He has become known for his TEDx Talk with his former wife that shares part of his painful and redemptive story of being in a mixed-oriented marriage for 23 years and coming out during his mid-forties.

In this episode we talk about the importance of contemplative spirituality, spiritual direction, the restrictive teachings of fundamentalism, and how after deconstructing beliefs we didn’t really believe we were opened to finding God in new and incredible experiences.

I hope you’ll find our conversation to be as enjoyable as I did.

You can connect with Matt on his website. You can also follow him on  Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. A few people and resources we mentioned in this podcast are: Steve Wiens, The Journey Center, Quest Novato, Eva Sullivan Knoff, Joanna Quintrell, The Christian Closet.

And, as you discover a faith that you can truly believe in, one where you journey with others through contemplative practices that can be a healing balm to your soul, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.

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Podcast Episode Six: Journaling

SEASON TWO - EPISODE SIX: JOURNALING

Dear Diary,

After forgetting about you for almost 20 years, I picked you up and decided to reread parts of you. Oh dear Lord in heaven. What was I thinking of writing all that stuff? It’s some of the most hysterical, embarrassing, vomit-inducing, fundamentalist stuff I have ever read.

It is epic. So, I have decided to read those parts to my podcast listeners.

Sincerely,

Nathan

It’s true. In the sixth episode of the Why Behind the What, I read from my first journal when I was quite the young and immature conservative evangelical. But ever since then, I have always kept a journal with me to write down thoughts, ideas, prayers, quotes, and over things I want to remember and reference. I have a row of them on my bookshelf.

Journaling is a powerful spiritual rhythm. It gives voice to our prayers, longings, and desires. It filters our prayers and thoughts to their core and can become a time capsule for our prayer life. It also can be a way to hear the still small voice of God. 

I’ve found journaling to be an incredible funnel for our deepest thoughts and desires. The more I write, the more I am able to filter out random thoughts and bring focus to my thoughts or desires I have been ignoring or too distracted to notice.

Some of the most famous and impactful spiritual books in church history are simply journal entries. Whether it’s Saint Augustine’s Confessions or Mother Teresa’s Come Be My Light or works by Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton, these are all works by spiritual leaders who journaled their thoughts, desires, and spiritual journey.

Their words and prayers impact generations of people...while my words and prayers would be an embarrassment for generations of people.

In this episode, I also give a few tips on how to start journaling, so be sure to listen. My favorite journals are Moleskine. I have used them for years and I always have a handful lying around my office. A good resource I recommend is from a former professor of mine: Journaling as a Spiritual Practice: Encountering God through Attentive Writing.

As you start writing your thoughts and desires onto a page while listening for the Divine, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.

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Podcast Episode Three: Solitude

SEASON TWO - EPISODE THREE: SOLITUDE

Solitude. I know, it sounds boring, doesn’t it? Unless you're an extreme introvert and your probably rejoicing- “this is the best thing ever!”

I’m a bit of an extrovert, so for a long time solitude was torturous for me. I hated it. But, as an extrovert, I have learned that solitude isn’t torturous, it is actually essential to my spiritual transformation and my personal well-being.

As Henri Nouwen has stated, “without solitude it is virtually impossible to have a spiritual life.”

As a spiritual practice, solitude is more than getting away from people, untethering ourselves from technology. Solitude is an opportunity to turn away from other people, technology, and other ways we can be interrupted in order to turn toward and be present to God who is always present to us.

Solitude is the place where we encounter God as we are and we leave that place transformed and renewed because we were with God. It could be said that in solitude, we not only spend time with the Divine, but we also discover our true self, who we are truly meant to be in God’s presence.

As Ruth Haley Barton says in her book, Invitation to Solitude and Silence, that in solitude and silence the love of the Divine comes to us, but it also begins to flow out of us to others. So, solitude can be an avenue for God to transform us into healed, compassionate, and loving people who not only reflect the Divine, but also love others in the same way as the Divine.

I had always thought that being alone was simply a way to become quickly lonely or an opportunity to get away from those friends that you could only handle in small doses. But it is so much more than that. It is a proven way to be with God and hear the still small voice of God.

In this episode, I am going to challenge you to start exploring solitude. But don’t worry, I set the bar low; really low. If you want some resources, I recommend: Thoughts in Solitude, by Thomas Merton; Invitation to Solitude and Silence, by Ruth Haley Barton; The Way of the Heart, by Henri Nouwen. Be sure to share this episode and, if you could, write a review on iTunes.

And in the solitude, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.

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Podcast Episode One: When Faith Stops Working

SEASON TWO - EPISODE ONE: WHEN FAITH STOPS WORKING

I never thought I’d be the pastor who would find himself laying on the floor, under his desk, with noise-canceling headphones on, crying.

But within a few years of actually being in full-time ministry, within a few years of actually working for churches, within a few years of actually preaching, and pastoring, and creating programs, I found myself so overwhelmed with life and work that there I was, just chilling under my desk.

At the time, I found myself burnt out. I felt overworked, completely unprepared for ministry, and my soul was aching for something I wasn’t sure was even worth it, longing for something more. My faith wasn’t working the way it once had.

I realized that I needed something new. And what I learned was that the something new I needed was actually something quite old; ancient actually.

And so, from meditation to monasteries, silence to solitude, contemplative practices to centering prayer these ancient spiritual practices changed everything for me. They literally revived my soul and saved my faith. It wasn’t as if I pursued contemplative spiritual practice, it was as if I fell into them, discovering them by human accident but divine purpose.

Contemplative spiritual practices are ways that open me up to God’s presence, ways to be with God rather than things to do for God, and they’re practices that allow God to do things in me while I am simply learning to be; be present and still.

In this episode of the podcast, I share how these ancient practices revived my faith, healed my soul, and allowed me to hear the Divine. Take a listen and be sure to leave a review on iTunes Apple Podcasts.

If you’re looking for more resources, check out: The Emotionally Healthy Leader, by Pete Scazzero; Just This, by Richard Rohr; New Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas Merton; Concerning the Inner Life, by Evelyn Underhill

Until then, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.

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