Note: The White House has denied the report that Obama has chosen the chapel at Camp David as his church. This, however, does not change the the core issue raised in this post -- the problem of military chaplains and chaplain endorsed organizations that seek to use the U.S. military as the vehicle to transform the nation and the world for Christ, or the fact that Obama appears to be doing nothing to curtail this, so I am not changing anything in this post, written prior to the White House's denial.
One thing we do here at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is to do a quick check on any military chaplain whose name shows up in the news for anything other than a routine reason. So, with the news this morning that President Obama had selected the chapel at Camp David as his church, we did our usual thing of checking to see if any big red flags popped up regarding the chapel's pastor, Lt. Carey Cash. Within minutes, we found Lt. Cash quoted as saying, "First we get the military, then we get the nation," a statement that, needless to say, we considered a big, giant red flag.
Cash made this statement via video in 2005 to the congregation of Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The event was an Independence Day weekend service at which Campus Crusade for Christ's (CCC) Military Ministry Executive Director Bob Dees delivered the sermon, a sermon during which Dees made statements such as:
"I'm here today to testify that we have found the weapons of mass destruction. It is Satan's artillery," and, "...the reality is, too many of our troops are prisoners of war still. Prisoners of war to the master of deceit, these troops do not yet know liberty in Jesus Christ."
During the service, Lt. Cash came up on a video screen, reiterating Dees's CCC talking points, and making the statement, "First we get the military, then we get the nation," a statement that echoes CCC's mission:
"Evangelize and Disciple All Enlisted Members of the US Military. Utilize Ministry at each basic training center and beyond. Transform our culture through the US Military."
According to Dees:
"We must pursue our particular means for transforming the nation -- through the military. And the military may well be the most influential way to affect that spiritual superstructure. Militaries exercise, generally speaking, the most intensive and purposeful indoctrination program of citizens..."
According to CCC's Military Ministry, in a statement referring to their "gateway" strategy of preying on new recruits and cadets while they are worn down by the rigors of training:
"Young recruits are under great pressure as they enter the military at their initial training gateways. The demands of drill instructors push recruits and new cadets to the edge. This is why they are most open to the 'good news.' We target specific locations, like Lackland AFB and Fort Jackson, where large numbers of military members transition early in their career. These sites are excellent locations to pursue our strategic goals."
CCC's goal, which appears again and again in their literature and videos is to transform the U.S. military into "government paid missionaries for Christ," and, with the organization's already prodigious presence at our military's basic training installations, military service academies, and ROTC campuses, they are well on their way to achieving this goal.
As commander in chief, President Obama, rather than giving his tacit endorsement to a chaplain who subscribes to the goals of CCC's Military Ministry by choosing to attend his services, should be ridding the military of such chaplains and organizations.
For more on CCC's Military Ministry and the disturbing extent to which it has become ingrained in our military, see MRFF's reports from October 2007 and December 2007.