U.S. Navy Chaplain Robert Christian, an alumnus of both New Orleans and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminaries, was recently promoted to the rank of rear admiral (lower half).
He was confirmed to the rank by President Donald Trump and the U.S. Senate and was promoted during a ceremony at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Va., on July 17.
Christian, who graduated NOBTS with a master of divinity in 1989 and a D.Min. from SWBTS in 1996, serves in a dual role as U.S. Navy deputy chief of chaplains and chaplain of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Rear-admiral (lower-half) is the second highest rank for U.S. Navy Chaplains. There hasn’t been an active-duty U.S. Navy Southern Baptist chaplain to earn the rank since 1970.
Strategic leadership
In this role, Christian will be providing strategic leadership for more than 500 different chaplains and other personnel representing nearly 200 different religions or faith groups. In the Navy alone, these chaplains attend to the spiritual needs of more than 300,000 active-duty service members.
“It’s very humbling to receive this rank, and I am honored to serve such great chaplains,” Christian said.
“I’ve always had an affinity for those in the military, and during my early years of ministry I discovered the military was the people group I was called to serve.”
Christian said serving in the military offers a unique opportunity for daily ministry.
“What’s different about military chaplaincy is that you are fully immersed in the world of service members,” he said.
“It’s almost like incarnational ministry. You are on the same ships, you do the same field exercises, you’re eating and sleeping next to these same people. You are able to experience their world, live life with them and talk about spiritual things with them. There is a lot of opportunity to talk about these things in these environments.”
Chaplain Major General Doug Carver (U.S. Army retired), executive director of chaplaincy for the North American Mission Board, explained the significance of Christian’s rank promotion and why he is the right man for the job.
“This is a big deal because he’s at the pinnacle of rank in the military as a chaplain,” Carver said.
“Rear Admiral Christian’s many years as a pastor made him unique when he began serving as a chaplain. I believe this has helped him greatly, and he has done extremely well in his military service.”
He noted, “He’s a very dynamic spiritual leader and has a great reputation as a humble servant leader. We are very proud of him and glad for the way he represents the Lord and Southern Baptists in this position.”
On campus or in community
Christian, a native of Louisiana, said attending NOBTS helped prepare him for his future ministry serving the military.
“I enjoyed the deep theological conversations among my fellow students at NOBTS, whether it was on-campus or in the community,” Christian said. “That was really helpful to me as I sorted through some theological topics. My time at NOBTS taught me how to have a dialogue about faith with others.
“NOBTS excelled in emphasizing evangelism from multiple approaches. It opened my mind to think outside the box in bringing the hope of the Gospel to whatever community you live in.
“When I sensed a call to vocational ministry, that call was coupled with a call to minister outside of the local church. NOBTS expanded our thinking to find practical application in a missional context as well. These hours of instruction were helpful for my 10 years of local church ministry, but they have also been helpful for the breadth of assignments I experienced within the military.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Timothy Cockes and originally published by Baptist Press.
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