1st Edition

Being a Crisis Chaplain Delivering Help and Healing in Critical Scenarios

By Sidney Dekker, Lance Mergard Copyright 2025
100 Pages
by Routledge

100 Pages
by Routledge

100 Pages
by Routledge

Being a Crisis Chaplain delivers the essential elements of crisis chaplaincy, outlining the process of responding to crises with clarity and compassion. Drawing from real‑world experiences and research, this is a concise but comprehensive toolkit for navigating the delicate aftermath of crises. Chapters explore ways to triage emotional, cognitive, and spiritual needs, from the raw shock and... Read more

1. What is a critical crisis?  2. Why critical crisis chaplaincy  3. Who becomes a critical crisis chaplain?  4. The crisis response  5. Things you may encounter  6. Critical crisis and trauma  7. Crisis aftercare  8. Crisis Chaplain Self-care

 

Biography

Sidney Dekker, MA, MSc, PhD, is a professor and the director of the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.

Lance Mergard, OAM, is the founder and chief chaplain of ChaplainWatch in Brisbane, Australia.

"A valuable combination of academic perspectives, pragmatic advice, and personal insights into a specialised aspect of chaplaincy. For too long chaplaincy has been thought of as a generic component of ministry. This book shatters this myth, outlining the core elements of crisis chaplaincy and calling for a rethink of approach and actions. The authors make a compelling case for the relationship between a critical crisis and spiritual issues that might arise out of a crisis. This book should be mandatory reading for all chaplains and the authors are to be commended for their pioneering work."

Reverend Mark Vincent, St Paul’s Anglican Church, East Brisbane, and author of Social Media Is Not Enough