A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E S A LVAT I O N A R M Y S O U T H ER N T ER R I TO R Y
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ISSUE 6
A MIRACLE WROUGHT IN FAITH Joel Rogers’ Story of Survival
BY ERIC SHORT December 13, 2023, was just another day at the office for Joel Rogers, Christian education director for the Chattanooga, TN Area Command. He was overseeing the annual Angel Tree distribution day at the Cleveland Corps, one of his favorite events of the year, with families picking up Christmas gifts for their children. But by the end of the day, Joel’s life had drastically changed course to an unexpected fight for survival. It started with just a feeling of being a little off and fatigued. Joel brushed it off as a lack of sleep from pre-event anxiety. But soon, excruciating lower back pain set in. “My back was on fire, I knew something was wrong,” Joel recalls. He alerted his wife Cheryl that he needed to go to the emergency room immediately. By the time they arrived at the local hospital, Joel’s heart was palpitating rapidly. Despite administering heavy pain medications, nothing could dull the agonizing pain he was experiencing. Tests like EKGs and X-rays couldn’t pinpoint the issue, except for an alarming grey area on the backside of his heart. Joel had suffered an aortic dissection, a life-threatening condition which can have a mortality rate as high as 40 percent. The doctors knew they were ill-equipped to handle Joel’s escalating condition. He needed
Joel Rogers leaves physical therapy after 129 days of hospitalization and rehabilitation.
to be immediately transferred to the advanced heart facility at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga. The situation was so dire that the doctors warned Cheryl she may need to say goodbye, as they weren’t sure he would survive the medical transport.
In those shocking moments, Joel maintained remarkable spiritual peace, even praying over the panicked medical staff tending to him. “Lord, give them peace. Lord, help them,” he recounts praying. He also prayed for himself, his wife, and his 12-year-old daughter Eden. This became the first of many opportunities for Joel to share his faith during his harrowing medical ordeal. Joel did go into full cardiac arrest during the helicopter medevac to Chattanooga, having to be resuscitated by the air crew. Upon landing, he was rushed into 10 hours of emergency surgery, having to be revived three more times during the procedure. At one point, a doctor had to manually massage Joel’s heart for 20 minutes to keep it pumping. “Even though we got him here, he has less than a one percent chance. I just need you to be prepared,” was the devastating update the head surgeon gave Cheryl in the lobby packed with friends and family from the Cleveland Corps anxiously awaiting news. Cheryl maintained a brave face, initially carrying that heartbreaking revelation alone. But against all odds, with each passing hour of the marathon surgery, Joel’s chances at survival incrementally improved, until they had risen to 30 percent by its conclusion. Joel credits Dr. John Craig of the Chattanooga Heart Institute “Miracle...” continued on page 2
‘Key Stakeholders’ Consulted in Divisional Review Process BY KRISTIN MUDGE During Command Annual Review, or CAR, teams from Territorial Headquarters (THQ) travel to and review the eight divisions and two commands (Adult Rehabilitation Centers and Evangeline Booth College) which make up the Southern Territory. This yearly process allows territorial leadership to check in with each division, getting an overview of what is happening at all levels of ministry, what concerns they may have, and where THQ can better provide resources. Commissioner Kelly Igleheart, southern territorial commander, tells us when the territory launched the new Territorial Priorities in October 2023, leadership recognized they also needed a strategic plan to measure and facilitate those priorities. This led to a revision of the CAR process, as well as the corps Battle Plan review process. “Those three things (CAR, Battle Plan, and the Territorial Priorities) need to align so that they’re speaking a common language and there is a common direction,” Commissioner Kelly explains. “We live in a day and age where transparency and accountability are more important to all people,” he continues, stating that leadership desires to elevate that transparency and accountability across key stakeholders— field officers, soldiers, and employees of the divisions. “The ‘key stakeholders’ idea really stems from the territorial review that IHQ (International Headquarters) conducts,” Commissioner Kelly says. Territorial headquarters are historically reviewed every three years, but a few years ago, IHQ instituted a halfway check-up visit, which they call a “support visit.” Seeing the benefits of this revised model, leadership began to consider doing something similar at the divisional level.
Commissioners Kelly and Donna Igleheart, territorial commanders, and Colonel Deb Sedlar, chief secretary, with Texas divisional leaders Lt. Colonels Art and Ann Penhale during Texas’ Command Annual Review 2024.
The new method still includes a review of all eight divisions annually (because both commands are local visits they are conducted differently), but there are now four full reviews and four support visits every year. “They’re all continuing to be reviewed, but one year is comprehensive, and in the next we discuss concerns on emerging issues and the status of the command’s stated goals,” Commissioner Kelly explains. This means that only one THQ review team is needed for the full visits, made up of the territorial commander, the territorial president of women’s ministries, the chief secretary, and three section leaders from personnel, program, and business. “Key Stakeholders...” continued on page 10