Pastoral Care in a New Public: Lessons Learned in the Public Square

This is how I started my testimony to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee in June 2005. I was asked to testify as an author of a report reflecting the work that I did from 2003-2005 as a pastoral care consultant at the United States Air Force Academy. Along with a general who headed the Pentagon's investigation of the Academy and a retired Navy chaplain who oversaw the credentialing of military chaplains, my testimony became part of the investigation by Congress to explore allegations of religious intolerance and Christian proselytizing at the United States Air Force Academy. This work in progress stems from my time at the Academy, the subsequent public responses to that engagement, and my own questions about moving pastoral theology and care into this or any public arena.