Shawn Osborne is a U.S. Navy Chaplain credentialed by the Church of the Lutheran Brethren and stationed in Hawaii. Regarding his chaplaincy experience so far, Shawn says, "Having been a Navy Chaplain for a whopping 3½ years now, I can't honestly say that I've seen it all or heard it all, but I'll bet I've come close. Stephen King himself couldn't have written what I've heard in counseling from the hundreds of marines and sailors who have asked me for help." In this interview, Shawn shares his insights into these young adults in the military.

As a Navy Chaplain, you've spent a lot of time in pastoral counseling with sailors and marines. What's your overall impression of their spiritual state?
In most counseling sessions I ask them about their childhood background and interests during their teen years, and I see recurring patterns of thought. The military is a slice of society, so more than half of them have parents who are divorced. Many of these parents have remarried, so step-parents and step-siblings are also thrown into the mix.

Too many of these young (mostly male) sailors and marines had no solid, positive male role model in their lives. Coupled with the constant indoctrination of "What's in it for me?" that permeates our culture, young military members and spouses are disappointed, frustrated, and disillusioned about what they are doing and where they are going. As the Apostle Paul says, they are "infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming" (Ephesians 4:14).

They are, in effect, products of their society. Bill Cosby was berated for talking about the lack of accountability of young black men. I see a lack of accountability in every race! Our boys are not being trained to be men, so they just become fat boys. That's not a black thing, that's an American thing.

But doesn't the discipline of military life overcome a lot of that immaturity?
Picture this: a young man, about nineteen years old, still living at home, not going to school, possibly has a part-time job, sees a commercial for the Marines. This young man is tired of his mom bugging him about not doing anything with his life, so he figures he'll give it a shot. The recruiter is more than anxious to get him to sign on and get him to boot camp. Now this young man graduates with the title of "marine" and he feels a real sense of pride (so far, so good).

The problem is that this young man has had every minute of his life controlled for the past 12 weeks. Once he is "freed" from the restraints of boot camp, he goes back to his default mode: he takes the uniform off at the end of the day, grabs some beer, and plays video games until the wee hours of the morning. His after-work activities are no different than when he was living at home! I have said over and over again that you cannot make a warrior in 12 weeks. This same marine is now going to be deployed to a place he couldn't locate on a map and fight for a country that he doesn't really know anything about. Most Americans have never read the U.S. Constitution and have no real sense of our beloved history. Most marines and sailors I have spoken with joined the military for the G.I. Bill benefits or because they couldn't get a job in their hometown. That makes them mercenaries, not warriors, so their loyalty is either to themselves or to the highest bidder.

In feudal Japan, the samurais (literal translation: "to serve") were considered the ultimate warriors. They would willingly sacrifice their lives for their daimyo (lord). They trained for this lifestyle from an early age, so fighting was not so foreign to them. The closest things we have in this country are video games and paintball. The transition from the Xbox to the Middle East is such a huge mental leap for them that they stress out. Some even get labeled with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) even though they haven't really seen nor done anything to warrant such a diagnosis. Too many military personnel treat this like a job and not a lifestyle, so they don't take it seriously enough.

Does a church background help these young men and women in the armed forces?
Not too much. When I ask marines and sailors about their spiritual background, the most common answer I get is, "I used to go to church as a kid, but stopped going." I don't ask them about church attendance, but they throw it out there assuming it's the answer I want. When I ask them if they have a relationship with the Lord, they look at me like I just asked them for their PIN number to their ATM card.

Today's churches are failing to train our young people as badly as today's parents. It's easier to put a kid in daycare than it is to have less income and stay home with the kids. It's easier to put a kid in front of the TV so that mom and dad can have the freedom to pursue their interests. It's much more difficult and time consuming to train and mentor children and raise them with real Christian values.

It can be the same way in the military. Their leaders are not taking the time to get to know these young adults in order to train them to do their jobs well. But the leaders really blow it when it comes to teaching them how to behave during off-duty hours.

You're painting a rather bleak picture. Are there some positives to your work with these young adults?
It does look bleak, but consider this: I was that kid at one time. I joined the Air National Guard for beer money, and then joined the Army Rangers in order to pad my résumé in law enforcement. Sure, I loved my country, but I loved me a lot more than Uncle Sam. It wasn't until I became a Christian that I saw the world through a different set of lenses. Once the ego got stripped down and I realized that what I said and did affected others around me, I realized that I could either use my energy on myself or to help others. I found out later on that some people had been praying for me through my wild years. It's because of my love for Christ and my own experience as a know-it-all young adult that I can, as a chaplain, help these marines and sailors see a much bigger picture.

How do you approach ministry to young adults in the military?
It can be difficult to reach out to marines and sailors, but I see Jesus Christ as the perfect role model. He laid out how to do it in all four gospels. Jesus spent the bulk of his time out with the people. He didn't have office hours, take appointments, and wait for people to show up with their problems, like doctors do today. He got out there and met people where they were. He was relatable because he met people on their turf. That's what I try to do; meet marines and sailors on their turf. When I served marines, I made it a point to run with them and train with them. They thought it was refreshing that a chaplain was willing to sweat and get dirty with them, yet still talk with them whenever they wanted. There were countless times a marine would be running alongside me and say, "Hey, Chaps, can I ask you a question?" Those times are priceless.

How do you use scripture in your ministry?
One of the things I really enjoy about being a chaplain is answering questions from marines and sailors who are searching for the truth. It keeps my apologetics sharp and shows them why I believe what I believe and how I can "be so sure I'm right." One of the things I've been doing for years is reading the Bible cover to cover once a year. I love showing marines and sailors that the Bible is truly the Word of God and supernatural in origin. I picked up a statement from Professor Brad Soenksen at Lutheran Brethren Seminary that I use all the time: "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it." Jesus quoted Scripture and so should we. I show these young searchers that the Bible is perfect. I like to tell them that God is perfect and he sent a perfect sinless sacrifice in Jesus Christ, so it only makes sense that he would give us a perfect counselor in the Holy Spirit and a perfect written Word. Why would a perfect savior quote an imperfect source? It doesn't make any sense!

Is there any way the rest of us can help minister to service people?
You don't need to be a chaplain to do ministry. Meet service people where they feel comfortable and they will be more willing to open up about their faith. Furthermore, you don't have to be a chaplain to provide guidance and love to these military members. Speaking as one of them, just knowing there are people praying for me and thanking me for my service is enough to keep me going.

Any last thoughts, Shawn?
I got some great advice from all of my seminary professors, but two thoughts stand out as I think about this ministry: Dr. Rodney Spidahl told me not to have a lot of expectations of people, because I will be constantly disappointed. That was a good bit of information. I have had marines and sailors lie to my face; I choose to love them anyway.
Dr. Joel Nordtvedt once said, "If it's not worth dying for, then it's not worth living for." Wow! Now that narrows it all down to what's important. In my brief 39 years on this planet, I have found only three things worth dying for: my Lord, my family, and my country. Everything else is peripheral.

Shawn Osborne is a U.S. Navy Chaplain credentialed by the Church of the Lutheran Brethren and stationed in Hawaii.