For more than a year, an ACCTS Pray and Plan team has been developing an AMCF Biblical Ethics Training program to help military Christian personnel deal effectively with the ethical situations they have encountered, are encountering, and will encounter. The team has been meeting weekly and God is blessing their efforts to prepare military Christian leaders for the difficult decisions they will face in an increasingly secular world rife with unethical conduct.
The Ethics Training project may be viewed as a tree, with lessons plans on various aspects of ethics constituting the trunk, and a host of supporting materials being the branches. Lesson Plans developed to date cover such questions as:
· May a Christian serve in the military
· How can I know right from wrong
· How can I prepare for ethical dilemmas
· What are some common ethical problems I may encounter
· How do I make an appeal to authority against unethical conduct
· How should I deal with the “big” ethical issues
· If I make an unetical decsion, how can I recover
· What role should culture play in making ethical decisions
Other lesson plans have been created to address Just War Theory, Developing a Christian Worldview, Ethics and Evangelism, and Morals and Ethics for non-believers.
The categories of ethics materials to support the lesson plans are:
· A mission statement with objectives and core values
· Stories from young military Christian fellowship (MCF) leaders on the etical problemss they have faced
· Papers from senior military Christian leaders on various ethics topics
· A collection of noteworthy quotes from the weekly Pray and Plan devotional speakers
· A reading list of books suggested by those speakers
· A questionnaire for MCF leaders contemplating ethics training to help them assess their commitment and manage their expectations.
As the program matures, the materials are being made available on the ACCTS and AMCF websites for easy access by MCF members. They will also be organized to faciliate use as single lessons, day long presentations, multi-day seminars, and Ethics Conferences. A basic lesson plan of Biblical Ethics has also been included in the AMCF Reference Handbook, and Ethics will be part of the curriculum of the upcoming AMCF Interaction event for military Christian leaders.
Pray that the the Lord will continue to guide and bless the members of the Pray and Plan team, and the military Christians around the world who will participate in the training. Ask that the Lord will prepare the hearts and minds of those who will teach, and those who will learn about Biblical Ethics to bring Him the honor and glory
