Author: Paul Linzey

Through writing and public speaking, we provide coaching, mentoring, and discipleship.
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Metamorphosis

While preaching through the New Testament book of Romans a few years ago, I came to chapter twelve, verse two, and quickly realized the significance of the word μεταμορφουσθε (metamorphousthe). Britannica defines it as the continuous, remarkable “change of form or structure in an individual after hatching or birth.” The word is metamorphosis and it is translated into English as transformed.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).

There are many ways to discuss discipleship, what it takes to grow spiritually, and how to become the people we are meant to be, but it seems to me that metamorphosis may provide the best analogy because the changes are drastic and visible, as are many of the changes that take place when we come to Christ. The end result of the process is beauty, which is also an apt description of what the Lord brings into our lives.

From the introduction to Butterfly Believers.

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Books Available Almost Everywhere

I really appreciate the independent bookstores that have carried my books. The first to do so was Wordsmith Bookshoppe in Galesburg, Illinois. And recently, Pressed Books & Coffee in Lakeland, Florida said they’d be glad to find space on the shelf for my books.

I recently found out that all of my books are now available at the major booksellers websites. A few weeks ago I was on the Barnes & Noble website and decided to type in my name and see what might show up. I was surprised to see my books there. Then I checked Books-A-Million and a few other sites. Same thing!

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Thanks for Being My Chaplain, Too

As a battalion chaplain, I was asked to say a prayer before lunch at the annual family Christmas party. I love to pray. I love being visible to my Soldiers so that they know who they can go to when they need help or guidance or counseling. So I was glad for the opportunity. I also love telling my Soldiers about Jesus, but the annual family holiday party isn’t the place to preach the gospel because it is a command event . . . not a religious service.

When the time came, the commander invited me to the microphone and I prayed. I thanked the Lord for the families of the Soldiers. I asked for divine safety and protection. I prayed for the marriages and child-parent relationships. I expressed hope that the events of the day would be meaningful, fun, and encouraging. And I finished the prayer not by saying “in Jesus’s Name, Amen.” Instead, I finished by thanking the Lord for his goodness and blessings, Amen.

I returned to the table where I was sitting with my wife, and after a few minutes a young Jewish officer approached me, held out his hand to me, and said, “Thank you for being my chaplain, too!”

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Do You Need a Mentor?

One of the ways to avoid getting into trouble is to establish accountability measures and allow key people in your life to hold you answerable for what is morally right and what is helpful in your career. It is important to establish professional and spiritual mentoring relationships. We all need someone we can turn to when we are tempted, when we’re hurting, and when we’re about to do something unwise.

When I became a chaplain and went to the Officer Basic Course, Ron Casteel was the class leader. He and I became friends and kept in touch throughout our careers. Not only was he a friend, he became my mentor. Ron knew more than I did about how the military worked. He understood people. And several times when I needed guidance, he was there for me.

Fourteen years after completing the basic course, I had the opportunity to work for him at a senior command. Not only was he my friend and mentor. Now he was my boss. It was a great experience. After he retired, there was one more time that I needed his help professionally, and he was there for me. Having him as a mentor made a powerful impact on my life and career.

Perhaps you should consider finding a mentor. In fact, you might want to identify two mentors: one for spiritual accountability, and one for professional development. Allow key people in your life to hold you answerable for what is morally right, and what is helpful in your career. And listen when they speak or offer guidance.

Wherever you are in your career, it may be important for your growth, development, and success to find one or two people who can speak into your life as a friend and mentor.

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Driving Up the Mountain

I was a chaplain with an infantry battalion that was conducting field exercises in Yakima, Washington. While visiting our soldiers at remote locations, I asked my Chaplain Assistant if he would go up and over the mountain instead of taking the road around it. He agreed, but soon stopped and said he couldn’t go further because it was too steep. I told him the Hummer was built for steep inclines and asked him to proceed.

That’s when he said, “Chaplain, I’m not stopping because the vehicle can’t make it. I’m stopping because it’s too scary. I don’t want to drive up this mountain!”

“I understand. Let’s trade places and I’ll drive.”

Being a good, responsible NCO, he insisted that I show him my military driving license. And I did.

Driving up that mountain was so much fun. We got to the top, got out, and looked around. We could see for miles in each direction. Coming back down was even scarier because it seemed we were looking straight down. It was exhilarating. We were now ready to go and visit our Soldiers.

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Funeral for a Clock

After I completed the Army Chaplain Basic Course, my first assignment was with a medical unit. While participating in a field training exercise at Camp Parks in California, I met with the First Sergeant one day, and he told me that one of his Soldiers died. When I asked who the soldier was, he told me the name of the guy was “Otto.”

Well, I knew Otto was the name of the alarm clock dressed in an Army uniform. Instead of a bugle playing Reveille first thing each morning, the First Sergeant held a microphone up to the clock to wake up the troops. When the alarm sounded, a Drill Sergeant voice shouted, “Rise and shine, you sleepyheads, Rise and shine!” Somebody got tired of hearing that stupid clock shout “Rise and Shine,” so he made a noose and strung up poor Otto between two field tents. There he was swinging in the breeze.

“What do you do when a Soldier dies?” the First Sergeant asked.

“I would do a funeral,” I answered matter-of-factly.

“Would you?” His eyes got real big.

Two days later, still out in the field on the back side of an Army training base, we had a funeral complete with full military honors and protocol . . . for Otto the Clock. One of the Soldiers was a carpenter. He used scrap lumber to build a scale model replica of a coffin. Six Soldiers served as pall bearers, marching in step as they carried the coffin to the ritual. The Colonel gave the commander’s speech. The First Sergeant provided a tearful eulogy. And the Chaplain’s funeral sermon was a poem about time. Each of us is allotted a certain number of days, and when our time runs out, we’re called to give an account before the Great Clockmaker in the Sky.

A hundred Soldiers laughed so hard they literally fell out of formation onto their hands and knees in the dirt. Some of them pretended to howl and cry, others had actual tears because they were laughing so hard.

My college and seminary professors and ministerial textbooks didn’t cover funerals for clocks, and homiletics classes never trained me to write sermons as poems, but that event created a rapport with the Soldiers better than anything I could have planned. For the rest of my time with that unit, I had an open door of ministry.

Actual pictures of the funeral. Click here to read the poem.

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Military Ministry: Chaplains in the 21st Century

I am excited to announce that our publisher just released the book Military Ministry: Chaplains in the Twenty-First Century, second edition.

When we started writing this book in 2020, we understood the importance of social media in ministry, so the first edition contained a dozen or so statements about social media, but there wasn’t a stand-alone chapter with a strategy for using social media or technology in ministry in the military. In the past five years, however, social media has explosively become much more pervasive, and in many ways has come to define the present generation. Therefore, it became obvious that we needed to provide an updated edition that would speak directly to this issue.

At a lunch meeting to discuss the preparation of a new chapter and what it should include, Dr. Keith Travis suggested that we ask Chaplain Chris Linzey if he would write the new chapter because Chris is on the cutting edge of using social media platforms for ministry in the United States Navy. Chris is an outstanding chaplain and a master at using new technologies in military ministry. We agreed that Chris would be the best person to write the new content. When we approached him with the idea, he responded right away with an affirmative reply. His original submission turned into two full chapters.

With that in mind, we are pleased to offer this second edition of Military Ministry: Chaplains in the Twenty-First Century. Chapters 26 and 27 are the brand-new chapters written by Chaplain Chris Linzey. In addition, there is a new Guest Anecdote from a chaplain who understands the use of social media in effective ministry. We think this material will be a tremendous benefit for chaplains in all of the armed forces.

It is our hope that you will be informed, encouraged, and inspired as you read this book. You are always invited to reach out to us by email, through our websites, social media, or the QR codes at the end of chapter 27. We’d love to hear your comments or reactions to the content in the book. May the Lord bless you as you serve as a chaplain in the military.

#MilitaryMinistry #MilitaryChaplainGuide #TrainingMilitaryChaplains

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You Never Know

You Never Know is the author’s response to Writers Digest’s annual month-long challenge to write a piece of flash fiction every day for a month and is his initial entry into the world of writing fiction. The title of the collection comes from the first story.

A collection of thirty-one flash fiction short stories, each story is a thought-provoking snapshot that captures a different aspect of what it means to be human and elicits a wide range of emotional responses. By the way, flash fiction stories are typically no longer than 1,500 words and may be as short as the now-famous six-word stories, allegedly started by Ernest Hemingway.

Comments from early readers:

— Wow! Crazy. Great story.

— I was engaged immediately.

— Sharp, well-paced, with natural dialogue and engaging characters.

— Oh, gosh. That was a sad one.

— Nicely done. Authentic dialogue and a good story line.

— Well-written and realistically frightening.

— I was hooked.

— Could be the start of a television series.

— The ending really makes this special.

— I love this story. Great premise!

— That is hilarious!

— I’m laughing my head off!

— Very theological without even bringing up theology.

— The story took me back to my own experience.

— It really touched me.

— Amazing story of perseverance and love.

— Holy crap! I just read your story.

— What a story. It has a triple twist.

— You inspired me.

— Superb!

P. E. Linzey is an award-winning author who completed the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Tampa with a dual emphasis in Fiction and Nonfiction. He uses his full name for nonfiction (Paul E. Linzey), and his first and middle initials for fiction (P.E. Linzey) as a way of differentiating.

He is a member of several writers associations, was a university Associate Professor of Creative Writing and Composition, and is a speaker at writers conferences, schools, churches, and other groups. You may see his full list of writings on his website: https://paullinzey.com/ and you are welcome to contact him using the Connect page.