A helpful overview of chaplaincy as a concept. In that regard, this is a great resource.

However, I have some concerns related to the unique areas of chaplaincy (primarily military chaplaincy and the discussion of chaplains giving their blessing to missions that use violence despite Jesus forbidding His followers from doing so). I did appreciate the discussion of military chaplaincy requiring sensitivity to things like ethical dilemmas, PTSD, and the harassment women face in the military.

While I am not an exact match for the target audience, not being an Evangelical Christian, am I close enough (in formation to be ordained as a Catholic Deacon) to potentially find the information presented to be interesting and helpful … and for the most part I was correct. The book is divided into two parts; with part one providing a basic foundation to understand the specifics cited in part two (which talks about where chaplains are typically found along with what is typically required in that specific ministry. As might be expected with multiple authors, there was a but of repetition and a bit of a bipolar feel to part one, where I assume the intent was to demonstrate the tension between being true to the principals championed by your organization ordination and the need to minister to a plurality of faiths, some of which may not be compatible with your own confession. This includes an excellent discussion on the Constitutional Separation of Church and State and how public chaplains can still fit within that framework. In addition, a fair amount of part one involved talking about how chaplains need to live there faith … which wasn’t really much different that how christians in general should live their faith … so … they need to be Uber Christians? That actually was not as helpful as the authors might has expected (given a presumption that most of this was probably already covered in depth in their formation process). This gave part one more of a motivation feel than a practical guide with specific tips and examples on how the chaplain was different.

Part two introduction ten (10) areas of our society where chaplains are currently serving, with a rough comparison that allows the reader to get a good feel for how each ministry might be different (extremely helpful for anyone discerning a call to be a chaplain). Each Chapter is further divided into a brief history of chaplains within that functional area, a summary of the culture and ethos in which these chaplains serve, a few tips and recommendations about the work a chaplain does in this capacity, and an outline of the requirements and supporting organizations that can help someone discerning a call to be a chaplain in this segment of our community. Each chapter finishes with a section on leadership and an overall summary of the chapter material. Each chapter was also concise and well organized, leveraging much of the terms and ideas presented in part one. Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone either discerning a call to be a chaplain, or even for those who might otherwise work with or hire a chaplain for their own organization.

As a minister who made the transition from congregational pastoring to healthcare chaplaincy approximately four years ago, Jumper's primer to chaplaincy caught my attention. It is unquestionably successful in serving as a primer for those who may be sensing a call into chaplain ministry across any one of its various functional fields (i.e., medical, military, corporate, sports). In fact, the entire second half of this textbook systematically examines ten functional areas where chaplaincy may be applied.

Whereas the second half focuses on the functional, the first half delves into the practical application of chaplaincy. In those opening chapters, the authors discuss the history of chaplaincy, as well as the biblical and philosophical basis for chaplain ministry. They also discuss at length the prerequisites and continuing educations requirements that may be demanded for a chaplain role. Furthermore, the practical guide walks through the constitutional rights and legal parameters, including confidentiality, which pertain to the chaplain.

While this is certainly an excellent textbook for those interested in learning about the basics of chaplaincy or who may be beginning as students of chaplaincy, I felt the book was full of repetition. There is a lot of overlap when it comes to educational and religious support requirements for various chaplain applications, and the authors tended to repeat these again and again at each section. The same was true for the functional areas of chaplaincy: yes, there are distinctions between the ten fields, but I felt the authors repeated many of the commonalities between them. I would have loved to have heard more specific and nuanced insights to each functional field.

I deeply appreciated the way the authors spoke of the ministry of the chaplain. They often referred to the calling of the chaplain in much the same way as one might sense a call into pastoring or other fields of ministry. In this way, then, they differentiate chaplaincy from any other support occupation and emphasized the necessary faith and fellowship for the chaplain. Then, their comments on how the chaplain can remain true to his or her theological beliefs while simultaneously needing to minister to others of different convictions was insightful.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a basic introduction or primer into chaplaincy, this is an excellent resource. If you already have some experience as a chaplain or looking for some specific practical advice for a particular chaplain setting, this will likely stop short of what you are needing.

I am grateful to Netgalley and Baker Academic & Brazos Press for the opportunity to read through an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.