CIU Today Fall 2017

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me the action officer for all religious
matters on the Joint staff.”
Dabeck had what he calls “a pretty cool
job” serving in another joint position as
senior chaplain in Afghanistan for all U.S.
and NATO special operations, when he
got the call to move to Washington.
“I was pretty excited and honored that
our chief of chaplains thought well
enough of my faithfulness to be able to
take this position,” Dabeck said.
He describes his current job as “a lot
more planning and strategizing for how
you take care of soldiers, enabling and
training those below you to be the boots
on the ground” and sums it up with,
“We’re taking care of those who take
care of soldiers.”
STILL A PERSONAL
MINISTRY
And even though he now has a desk job
far from battle lines, personal ministry
continues. Sometimes that includes
performing weddings or delivering an
invocation at a promotion or retirement
ceremony.
“Almost every other day, I have a Joint
Staff officer come in for counseling about
their marriage, about their career or their
family.” Dabeck adds.
At a time when the United States is
culturally more secular, Dabeck says
the chaplain is still an honored and
important person to the men and women
in uniform. He says he is respected and
greeted by those he meets as he walks
the halls of the Pentagon with a silver
cross pinned to his shirt.
“Every day when I put on this uniform,
I’m reminded that I serve a living Savior,”
Dabeck said. “Service members love
their chaplains because they know we
take care of them, we take care of their
families, and we’re with them every step
of the way no matter where they go.”
CIU VALUES
Dabeck says the education and spiritual
formation that he received at CIU
prepared him for his responsibilities at
the Pentagon.
“CIU gave me a love for my Savior, a love
for His word, and a love for His world,”
Dabeck said. “Every day I live based off
of those values in my marriage, in my
family, in my job.”
And that is something Dabeck passed
along to others. Not only did Dabeck
earn his bachelor’s and seminary degree
at CIU, he served as CIU director of
recruitment from 1990-2000, a job he
apparently did well even at home. His
son John is a CIU student in the Five Year
Master of Divinity program.
“I would tell prospective students your
walk with Christ is central and essential,”
Dabeck said. “There is no substitute. My
son reaffirms that is still the spirit of the
school – the vitality of your relationship
with Jesus Christ.
“The professors genuinely lived that out
each day,” Dabeck continued, his voice
rising with excitement. “That’s what I
loved most. The professors loved the
Lord and they set the environment for
the rest of us as students, to follow them
as they follow Christ.”
CENTER OF GOD’S WILL
Just like his professors, Dabeck is also
leaving a godly impression on others. In
the summer of 2015, one of his former
commanders, Col. David Snodgrass,
passed away unexpectantly at age 49.
“Every day when
I put on this
uniform, I’m
reminded that
I serve a living
Savior.”
While Snodgrass and Dabeck were
close friends, Dabeck didn’t know that
Snodgrass’ military records directed that
Dabeck perform his friend’s funeral in
Tennessee, and his interment at Arlington
National Cemetery.
“That’s the great part about this job is
being used by the Lord to take care of
His people, from before deployment
to after deployment to the end of their
career,” Dabeck concluded.
“I love it. I absolutely love it. This is what
God had been preparing our family for
all along. It’s a delight to be in the center
of God’s will.”
Discover where a Master of Divinity in
Chaplaincy may take you. Contact CIU at
or (800) 777-2227.
CIU Alumnus
Develops
Course for
New Army
Chaplains
Applying classroom training to
realistic environments
Chaplain (Maj.) Andrew K. Arrington
is concerned that new Army chaplains
are ready to minister to the troops
beginning with their first assignment.
That’s why the CIU alumnus has assisted
in the restructuring of the Chaplain Basic
Officer Leader Course (CHBOLC), an
intensive outcomes-based, entry-level
training process for new chaplains and
chaplain candidates who apply classroom
training to realistic environments.
Arrington graduated from CIU in 2005
with a Master of Divinity degree. Today,
he works out of the U.S. Army Chaplain
Center and School at Fort Jackson in
Columbia, South Carolina.
(Photo: U.S. Army)
13 CIU Today
FROM CIU TO THE PENTAGON