EDITOR’S NOTE: Timothy Faber serves as legislative consultant for the Missouri Baptist Convention. This is the second in a series of articles covering the actions and results of the First Regular session of the 103rd General Assembly of the State of Missouri.
When I was growing up, we were never concerned with school shootings. Bullying was minimal. Mental health issues were practically unheard of and suicide—at least among school age kids—was unheard of.
But we live in a different world now. According to Education Week, there have been 228 shootings in K-12 grade schools that resulted in injury or death since 2018. That’s over 30 per year! Bullying is at levels never imagined before. Students are also dealing with family dysfunction, abuse and so many other issues that it is a wonder sometimes that they can learn anything at all.
All of this points to a broader social/cultural problem—namely, an absence of respect for others and a general lack of morality. Many students’ families are not being reached with the gospel.
We have thrown money into education, into school counselors, and into mental health. But these efforts have had little to no effect in solving the problems in our schools. Having addressed physical, emotional, mental, psychological and every other avenue of help, we come to the point where the only help we have not offered is spiritual. Humans are inherently spiritual beings. And when the spirit of a person is sick, only a spiritual solution can heal.
Hospitals provide chaplains to their patients as a recognition that spiritual care enhances physical healing. Our prisons provide chaplains to those who are incarcerated because they recognize that the same factors that lead a person to crime are also the same factors that spiritual care can resolve. Missouri Baptists, in 2011 and 2019 respectively, have affirmed the ministry of chaplains in our military and in our prisons. But what about our public schools?
Our public schools often allow chaplains after a tragedy has occurred, as there is a recognition that chaplains can provide comfort, hope and healing. But why must we wait for a tragedy to occur before allowing our students to avail themselves of the services of a chaplain? Why not be proactive? Why not make this resource available to students before a crisis or tragedy strikes?
These are questions that Senate Bill 49 (put forward by Republican Senator Rusty Black) attempts to answer. Here is a link to the actual bill: https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/pdf-bill/tat/SB49.pdf. This bill, which has passed both chambers of the legislature and is awaiting Gov. Kehoe’s signature, would allow public schools to have a chaplain – either as paid staff or as a volunteer. This bill does not require chaplains, it only allows them. It is voluntary on the part of the school and on the part of the students and staff. No one is coerced into using the services of a chaplain. Coercion would certainly violate the establishment clause, but chaplains are allowed under the “free exercise” clause.
Several states, including Texas, Florida and Louisiana have already passed legislation giving their schools the freedom to have chaplains. And in those schools who have chaplains, there has been …
- up to an 80% reduction in teen pregnancies;
- a 37% increase in graduation rates;
- a dramatic reduction in school violence;
- and no suicides in schools with chaplains present for two or more years.
There may be some who worry about chaplains coming from other faiths, even other religions. We must remember, of course, the nature of chaplaincy is to minister to those who need comfort, counsel, and guidance in a non-sectarian manner. Also, we must recognize that over 90% of chaplains in other fields are of the Baptist and other biblically based faith traditions—this is because an understanding of the gospel compels us to love our neighbor.
So rather than fretting about what it will mean to have chaplains in our schools, how about determining what that will look like? How about training to be a school chaplain? (One path for training is provided by the National School Chaplains Association.) Then, how about contacting your local school and offering to serve as a chaplain to students who may have no other spiritual influence in their lives?