For the past eight years, we have been delighted to have Zach Maloney serve as a regular contributor to the Helwys Society Forum. June 2022 marked the end of Zach’s time as a regular contributor as he focuses more on his work as a hospice chaplain. Therefore, we wanted to use this post to highlight some of Zach’s contributions to the site and show our gratitude for his work before taking a hiatus for about a month.
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My relationship with Zach began when we were both students at Welch College training for pastoral ministry. Even then, when Zach was a college freshman, I could sense his deep love for Christ and His church. Zach has served in a local church ministry capacity in North Carolina, and he has provided spiritual care for those in suffering and their families. He has performed this latter duty by serving as a hospital chaplain in Kentucky and now as a hospice chaplain in Ohio where he brings the hope of the gospel to those in need.
Zach’s heart for the physically ill and their families through hospital and hospice chaplaincy is apparent throughout many of his essays, particularly those within the last few years. In “What Working in a Hospital Has Taught Me About God,” Zach reflects on the unique insight the Lord has given him through his service in a local hospital. At that time, Zach served as a chaplain in the trauma center of a hospital. He noted how he regularly had the opportunity to direct those dealing with traumatic experiences to recognize the Lord’s omnipresence and His deep awareness of our hurts and needs.
In “Preparing for a Funeral,” Zach turns to pastors to give some recommendations for serving families through funerals. With great skill and compassion, Zach encourages readers to give space to the grieving, communicate the hope of the gospel, and continue to minister to hurting families after the funeral.
These examples are just a few of many of how Zach has faithfully served hurting families during times of great need and then tried to help our readers learn from his valuable experience. We are grateful for Zach’s insight.
–Jesse Owens
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As has been the story with other contributors of the HSF, I also met and befriended Zach while in college with him at Welch. We were both studying pastoral ministry and theological studies and found ourselves taking numerous courses together. Suffice to say, we found much in common—not only theologically but also personally.
Much can be said about Zach. He is kind and has a good sense of humor. Zach is a bit of an old soul. His jokes are funny, in the same way your dad’s or granddad’s jokes are funny. But, in the same way, his kindness and care have the sense of years beyond his age. He cares deeply for people, which has become abundantly clear through his writings and vocation. He is willing and able to enter the difficult points of people’s lives and minister to them there. It is in those areas that he seeks to engage with God’s special revelation.
I think Zach’s desire to think practically, thoughtfully, and critically about the real world is demonstrated in his article, “Worldview, Ethics, and Engaging the Culture.” Although many topics quickly come to mind at this intersection (e.g., bioethics, sexuality, and gender), Zach seeks to explore the foundational ideas that are utilized, considering issues related to meta-ethics. He asks how one’s worldview inform the summum bonum or “highest good.” Thus, by exploring the meta-ethic of the Christian and how that ethic is informed by his or her worldview, the Christian is rightly prepared to engage practically with his or her surrounding culture. The article works as a helpful primer in a variety of ways, all the while being tied to living in the here and now.
–Christopher Talbot
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In addition to writing articles on ministering to the grieving and meta-ethics, he has also written consistently on the topics of ethics. For example, his piece, “Policemen, Paramedics, and Painters,” highlights the importance of the Reformed view of vocation, which ascribes honor to all legitimate jobs in Christ’s kingdom. In “Scripture and Decision-Making,” he “examines why every believer is called to Christ-centered ethical reasoning,” focusing on the importance of relying on the Scriptures.
A third example is his more recent piece, entitled “Finding God’s Will.” Having served in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Ohio, I observe in Zach a man who has constantly sought God’s face (Ps. 105:4) for life. A theme that we see throughout Zach’s essays and life is his reliance on God’s revealed Scriptures. Concerning finding God’s will, he says we should “start with God’s revealed will in the Scriptures” and then “look for God’s concealed will through the Scriptures.”
Zach has been with the HSF for a long time (more than eight years!) and published approximately 50 posts. He has been appreciated and will be sorely missed.
–Matthew Steven Bracey
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