Podcast Blog: S5, E11 - Rachel Coggins, Ministering to Soldiers

A military chaplain can find themselves embedded with troops near a war's front lines. In the midst of life-and-death situations, the chaplain brings light, comfort, and faith.

Retired Army chaplain Rachel Coggins played this role for 25 years. In her book, "Gateway to Iraq," she shares stories of serving soldiers headed to and from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait. On this episode of the Practical Faith Academy podcast, Coggins discusses what it’s like to be a military chaplain, how she helped soldiers entering and exiting war zones, and what we can learn from the faith and lives of soldiers. Coggins also shares her own tips for living a daily, practical faith and talks about her new book on Turkey's prominent roles in the Bible.

Highlights of the podcast:

2:47 What does seven-day practical faith mean to Coggins

4:13 How she and her husband both became military chaplains in different service branches

8:35 How military chaplaincy is different and how the chaplain is integral to a unit and its commander

14:02 Was the emotional toll harder for soldiers entering or exiting the Iraq war zone?

17:52 How Coggins, as a female chaplain, represented both Mom and God to the troops

19:09 What we can learn from the faith journeys of military personnel

24:10 Her favorite part of her book, “Gateway to Iraq”

27:45 Coggins’ view on volunteerism’s role in Christian faith

31:48 The hardest part about putting faith into practice

32:33 Her best tip for developing and maintaining a seven-day practical faith

34:46 How to find Rachel Coggins’ books

The Practical Faith Academy podcast can now be played directly on the Cecil Taylor Ministries website at https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com/podcast. While on the site, please check out everything Cecil Taylor Ministries offers, including our Instant Content books and video studies for individual learners, small groups, and churches.

The episode is also available on major podcast platforms (Apple, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, YouTube) and hosted on Podbean. Search on each platform for "Practical Faith Academy."