All posts tagged Army

A New Season

by Ryan Marcum on October 27, 2011 in Blog, Life with No comments

Autumn is the favorite time of year for many people. Fall is a time of bonfires, football, breaks from school and often a time of renewal. My family is entering a new season of our journey together during this autumn season.

Most of you know that I have been pastoring a church and an officer serving in the United States Army Reserve. The unit I am serving with is a training unit and has been called upon to train units who will be deploying in the future. I will be training these units alongside my fellow soldiers during this fall season through the summer of next year. The leadership of the church and I have decided that it would be best for me to step down as pastor during this time away.

I am thankful to God for the opportunity to serve with the people of Covington Baptist Church and will not forget the love shown to my family. I will miss each and everyone of you and will pray for you daily as you continue to be faithful in giving to the mission of making God’s glory known among the nations.

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.” Daniel 2:20-23

Chaplain Candidate Sojourn 2

by Ryan Marcum on April 2, 2010 in Blog, Chaplain Candidate with 4 Comments

OK everyone, this is the second post in my Chaplain Candidate series. In this post I am going to explain the “process” that I have experienced thus far in my journey at becoming an Army Chaplain. I started the process around August of 2009, not with a recruiter but with God and my Wife. My advice, for someone looking at the Chaplain Candidate Program or Army Chaplaincy, would be to start with the heart. Seek the desires of your heart to make sure this is something you feel God effectually calling you to. DO NOT SEEK ARMY CHAPLAINCY IF: its about money, family dream or to impress. The Call of a minister is one of servanthood from God to reach a people back to Himself. Seek God, talk with your family and take it slow DO NOT RUSH into this decision.

Around October of 2009, I decided to contact my local recruiter and was put on hold for a long time…. like most people seeking information about Army Chaplaincy or the Candidate Program, I could not find a lot of info. Unless you live in a city that has a Chaplain specific recruiter it will be difficult to get the process going. I emailed the GO ARMY website and was contacted in a couple of days from my Chaplain recruiter who is based in Illinois.

From October thru the first part of December my recruiter and I sent a lot of information (medical records, faith group endorsement, essay on why army chaplaincy, background checks)  back an forth through email, fax and snail mail. My recruiter kept encouraging me through this process by saying, “the paper work is the hard part after that its all down hill.” January 2010 rolled around and I was getting antsy about the waiting… it feels like forever to get rolling toward towards the goal of Candidacy. February came and I was scheduled for MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) here in Louisville. If you are gearing up for MEPS my advice would be to get below your max weight! DO NOT DEPEND on the tape test. Since I am prior service there was a different weight max than non-prior service. ASK YOUR RECRUITER for height/weight info, and make WEIGHT not TAPE. I went to MEPS and was over-weight, the nurse taped me and I came up short by 2 inches, thus I had to go back home to exercise and diet for one month and try it again. I drastically changed my lifestyle and cut my calories in half and started a cardio plan mixed with P90X and lost 13 pounds in a month and passed my second trip to MEPS!

Once you pass MEPS its all downhill… have you heard the term “hurry up and wait”, well that is where I am at the moment. My Chaplain Candidate packet is set to go before the candidate board in May (11-12). Once May 11-12 rolls around I will post another article about the next steps in my sojourn. Leave a comment if this has helped or if you have any questions. I will try and answer or get you in touch with someone who knows more!

Why Army Chaplaincy

by Ryan Marcum on March 11, 2010 in Blog, Chaplain Candidate with No comments

Growing up in a home with parents who served God was a key influence on my life. My parents were involved with ministry as a whole, and looking back, I can remember watching them specifically around Youth Ministry. Every moment the church doors were open my family was in attendance or serving were we could. I became a believer at the age of 12 while my family attended Bardstown Junction Baptist Church. I went to Summer Camp the following year at the age of 13 and felt as if God was calling me into the ministry. Not knowing what to do, I kept my feelings of calling inside. After graduating High School in 1996, I joined the Army and served for 3 years. While I was in the Army, I volunteered in Ministry. After serving my term in the Army I attended College and went nowhere. I knew that I was created for much more than the secular college had for me. I met my wife and was married to her while waiting for her graduation I worked as a custodian at a local church. I met the pastor regularly and he mentored me and my calling. After my wife graduated from eastern Kentucky University we decided it was time to pursue my calling, something I had been avoiding for some time. I attended Boyce College, undergraduate school of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and graduated 4 years later with a Bachelor’s Degree in Youth Ministry.

Since I can remember I have always wanted to serve in the United States Army. I have been out of active duty service for ten years and have always thought about re-joining but felt the timing wasn’t right. God’s timing is not our timing. Recently my wife and I have been in conversation about the pros and cons of joining the Army as a chaplain. After much prayer and consideration we have both come to a place of peace and assurance.

I am ready to serve my God and country to the best of my ability knowing that it is with God’s strength that I live, move and have my being. No longer looking to the past I move forward as God calls and He will direct my path.

Army Chaplain Corps Video

by Ryan Marcum on February 24, 2010 in Blog, Chaplain Candidate with No comments

Here is  a video that I have found that, to me, is very motivational. I am proud to be on the path of becoming an Army Chaplain. I can think of no greater purpose than to serve my God and serve my country. If you are on the same journey, please leave a comment below.