The Patriot Post® · Chaplain Accused of Sharing Faith Defends Himself

The Army chaplain who received a Letter of Concern from the commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade at Ft. Benning, Georgia, after he spoke about his faith in a suicide prevention class has told his side of the story. “When I spoke about … my Christian faith, it was clear that I was speaking from first-person account,” Capt. Joe Lawhorn told The Daily Signal, “and I shared with my audience some of the struggles I had with depression and how I overcame it. In my particular situation, it was my faith that helped me to persevere and remain resilient in the face of depression. And I was very clear to my audience that that was one way to handle depression and thoughts of suicide, but it certainly was not the only way.” He also shared some materials that had Old Testament passages printed on them, but Lawhorn said he made it clear those handouts were optional for the troops in attendance. If our military chaplains can’t talk about the basics of faith or how faith affected them personally – especially in a suicide prevention class – then what on earth (or in heaven) can they talk about? More…