Decades ago, while working for the federal government, Tom Seals was sent overseas to meet with a man that his department was trying to recruit. The mission proved to be unsuccessful professionally, but profoundly life-changing for Seals on a personal level.
“He was a clergyman, and I was so impressed by him, the way he spoke and how he carried himself,” says Seals, a Nashville native and Bellevue resident. “I was so impressed by his lifestyle that I couldn’t recruit him. Instead, he recruited me. That’s how I became a Christian.”
It marked the beginning of the end of Seals’ career in government service. “I enlisted in the Marines after graduating from high school, then continued to work for the government after that. But I couldn’t do it anymore,” he says.
Seals turned his attention to education and the ministry. He earned degrees from Lipscomb University and Wesley Seminary and in 1999, at the age of 59, received a DMin degree from Memphis Theological Seminary. He’s been a pulpit minister in several states and recently retired from Lipscomb where he served as a professor for 28 years.
While teaching at Lipscomb, Seals led a class that addressed the spiritual needs of America’s veterans. In 2016, he published God’s Word For Warriors, a book that served as a text for the course. Shortly thereafter, he founded a nonprofit corporation by the same name. Today, at the age of 85, Seals serves as president of God’s Word For Warriors (GWFW) which has its office at 912 Harpeth Valley Place in Bellevue.
Seals recently welcomed Laurel Bowman as his executive assistant. Though not a veteran, Bowman was raised by her grandfather who served in the military for 25 years. “That’s where my passion for outreach to military veterans was born,” she says. “I became a nurse and cared for veterans and when I married, my father-in-law was a Vietnam veteran. He found it difficult to apply for and receive his benefits. It was traumatizing for him but I was able to help him navigate through that process.”
That experience inspired her to form VetLinx, a foundation that helps veterans, like her father-in-law, access their benefits.
“Veterans have access to tremendous resources including medical care and other services, but the army is not equipped to treat spiritual injuries,” Seals says. “Their salvation lies in the camaraderie that they share in combat and with their fellow veterans. They have a mission, they work as a team and they do it together. It’s why so many volunteer for multiple deployments. Then, when they come home it can be difficult to open up.
“Veterans don’t ask for help, but they come home, and no one understands their culture, so they shut down. And that’s the worst thing they can do.
At GWFW, Seals and Bowman address the spiritual component by hosting a series of events and classes throughout the year. In each class, where attendance is capped at 15, students are encouraged to speak about their personal stories and, in doing so, their spiritual needs begin to be met.
Other educational events include a luncheon on the second Tuesday of each month at Lawson High School.
“Most veterans keep stories to themselves that even their spouses haven’t heard,” says Seals. “But they come to this class and they open up to each other. Because they’ve been there. And that’s where the healing starts.”
When necessary, GWFW will connect veterans with professional counselors who Seals knows personally.
GWFW is non-denominational, but it is upfront about the spiritual component and its religious foundation. “I always told my students at Lipscomb, and I do the same here, ‘the standard has to be God’s word,’” says Seals. “My understanding of that word is not the standard. You search it out for yourself. We do not tell people what they need to believe or how to believe.”
Most classes and meetings are held at VFW posts, libraries or similar community centers. Veterans can register for the class for a nominal fee, plus the cost of God’s Word For Warriors, which serves as the class text. Proceeds from the book go directly to GWFW, not to Seals, who is not paid by the organization.
“I’m 85. What am I going to do with money?” he quips.
Additional information, including a donation portal, is available at GodsWordForWarriors.org.