I had the privilege last week to speak with students at Denver Seminary, my alma mater, and share about my work in sport chaplaincy. The course, Many Faces of Chaplaincy, is part of the core curriculum base for those studying chaplaincy — whether in the Master of Divinity track or the seminary’s Chaplaincy Certificate Program.
For me, sometimes the class can be a great opportunity to see the growth of chaplaincy and some have even been curious enough to look more into serving as a chaplain in sport, and even with Soccer Chaplains United. Most students are looking into military or hospital/healthcare chaplaincy opportunities.
This go around, I was surprised at the large numbers of students in the class — the seminary’s recent development of online programs, perhaps, a reason for the larger class size. I was also pleasantly surprised at a number of international students — three of them from Africa that were studying chaplaincy at Denver Seminary.
After a short introduction, myself and three other presenters took round robin questions from Dr. Jan McCormack about the nature of our different expressions of chaplaincy. Particular emphasis was on the entrepreneurial nature of our chaplaincy work — especially with being in sport. Questions about standards and proficiencies also were subjects covered in the 2-hour zoom, with questions from the students at the end of the class time
Additionally, I shared with the students about the growth of sport chaplaincy around the world and encouraged them to consider that wherever God may take them in ministry and life — if they have a passion for sport and available time, to consider being a volunteer chaplain in a sporting context.
As an alumni of Denver Seminary, it’s always great to serve and share to the next generation of chaplains coming out of the school. It is a way of giving back and I hope that in the future there will be more opportunities and more interest from students to really explore the many, many opportunities to become a chaplain and pastoral presence in sport.
