Pastor, military chaplain, lawyer, congressman: Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has already lived many lives. He recently sat down with CBN News National Security Correspondent Caitlin Burke, taking a look back at how God used past seasons in his life to prepare him for his current mission.
Caitlin Burke: Could you ever have predicted the path you would end up on?
Sec. Doug Collins: Things come in seasons, and I think everything builds upon that preparation. If you’d have told me, you know, back when I was pastoring a little church in Gainesville, Georgia, would I be, you know, overseeing the V.A. with 400,000 people? Probably not. But lessons that I learned there, prepared me for what I do here and all along the line, so I just encourage everybody, bloom where you’re planted. It’s amazing what you learn.
Burke: How have all of those different life experiences of your past, along with your faith, shaped the leadership style that you have, and your vision for the V.A.?
Sec. Collins: For me, it was just, you know, I learned how to deal with people, how to handle problems, how to think differently. Be compassionate, listen, but also fight, and not back down on issues that matter, and do so in a way though, that at the end of the day, we can still find ways to find some agreement…The faith aspect is like my glasses that I wear. It’s just how I see everything.
Burke: What was behind the decision to join the military as a chaplain?
Sec. Collins: It was something I wanted to do, that service aspect…But it’s always been something in my family. My dad was in the National Guard. I was, you know, it was something I was drawn to. I thought I was going to possibly go earlier, and career, but I think, again, as we said earlier, the season of life was not ready yet; and then being able to go in and minister in an environment like that is, it’s just a unique challenge.
Burke: I was surprised to learn that you were actually still a military chaplain. Can you talk about why it was important for you to continue that, even as you’ve bloomed in other areas?
Sec. Collins: It’s a sense of camaraderie. It’s a sense of belonging. It’s a sense of something bigger than yourself.
Burke: Many veterans face not just physical wounds, but invisible wounds. How are you looking to address veteran suicides?
Sec. Collins: The V.A. needs to be a bigger role than just simply an organization that talks about this. We’ve also got to encourage veterans to remember where they came from and their services. You don’t leave anybody behind. Well, what happened to that after we got out? Are we still, do we still keep in contact with our friends…It’s a whole cultural awareness that these are real issues. PTS is a real issue, TBI, brain injury, moral injury, these things are real.
Burke: Another action your office has taken that I’m sure hits close to home for you, you recently took action to prevent a Pennsylvania V.A. hospital, and also any nationwide going forward, from censoring its chaplains. Can you talk about why you felt you needed to do this?
Sec. Collins: For me, it was very simple. You’re not going to, if they’re preaching, they’re doing their services in their faith tradition, they’re going to do so regardless of who endorses them to be there. It’s very easy, just a reminder of who we are and that we’re not going to censor things when it comes to matters of faith.
Burke: What are some other actions you’ve taken so far that you’re proud of?
Sec. Collins: I think I’m proud of the focus from being about your organization to putting in the focus on the veteran again… We’re not a jobs agency. We’re not an employment group. We’re not a function of something in the government. We’re about service, and that’s service of our veterans. We only have one community clientele, that’s a veteran, and they’ve earned that benefit.
Burke: Do you believe God has placed a specific call on your life that has kind of seen you through each of these different careers? And how are you seeing that play out in this current role?
Sec. Collins: Yes, I mean, that’s without a doubt, I believe God’s calling on all of our lives, whether we acknowledge it or not, especially if you’ve accepted faith in Christ for what He did for us… we’re no longer ours. I think we, we tend to, I think sometimes, in faith, we look at it as something I’ve added on it as if a jacket or as a sticker, saying, ‘I’m a Christian.’ Now, well, from my faith perspective, and for others, it might be different, but for me, it was saying, ‘Okay, this is, you know, God’s in control.’ We sing the hymn, you know, ‘Have thine own way, Lord,’ but do we really mean it?
So I think the calling is important, and that calling is different. For some, it could be a very audible calling. It could be, you’re driving down the road and, you know, you hear, you feel that voice, or you hear that voice. For some, it is the opportunities opened up. So for me, it is saying, ‘Okay,’ this is what as I start most every day, you know, out of the gym and into my quiet times. It’s just, ‘Hey, God, what do you want today?’ You know it is, ‘Let the…words my mouth and meditation my heart, be pleasing to you.’
Burke: When you leave this role, how do you hope to leave the V.A.?
Sec. Collins: Better than where I found it. To make a difference. Simple as that.
