Maintaining a Biblical Perspective on the Role Of Chaplains in the Effective Care and Healing of Hospital Patients

Given the current dynamic nature of health care in America, it is important that Pastoral Care efforts maintain sound biblical foundational principles such that they were based upon.  Although the main goal of chaplaincy training in hospitals is to strengthen and address spiritual healing and confidence in faith in a multi-cultural missionary setting, it is precisely because of this characteristic that that goal is now being challenged in terms of orthodoxy.  This paper will demonstrate how such a biblical ministry is able to function in a dynamic and diverse contemporary environment, based on scriptures pertaining to the most powerful examples of Jesus' ministry to the lost and Paul's missionary enterprises.  It will demonstrate the authority, immutability and pervasiveness of God's word and commands through time and their applicability at some of the best opportunities for crucial spiritual interjection in a person's life.  It is critical that the Christian root of this ministry not be lost to post-modern syncretism, or assimilated under the auspices of another discipline or legal and administrative functions.   Contemporary illustrations and methodologies of the ministry in a clinical setting based on 5 years of Chaplain work at Tampa General Hospital, a Level 1 Trauma Facility, from 2008-2013, will supplement the biblical basis for such a needed emphasis.  Certain trends in clinical pastoral education that feed the chaplain pool will be noted, along with their benefits and challenges, in order to emphasize God's character, redemptive purpose and promise through our role as supporters and promoters of the Christian faith in this particular line of ministry.