Appalachian Trail chaplain to hit the trail in 2013 - Examiner.com

[Rain Man]

I'd only be offended if:

(1) He calls himself the Appalachian Trail Chaplain. Unless the ATC or National Park Service appointed him to that office, he's no such thing, any more than he could call himself the "San Francisco 49er Chaplain" or the "Rain Man Chaplain."

(2) He fails to follow and obey the commands of the Master Christian:

Matthew 6:1-6
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

(3) Any Southern Baptist, Westboro Baptist, Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, Mormon, Jew, Suuni, Shiite, Jainian, Hindu, Wiccan, Atheist, Voodoo Witch Doctor, Santerian, Satanist, Rastafarian, Zoroastrian, Nudist, or etc., will be allowed to do the same.

Rain Man

.

[Coffee Rules!]

I'd only be offended if:

(1) He calls himself the Appalachian Trail Chaplain. Unless the ATC or National Park Service appointed him to that office, he's no such thing, any more than he could call himself the "San Francisco 49er Chaplain" or the "Rain Man Chaplain."

Yeah, that self-proclaimed title is just a bit presumptuous.

[turtle fast]

I see no problem with it...like others have said as long as it is not beating someone with a Bible, Koran, Torra scroll, magic doll, titanium tablet, gold tablet, prayer flag, sage incense burner or the like. As a Christian the biggest tool to share your faith is in how you conduct your own life and react to life's different ups and downs.

[Shutterbug]

Appalachian Trail chaplain to hit the trail in 2013 Examiner.com Breaking on thedailytimes.com news site, the first ever First Methodist Chaplain to hit the trail on a mission to bring religion and spirituality to trail hikers from Georgia to Maine. According to the church's Facebook page, he is called the ...

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I thought Circuit Rider and Sherlock were the AT chaplains. They hike the AT every year and provide a lot of support to people along the way.

[Sly]

I thought Circuit Rider and Sherlock were the AT chaplains. They hike the AT every year and provide a lot of support to people along the way.

I would say if any one is, they are, but not presumptuous enough to come out and claim the title.

[SunnyWalker]

Resurrection a thread here: I still think this is a win-win for the AT. And the Methodist Church is pretty sharp to think outside the box and to be willing to invest in ministry in this way. I think it might say more about how they care about others and wish to help others. No one is asking our opinion on this and that is the way it should be. The Methodist Church has to follow their conscience within their religious life and I applaud them and will welcome this Chaplain If I ever meet the person. Whether you're a religious person or now, we are all on a journey called life. It's one step at a time, just like the AT or any other trail.

[on_the_GOEZ]

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."

As with everyone else who begins the trail, I wish him the utmost luck and to remember, We are sooo not driving the bus

[Jeff]

DId this young man ever start his hike???

[wren again]

Update on his Facebook page: He is in Port Clinton PA tonight after hiking 24 miles today. He only has 76 more PA miles then he will be in Jersey by the first of the week. He also now has approx. 972 mi to go!

[Slo-go'en]

Middle of August and only getting into NJ? He really needs to pick up the pace, just under 2 months left to get to Kathadin. I think I might have seen him at the Mexican resturant in Marion, VA the night before I headed home the end of May.

[Drybones]

I think that it is obvious, although we don't wish to admit it that anyone with a view or opinion may be obnoxious, rude, pushy, preachy, etc., not just ministers. Now-a-days it seems that there is a lot more non-religious views and opinons being pushed by preachy people. Pushed and forced upon others and so it seems a little ridiculous and absurd to single out ministers, preachers, pastors, chaplains as being pushy and etc.

The root cause I believe for the "pushy" problem is that most "Christians" dont bother to study and learn, they simply take the word of the guy giving the sermon and assume he's always right. His motivation is normally to grow his church...that's how his performance is judged, wrongly so. We're told to be a witness and that has been construed to mean get there and get them. But to be a "witness" you must have seen something to testify to, if not you've got nothing to say. I dont go looking for people to share my faith with but if they ask me I'm glad to share only what I've seen and know to be factual.

[kayak karl]

i hiked with a Lutheran Minister for 300 miles in '09 "Hiking Bill", but he didn't tell many. was 67 and on a break.

[Mountain Dog]

I met the man at Amicolla Falls. I do not think he will be pushy but he could offend you if Christianity itself bothers you. But, as I have found on the AT, we tolerate a lot of things with grace. What do we tolerate? how about cell phones, snoring, people that want to tell us about their great gear, high mileage day braggards, people who spread gear everywhere in an already crowded shelter, and last but not least, stupidity. My friend and I have a Christian devotional each day. We always tell those sharing the camp area what we are going to do. We offer to move away if someone so desires and invite people to join us. We've never been asked to move away, a lot of people showed us grace. We've had a lot of good responses. For example, one man had been estranged from his dad for years and had suicidal tendencies. He followed us for the next two nights to discuss what the Lord said about some things in his life. His last contact with me, yes we stayed in contact, was that he and his father were talking again and he no longer had suicidal tendencies. Another time a retired Methodist minister found guidance as to what he should do with his newly found spare time and our devotional gave him purpose and guidance. I could go on but I believe you get the jest of how the grace of even non believers can have a positive impact on others. I trust that the young man will be sensitive to the reception he receives from others and those he meets will show him the patience/tolerance they show others on the trail.

[Chappy]

Inspirational! Thanks.

I met the man at Amicolla Falls. I do not think he will be pushy but he could offend you if Christianity itself bothers you. But, as I have found on the AT, we tolerate a lot of things with grace. What do we tolerate? how about cell phones, snoring, people that want to tell us about their great gear, high mileage day braggards, people who spread gear everywhere in an already crowded shelter, and last but not least, stupidity. My friend and I have a Christian devotional each day. We always tell those sharing the camp area what we are going to do. We offer to move away if someone so desires and invite people to join us. We've never been asked to move away, a lot of people showed us grace. We've had a lot of good responses. For example, one man had been estranged from his dad for years and had suicidal tendencies. He followed us for the next two nights to discuss what the Lord said about some things in his life. His last contact with me, yes we stayed in contact, was that he and his father were talking again and he no longer had suicidal tendencies. Another time a retired Methodist minister found guidance as to what he should do with his newly found spare time and our devotional gave him purpose and guidance. I could go on but I believe you get the jest of how the grace of even non believers can have a positive impact on others. I trust that the young man will be sensitive to the reception he receives from others and those he meets will show him the patience/tolerance they show others on the trail.

[Hill Ape]

Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened. I don't have a problem with what this guy is doing if he takes no for answer. Many hikers are seeking, maybe he'll help some. Or maybe he's scamming a free hike off the church