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The Battalion
Page 3 • Monday, September 6, 2004
Keeping the faith
Chaplains encourage students to explore their faith in campus organizations
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By Carrie Pierce
THE BATTALION
When Alfredo Balderas, a senior marketing major, was a fresh
man in the Corps of Cadets, he was having a hard time adjusting
to college and had reached rock bottom. Just as he was hitting his
breaking point, the chaplain of his outfit came to his donn room and
offered to help.
“He prayed for me, and it gave me the strength to keep going,”
Balderas said. “It made all the difference.”
Balderas now serves as the chaplain of the Corps of Cadets, a
position he said is necessary because it’s an encouragement to
the cadets.
Many large organizations at Texas A&M have chaplains, a posi
tion that serves to facilitate religion into the organization. Religious
organizations also have chaplains to serve as the spiritual leaders.
Balderas said his job is to provide religious accommodation for
the cadets, which includes distribution information about worship
services, encouraging church attendance, providing transportation to
services and taking cadets to Breakaway, a Bible study held at Reed
Arena. Each outfit of the Corps also has a chaplain to organize a
weekly Bible study, Balderas said.
“I have a ministry of presence,” Balderas said. "I’m around to be
there for the chaplain of each outfit.”
Balderas said a big challenge he faces as chaplain is standing firm
in what he believes while being accommodating to everyone and
being politically correct. Some people are easily offended and don’t
think having a chaplain is necessary, he said. Balderas said the job of
a chaplain is not to evangelize, but to show support.
“If you ask us, we’ll share our faith with you,” Balderas said.
Balderas said having a chaplain in the Corps of Cadets is especial
ly important because everylhing the Corps stands for is faith-based
values and morals.
“In order to be a full person or cadet, you must be sound in your
mind, body and spirit,” Balderas said.
The Corps of Cadets also has a Jewish chaplain, a Muslim chap
lain and a women’s chaplain to accommodate for the different be
liefs and cultures for an organization as large as the Corps. Askia
Toume, a junior electrical engineering major, serves as the Muslim
chaplain for the Corps. His job includes supporting others of Mus-
! lim faith, holding prayer sessions and reading the Quran with other
j Muslims. Toume said it’s an equal opportunity position for people
to have spiritual comfort.
“A challenge is to fit the traditions and practices in with the Corps
lifestyle,” Toume said.
Toume said his responsibilities are slightly different from Bal-
: deras’ because the Corps is not a predominantly Muslim organiza
tion, and he must actively seek out Muslim
cadets. He said his goal is to find out ?][ - If I mg&lk liiui
how many Muslims there are in the
Corps and let them know he is
there. Spirituality is impor-
0.1 J. .
T -
tant in this particular orga- A
nization, he said.
: rnonmM
"It’s important in the
Corps, especially for the
freshmen, because it’s
a stressful time in their
life and it keeps them
grounded,” Toume
said. “It helps know
ing you have a higher
power on your side.”
Toume said he
feels strongly about
his faith and is sure
that there are other
Muslims in the Corps
that do, too.
Many fraternities
and sororities at A&M
also have chaplains to
meet the spiritual needs
of their members.
Brian Joiner, a senior
recreation, parks and tour
ism sciences major, serves
as the chaplain of Lambda Chi ^^ijnDKE
Alpha fraternity. Part of Joiner’s
job is going to Breakaway and in- % pCXDk
viting the other members of his fra- Tf *
temity. He also holds a Bible study and
leads the prayer before every meal.
“The position is whatever you make it
out to be,” Joiner said. “1 like to think it af
fects guys who don’t have a strong relationship
with Christ to want to learn more, and those who do
have a strong relationship, to strengthen it.”
Joiner said his biggest challenge is getting people to come
to a Bible study because people have busy schedules. It’s important
to put the programs together for the members, even if they are only
helping one person. Joiner said. He said the position of chaplain is
important because his fraternity isn’t officially a Christian organization.
“If 1 try and follow God’s will, I’ll do the right thing,” Joiner said.
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“It helps guide my fraternity in the right direction.”
Chaplains of religious organizations have a slightly
easier job than those of non-religious based organi
zations because they do not have to worry about
offending anyone, said Joey Rigney, who
serves as the chaplain of Brotherhood of
Christian Aggies.
As a chaplain of BCA, which is
a Christian organization for men,
Rigney, a senior communica
tion major, said he is freer to
^ express the truth of Jesus than
chaplains of non-religious
based organizations are.
“They minister more
to non-Christians, so the
things they can do are
limited,” Rigney said.
Rigney said he
has felt drawn to the
position of chap
lain since he was a
freshman in BCA.
It took three years
for him to mature
enough and to
grow enough for
God to put him in
the position, Ri
gney said.
He said that one
of his growing con
cerns regarding re
ligious organizations
such as BCA is that
membership may be
come a replacement for
church attendance.
“A problem in the past
with (these organizations) is
they pull away from the church.
People come and get involved with
them, but they can’t relate to the people in
the church,” he said.
Rigney said his goal in BCA is to provide spiritual direction for
See Faith on page 4
GRACit Arenas • THE BATTALION
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