ATLANTA — Bob Vickers has “left” his position as director of chaplaincy evangelism at the North American Mission Board (NAMB), according to a statement issued by NAMB Vice President John Yarbrough.
Others familiar with the situation, however, contend Vickers was forced to resign because he did not enforce stringently enough NAMB’s newly tightened doctrines on female chaplains and chaplains with divorce in their backgrounds.
NAMB acts as the SBC’s agent to endorse chaplains serving in the military, health care, prisons, business and industry. Most chaplains, although paid by the companies or government entities that use their services, must be endorsed by a religious body to be hired.
Last year, NAMB trustees announced they no longer would endorse female chaplains who have been ordained, even though the military and other organizations require all chaplains to be ordained for their roles. NAMB and its Chaplains’ Commission also reportedly have been giving more scrutiny to applicants who have experienced divorce, even if the divorce occurred 15 or 20 years earlier.
Vickers had managed NAMB’s chaplaincy unit since May 1998. He had been director of military chaplaincy two years prior to that.
Neither NAMB nor Vickers are commenting on the circumstances of his departure.
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