DALLAS — Clothed in his decorated, dress blue uniform, Gen. Doug Carver led a host of chaplains to the platform on June 10 during the opening ceremony of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting. Carver led the messengers to celebrate freedom and honor service members, recognizing the important role chaplains play in Christian ministry.

This year marks the 250^th anniversary of the United States Army, which was formed ahead of the Revolutionary War, naming George Washington the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

“One of his first decisions was to appoint chaplains into the ranks, believing that chaplains were indispensable points of light for a soldier’s religious, moral and spiritual health,” Carver said. “He directed his chaplains to remind soldiers constantly that the blessing and protection of Heaven was necessary at all times for them to achieve success on the battlefield.”

Carver honored the sacrifices made by soldiers to protect America’s freedoms as well as the military chaplains who supported them in their times of need.

“We honor today our Southern Baptist chaplains, endorsed and sent out by your churches, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, befriend the lonely, tend the wounded, shepherd the lost and strengthen the weak outside the walls of the church,” said Carver.

North American Mission Board (NAMB) also hosted a reception for chaplains on June 9 where they heard from John O’Leary, a man who endured a horrifying incendiary accident as a young boy that nearly claimed his life and required the amputation of his fingers.

To open his keynote, O’Leary quoted a message from a meaningful sermon on the parable of the talents that served as a life-changing moment for him.

“He said, for those of you who feel as if you’ve only been blessed with one talent, listen to me,” said O’Leary. “And then he said, ‘Your life is a precious, priceless gift, and with that gift you have a single job. It is to say yes to being used for good.’”

That message encouraged him to say yes when he was asked to speak to a Girl Scouts troupe, which led to an invitation to a Rotary Club, then a Chamber of Commerce, and ultimately to a career in public speaking and sharing his story.

As a kid, he saw other kids playing with fire and gasoline. Wanting to imitate them, he attempted to do the same while he was at home by himself when the gas fumes ignited, creating an explosion that set him on fire and threw him 20 feet.

“I found myself in an emergency room bed on my back with burns on 100% of my body — 87%, third degree,” O’Leary said. “
Some of you know what that means. I’m dying.”

O’Leary shared his story of recovery, including the ways his dad loved him and how Hall of Fame St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck visited him day after day in the hospital, encouraging him to keep fighting to survive.

Buck had been moved by the story and acted like a hospital chaplain would, O’Leary said, even though his severe injuries prevented him from answering.

“For the hospital chaplains, and for all of us really, in the room,” O’Leary said, “just because they’re not nodding their heads or saying, ‘Amen,’ back to you, does not at all mean they’re not paying attention.”

O’Leary wrote about his life’s story in a book, and it was recently made into a feature film called “Soul on Fire.” The trailer for the film debuted during the chaplain’s reception, and a group of chaplains prayed over O’Leary as his story prepares to be shared more widely.

“Today is about my people, my fellow chaplains, the life we live, the impact we have, and the truth that it’s not easy, but it’s worth it,” O’Leary said. “It’s worth it to bring light into the world, into an individual starving for both. What would you rather be doing with your life? Where would you rather spend it?”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Brandon Elrod writes for the North American Mission Board.)