Several news outlets are picking up on the controversy surrounding Army Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, the new deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, and his anti-Islamic evangelism. The LA Times, for example, urges Donald Rumsfeld to “retire the Pentagon’s self-proclaimed crusader before he does more damage.”
One thing the media has missed, so far, is that this flap isn’t Boykin’s first foray into a church-state controversy.
Earlier this year, my friends at Americans United for Separation of Church and State discovered that Boykin was misusing the military facilities and personnel at Ft. Bragg, N.C., for — you guessed it — a Southern Baptist evangelist program.
In the early-Spring, promotional materials were sent to select Southern Baptist pastors to invite them to a “once in a lifetime opportunity”: unprecedented access to a key U.S. military base for the Southern Baptists’ “Super FAITH Force Multiplier” evangelism program.
A March 3 letter to clergy from the Rev. Bobby H. Welch, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., said, “I am writing to you about a once in a lifetime opportunity to join a group of warriors at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, NC. Major General William G. ‘Jerry’ Boykin has personally invited you and a select group of other FAITH Pastors to join him April 22nd and 23rd…. You can be absolutely guaranteed you will never, ever have this type of opportunity again! You will go with General Boykin and Green Beret instructors to places where no civilians and few soldiers ever go.”
Welch’s letter also explained the purpose of the gathering at Ft. Bragg “It is believed by you, me and others that we must find a group of men who are warriors of FAITH, pastors who have the guts to lead this nation to Christ and revival!” Welch said.
An information sheet about the Southern Baptist event said clergy participants would spend the night of April 22 on post at Ft. Bragg. Other activities included a stop at Command Headquarters (described as “one of the most heavily secured areas at Ft. Bragg”), a Special Forces demonstration of “today’s war fighting weapons” (with “live fire/real bullets”), a visit to the “Shoot House” to learn how “Special Forces attack the enemy inside buildings (live fire/real bullets)” and a speech by Gen. Boykin along with informal time with him.
A promotional flier produced by the Southern Baptist Lifeway Ministry described Boykin as a devout Christian who strongly supports the FAITH outreach program. According to the materials, Boykin has told FAITH participants that “the way they are trained is like the concept of Special Forces training – one person trains 100, who in turn can train 10,000. It’s a forced multiplier training.”
In other words, an Army general — Boykin — was offering military resources and an entire base to promote and advance Christian evangelism.
I appreciate Boykin’s career as a military officer, but it appears that he may want to consider employment outside the Army. Maybe a pastoral position behind a pulpit would better suit his interests.