The Rev. Don Muchow spent much of his adult life as a U.S. Navy Chaplain, eventually heading up the Navy’s chaplain’s corps. Listen as Adm. Muchow discusses his service with host Pastor Dave Schultz. He says, "I am but a pencil in the hand of God, able to write the Good News of the Gospel."

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Ministries. Welcome to engaging truth, the manifestation of God's word and the lives of people around us. Join us each week. As we explore the impact of his message of spiritual renewal from the lesson of forgiveness forwards in the crucible of divorce, to the message of salvation by an executioner, from a condemned killer to the gift of freedom found in the rescue of victims of human trafficking. This is God's truth in action.

Good evening. This is Dave Schuler host for the program engaging truth. And I have a wonderful guest lined up for this evening whom I have known for a long time. And we served together at one of the churches in the, in the, uh, Houston area. Welcome to my friend, pastor Don Mako. Welcome

To David. Be with you. Good to be with you.

Um, I'd like to just tell the folks what we're gonna be doing, and then we'll proceed to it. The month of, of, um, July is set aside as declaration freedom. Um, the declaration of independence, freedom for us is people of this country, but there are three things that we really want to talk about. First of all, the freedom that we have in Christ, the freedom that we have as citizens of this country and freedom that we have as citizens of this state. And so I welcome to, um, the Mike this evening, pastor Don Mako, who is also, um, a Navy chaplain, the chief of chaplains for many years. I'd like to have you just say, pat, what was it that brought you from a full-time ministry into chaplaincy to begin with?

Well, David, it's good to be with you and thanks for this opportunity to address you and the, and your listening audience. Uh, it actually happened, uh, the military ministry was far from my mind until two members of my church in Richmond, Virginia, where I served back in the middle sixties, invited me to, uh, conduct a, uh, brief devotional service, one Christmas Eve. They were lacking a chaplain at the reserve center in Richmond. So I accepted it gladly and went. And all of a sudden the hook got in my mouth. I went home to my wife. I said, you know, those people dress up pretty nice down there. . And I said, uh, one of my classmates had also just recently joined the army reserve and was excited about the opportunities for ministry among people, a variety, certainly who never darkens, perhaps the front door of a church. And, um, so I think it was there that the spirit began to grab hold of me and, uh, direct me toward service to those in the sea services.

When you did retire from the chaplain sea, uh, as chief of chief of chaplains were the, um, for the Navy, what rank did you have at that particular point?

Well, it was a two star rank, which it is among all the services for the chief of chaplains. Uh, it's rear Admiral upper half is what they call it. And, um, however, the rank really isn't as important as the title chaplain for in the Navy, at least. And the Marine Corps you're known as the Padre or the pastor or the chaplain rather than being called by your rank.

When, when the time came for you to think in terms of doing that chaplaincy full time, what, what transpired up to that point in ministry that, that brought that about for you?

Well, I would say a couple of things. One, the, uh, work that I was doing in Richmond, Virginia had reached a point where it was, um, where there was strong leadership. And I, I didn't have a, uh, feeling of deep regret of leaving the congregation though. I loved them dearly and would've happily continued, but the Vietnam war was heating up. There was a shortage of clergy from our nation's faith groups to provide chaplains the arm services. And it was, uh, a call from our mission board that, uh, uh, certainly reinforced that need. And at that point, um, I, I said, yes, I will go and, and, um, do what I can.

Well, we're gonna talk about the freedoms now and just base. When you look at all the scripture passages to talk about freedom, uh, we begin by looking at freedom from God's condemnation to the forgiveness of sins, and secondly would be the freedom of self-determination. I don't have to feel guilty about the things for which I have been forgiven and freedom from the slavery, sin and freedom from fear and anxiety. And, and I have the freedom to pray, uh, and the freedom, the freedom to confess my sins and know that my sins will be forgiven. So these are all the freedoms, but, uh, pastor Don looking back 245 years to the beginning of this country, declaration of independence, do you think the forefathers knew the cost of freedom and what it was going to be for future

Years? They not only knew it, they paid it. I came across, uh, not too long ago, some information about the 56 signers of the declaration of independence. Uh, five of them were captured by the British tortured and killed. 12 of them had their homes, ransacked and burned, two lost their sons in the revolutionary war. And nine others fought and died in that same war for them. Freedom was certainly not free and they were totally committed totally in.

So what you're saying is that freedom does not mean free. It it's very costly. It was very costly and it is very costly today. Is it not?

It certainly is. And when, when you use the word freedom, there are three thoughts that, uh, enter my mind. First. There's a kind of freedom that leads into. People who think they have a license to, to anything. We usually end up putting them in prisons or jails. By the time we catch 'em, there's another kind of freedom that comes from discipline that allows you to be, it could do something that you couldn't do without that discipline. I'm thinking of, uh, sports athletes, for example, uh, the Olympics are coming up this year. People train diligently night and day in order to compete, and that gives them the freedom to exercise their body and their minds to accomplish that, which is, uh, given awards for there's a third kind of freedom. However, the one which you've already described, and that is freedom that comes as a gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ, freedom from sin, the consequences and power of it, freedom from the fear of death, because Jesus conquered death. Death has changed its uh, its dead end into a, a beginning because God has the last word now, not death itself. And he says with me, you will live. So, uh, those types of freedoms, uh, sometimes get to a few used in people's minds, but I found it helpful to keep those three somewhat, uh, separately in mind. But I guess

The joyous thing that you and I as pastors first of all can share is that there is a wonderful freedom that we have through the forgiveness of sins. There's a wonderful freedom that others have when they have confess their sin and receive the decoration of forgiveness. Uh, that to me is so special because in all the years I've been in ministry and many years that you've been in ministry, you can see the light of the gospel and what that freedom provides and the eyes of people whose hearts have been touched. Can you just give me a, an insight into maybe an experience that you've had, um, both in military and as a pastor to see that, that eye, the, see the scale call from the eye of, of someone who has been trapped in their own personal freedom, but now comes to see the freedom that Christ offers.

I'm thinking today about the old Testament lesson yesterday in church, which was, uh, Genesis chapter 50. And when the, when the brothers of Joseph had, had, had asked for his forgiveness, uh, Joseph, it said wept, you know, and sometimes, sometimes when we hear the confession of people's lives or we see the scales fall from the eyes, it also brings the tears to our eyes as pastors because of the fact that we can't explain that it's only the holy spirit who is doing that work and making a difference. Talk about that for just a second pastor.

Well, I always loved one of the words that, uh, uh, was shared with me. It was that I am, uh, I'm but a, but a, uh, pencil in the hand of God who, uh, am able to write good news and, um, liberation and freedom from sin, Satan hell itself. Um, and that is, uh, and that's my function as a follower in the, of it's a, it's that kind of a, of a mission that, uh, takes hold and gives me great joy at the same time, realizing it's an incredible sort of privilege. Let me

Just take a moment and break here to talk a little bit about who we are for the listening audience. Uh, evangelical lies. Life ministry is really the mother of our particular program, engaging truth. We've done this for going on almost, uh, 12 years, each week, trying and attempting find the best guest we can find in the world who can articulate the truths of the gospel in such a way that it brings a special light, uh, to those who are listening and somewhere in the world today, uh, someone will hear a message that we do. Someone will have heard, um, the thought of who Jesus is for the first time and what he has done for us. And just to let you know that that this is free, we offer what we do free. There is no cost to what we do, uh, other than just to pay for the, the electronics and the, and the commitment that we have to, to make sure this gets on the air.

All of the people that we have as volunteers do all this for nothing, but if you'd like to support us, first of all, support us with prayer and write us and tell us on, I'll give you an address that you can give or that you can provide. And that address is E L M that's even angelical life ministry, PO box 5 68, Cypress, Texas, 77, 410, not only prayer, but you can support us through that lifeline as well, or go to our website E LM, houston.org, and look for the donate button. And there you can follow through and help us as well. Pastor John, I want to just broach another subject right now, but really it deals with this whole area of true freedom, the freedom we have in Christ and the freedom as citizens of this country. But there seems to be in my years in ministry in particular, uh, there's been an erosion of this freedom. Uh, it's been, it's been put on the back burner as not being as important as other things. I don't know if you've seen that the spiritual erosion, uh, or the physical erosion of, of the declaration of independence in people's, but in your years of experience, how would you define this erosion that we're taking place?

Well, I certainly sense a, uh, a decline in the, uh, impact of the Christian faith in our country. You and I, David probably grew up in a very, very different in terms of, of the, um, role of the church in the community, the, uh, uh, complimentary support that we received from the community itself, the schools, the administration of our towns and townships. But, um, I, I would say, uh, yes, uh, when you begin to, um, uh, look at false idols that are about us, whether it be consumerism, whether it be secularism, whether it be even socialism, uh, um, that's attracting apparently quite a few of our young people. I would say that, uh, all of those push God out of the center of life and, uh, pushing God out means that, uh, uh, he no longer has that, uh, influence in how we behave or care for one another.

I, uh, I truly feel that, uh, this is a time in our nation's history when we pastors and lay people alike, our believers, the followers of Jesus need to be bold to speak up, to pray fervently for their nation and to, uh, return back to God, the things that are truly God's, um, in, in life, uh, his mercy and grace toward us is always present, even if we're, uh, tuned away from it. So somewhere along the line, um, you know, in our, our history, we've had two major Bibles in the history of our land, in our history books. Talk about that. Um, I, I think we're right for another one. And, um, uh, I'm certainly looking and praying for that sort of change.

Well, I've, I've heard this so many times, uh, as we have done these interviews with people out to side of our own church body, they said the answer to all, this is another revival that the holy spirit stirs up the hearts and the minds of people once again, to see the value of the true freedom that we have and the forgiveness of sins, and that is in Jesus and Jesus alone. I've got a concern about, I've got a concern about our brothers, uh, both in ministry and those going into chaplaincy, or those in chaplaincy. We have one from St. John that just entered into chaplaincy in the last year within the Navy. What is, what is your, how can your concern for these young men, be it expressed in words, coming from a mind and a heart of, of a pastor and the chief of chaplains who goes way back 40, 50, 60 years?

Well, there are a couple of things. Uh, there's some, there's some good, good features of this ministry. I don't know, uh, uh, many types of ministry Christian ministry that would, uh, have you living with your people around the clock, both at work, at recreation and in the Navy or the sea services, certainly, uh, living inside the skin of a steel vessel for months at a time, the relationships and the bonding that takes place are really unique. It's an awfully good way in which you can share the, the, uh, life of Christ in word, indeed. I'm still pleased that our nation's department of defense has in place and has not tampered with, um, the types of protections that chaplains have to preach the gospel unidentified. Uh, occasionally there are cases where, uh, we hear in the paper and whatnot, where a chaplain is, uh, uh, uh, Chi or reprimanded for something, uh, and to find out when the case is taken to court, uh, he was fully in accord with, um, the directives and with the, uh, understanding of the first amendment and the, uh, uh, commanding officer or whoever brought the case, uh, has, has been, uh, rectified, um, I think, uh, of no better ministry for young adults today than that, which the military provides.

I think it's a wonderful place in which to share the love of Christ and the forgiveness of sins and the new life he promises

When we, when we peek around the corner. And there's nothing that we can really do to see around the corner. Um, you have thoughts about what, what might be around the corner for us, first of all, as a nation that's, um, living differently than it did, uh, just a few years ago when we, we began in ministry and the church itself, um, what do you see this thing looking like in the future?

I have, uh, I don't enter with fear. I, I always look at, uh, what some people might consider calamity as an opportunity. Instead. I always like the challenge, um, that, uh, with God, all things are possible with God's spirit. Uh, we are not alone in whatever the venture is. And, and, and I find that the word of God is more powerful than the word of humans. And for that, uh, reason I have, uh, uh, the not doomsday thoughts about what's around the next corner, I lay it into God's hands and, uh, know that he's never Rene on his promises and that he continues to be at our side.

And I, I refer back to the old Testament lesson yesterday, uh, story of Joseph and at, after seeing his brothers, he said that wonderful thing that you've just said, now, you may have meant this unto me for evil, but God has meant this unto me for good how wonderfully that takes place if we just observe and be patient. Well,

Also queen Ester said for just such a time as this, there, she was in order to help save her Jewish people. Tell me

Until the listening audience, what you're doing now, I know that you'll never stop preaching. Like I probably won't, but what else are you doing, pastor on?

Well, I'm not retired. I'm what I called refired for the last 11 years. I've been a chaplain to the Butta police department here in Texas three. And also, um, I'm serving a vacant congregation now about 15 miles from home. I've been doing that since Christmas on and off. Uh, still, still chugging along. God has blessed me with the, and my wife as well. And so we continue actually, my, my, my hero is Moses. Um, uh, he, he really got rolling in his eighties. and that's about where I'm at. pastor

Don, what is your greatest joy as you look back upon the pastoral ministry and chaplaincy in the Navy?

Well, its there are many joys, but probably the one that, uh, that comes to mind first is how marvelous it is that the word of God can transform the hearts of people and make a huge change in their life and in their future. Um,

What is the during truths that we need forever and always to be conscious as, as pastors and leaders in the community? Well,

Jesus said that he came to set us free, set us free from the things that have become a barrier between us and our heavenly father. Uh, he took care of that with his perfect life, his sacrificial death, his victory over death on Easter mourn and by his sending the spirit to be in our midst. I think that's primary. I think the truth, uh, truth comes from many directions these days. Everybody wants a, to have a relative idea of truth. I'm much more, um, turn toward the truth that God gives in his scripture as to how I live life and understand life.

I wanna say this has been a joyful opportunity for me to see and talk to a fellow pastor with whom I worked for a number of years, years ago. So I want to thank you pastor Don. We've got about, uh, 40 seconds left. Would you close us with prayer please?

Thank you, dear Lord. Great God of heaven and earth who charged the courses of our lives. We tiptoe into your presence. The first is remember out of your mercy, remember not our sin or our Rebell Lord rather forgive us and heal our fractured lives and lands, help us to member those who pledged and sacrificed their lives, fortunes futures, even their sacred honor on the alts of freedom, especially on this weekend. Do we ask that the second word, dear Lord is thanks. We render our thanks to you. Not only for the sacrifices of those who have gone before us, but for their willingness to pass on to us, the torch of freedom lead us to honor them by firmly holding that torch high and preserving that freedom. The third word Lord is blessed, blessed with courage and commitment protection, all those in uniform who in our stead March through foreign lay sail in harms way and fly in dangerous skies and this, oh Lord, we bring to you now help us to be blessed, to be thankful and remembering that the special freedom from sin, death and Satan, we receive through faith from the perfect life and sacrificial death and resurrection of your son can the our in Christ's name.

We pray. Amen. Thank you pastor

Don for being with us and be with us again next Sunday night on engaging truths. Goodnight. Thank you for listening to this broadcast of engaging truth. Be sure to join us each week at this time to help support our ministry, contact evangelical life ministries, post office box 5 6 8 site press Texas 77, 410 or visit our website Elm houston.org, or find us on Facebook evangelical ministries.