HAMPTON, Va. (BP)–Jeni Cook, 43, became the first Southern Baptist and the first woman named as director of the National Chaplain Center in Hampton, Va., on March 1.
Appointed by Togo West, U.S. secretary of veterans affairs, Cook will oversee all chaplain work for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide.
“I am honored to be in this position and still catching my breath,” Cook said from her Virginia office. “I received the call and within three weeks my family moved from Dallas to Virginia. It has been a whirlwind, but I felt the hand of God on our lives during the entire process.”
Her husband, Ray Furr, left his position as head of the office of communications with the Southern Baptist Annuity Board in the move. Furr had been on the Annuity Board staff since 1981.
Cook previously was chief of chaplain service with VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, where she was on staff 14 years. She has worked in federal service for 16 years — 14 years through the VA system and two years as a chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Fort Worth.
“I am a federal employee blessed with endorsement from the Southern Baptist Convention,” Cook said. “I deeply believe in the Baptist principle of religious liberty and attempt to honor this commitment daily in my ministry.
“When people are ill, often their normal defenses are failing and they are more willing to discuss their spiritual needs. Chaplains are available to assist patients with spiritual support during times they need it most,” she said.
In her new position, Cook oversees the work of more than 650 VA-employed chaplains nationwide. She comes to the position at a critical time in health care.
“The chaplain ministry is facing a major challenge,” Cook said. “As hospitals look for ways to reduce costs, some administrators are eliminating chaplains. This is a tragic mistake and disservice to our patients and their families. Chaplains provide critical, spiritual care during times of crisis.
“Hospital chaplains have specific training to meet and work with people in crisis situations,” she continued. “Chaplains are also part of the total medical team working with staff and patients to improve health and well-being.”
Cook noted that current research shows that spirituality and pastoral care have a measurable impact on mental and physical health.
“Science is discovering what we have known for a long time. A healthy spirit contributes to the prevention of disease and the recovery from illness.
“We can reduce resources or eliminate chaplain services, but we cannot eliminate the spiritual needs and the impact these needs have on people. There must be a spiritual and moral emphasis in the hospital setting,” she said.
Cook received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Oklahoma; her master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.; and her doctor of ministry degree from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas.
She was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister in Oklahoma in 1980 by her home church, First Baptist of Enid.
“My calling to the ministry as a chaplain is a clear one, but a calling that I believe God shared kindly and slowly,” she said. “There were no female role models in clergy positions when I graduated from college, but my father was attending seminary and his interest and enthusiasm sparked my interest.
“I entered seminary with a plan to become a Christian counselor. However, the Lord led me in a different direction as I took other courses and received CPE (clinical pastoral education) training,” she said.
“I love chaplain work and believe it fulfills my calling. It is very rewarding work, and it is a special honor to serve our nation’s veterans.”
Quoting a stained glass window in her new office, Cook said, “‘American Veterans are God’s gift to us. Freedom is their gift to the world.'”
Cook and her husband have two children.
Armstrong is a writer in Dallas.
