Making Christian decisions in the gray areas of military life

Matters of conscience, Part 1:

What does it look like for a Christian military officer to navigate the space between what's legally permissible and what's wise? 

In Part 1 of this two-part series, CH(CPT) Chris Erickson, USA, an active-duty Army chaplain serving with 1-41 Infantry Battalion at Fort Carson, Colo., and LTC Lee Robinson, USA, an Army aviator and West Point professor who directs the American Politics Program, join host Josh Jackson to explore matters of conscience—those gray areas where Scripture doesn't hand you a policy memo. 

Using real-world examples from their own service, including a moment on a flight line after two soldiers were killed in combat, Chris and Lee unpack how military leaders can develop a principled, faith-informed framework for decisions about expressing belief in uniform.

This episode is worth hearing if you are trying to navigate the space between religious liberty, leadership responsibility, and wise judgment in uniform, or if you have ever wondered: Should I do this—not just can I?

This is Lee’s third time as a guest on OCF Crosspoint. While it isn’t necessary to listen to his previous interviews, consider listening to both episodes since Chris and Lee will reference them at a few points. Listen here: 

• Navigating the wall of separation between church and state   
• Faithful Leadership: You won’t get this perfect—and that’s OK 

 

Questions answered and themes covered in this interview include: 

 

What's the difference between what's legal and what's right for a Christian military leader?

A matter of conscience goes beyond what's legal—it's the harder question of what should be done. Consider Jefferson's 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists to as a way to frame things: a matter of conscience involves a conviction that civil government has no real authority over, something arrived at through reason, study, and Scripture. Another consideration is this: law is always broad by necessity, so the Christian leader has to go "three or four steps deeper" than legality. The real question isn't am I allowed to do this? but what should be done? Romans 14:5 (ESV) frames the tension well: "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."
 
How should a Christian military leader share their leadership philosophy with a subordinate when it's rooted in their faith?

When a subordinate opens the door by asking, that's an invitation, but context still shapes how you walk through it. Robinson describes a moment in a hangar when a soldier asked about his leadership philosophy, which is rooted in his Christian faith. He shared the substance (servant leadership drawn from Scripture) without explicitly naming his faith, citing concern about using his position to compel belief, particularly with other soldiers nearby who hadn't entered the conversation. However, Erickson pushed back: when a soldier starts the conversation, that's a green light. He draws on his hospital chaplaincy experience, where the guiding principle was never to initiate faith conversations, but once someone opened the door, "that was kind of the green light for me to then share my hope or share where I come from." A shared principle when answering this question is this: let those you lead guide the conversation. A direct question from a soldier is different from a Bible on a desk or a prayer before a meeting with the latter making it difficult for a subordinate to lead that exchange in the first place.
 
How do I know when it's appropriate to express my faith as a military officer?

Three primary questions emerge as a practical test for military leaders:

1.    What is my motive? Am I seeking to promote my faith, or to genuinely serve the person in front of me?
2.    Is this a public or private conversation? Has someone specifically invited me into a personal exchange, or are others who didn't ask also listening?
3.    Could this—in fact or in perception—be viewed as using my position to compel others toward a belief?

Context and setting are also key. Ask, where am I? There's a meaningful difference between a hangar bay and the walk to a deployed chapel. Such situations can be "so situationally dependent," but working through these questions gives leaders a repeatable process rather than a reactive, in-the-moment guess. Here’s another approach: develop your theology of approach before you're ever in the moment: "Before you ever walked into that hangar, this is what I believe," said Erickson.
 
Is it ever appropriate for a Christian commander to pray with soldiers?

It depends on the circumstances, and even then it warrants honest reflection afterward. Robinson describes standing on a flight line after two soldiers were killed by enemy fire, looking into the faces of 38 people who "needed more." With no prior intention to pray, he offered a non-denominational prayer, but prefaced it by telling the formation: "If you're not a praying person, I certainly respect that, and you are welcome to not engage in this with me." Reflecting back, he says he would make the same call again given those specific circumstances, but he also notes he never prayed as a battalion commander; that was the chaplain's role. Erickson affirms the instinct while clarifying this distinction: Robinson wasn't promoting his faith; he was providing comfort through his faith. "Those people shared your need for comfort in that moment and received comfort from you—ironically through your religious beliefs." The motive, not the act itself, is what matters.
 
How does a Christian officer lead people who don't share their faith?

Romans 14:12 (ESV) anchors the answer: "Each one of us will give account of himself to God." Every person—soldier and commander alike—stands individually before God, and that shapes how a leader holds the faith of those they lead. Erickson frames it this way: his approach as a battalion chaplain to more than 600 soldiers—most of whom don't share his faith—is rooted in the conviction that "I don't have to convince you to share my faith in order for me to provide comfort." Robinson adds that modeling religious pluralism within a formation (keeping personal religious expression in appropriate spaces rather than the workplace) is itself a form of witness: "Religious pluralism is our greatest moral argument to the world." The goal isn't silence about faith. It's stewardship of the platform.