Charting the journey of a Salvation Army Cadet
As a football fan who supports Lincoln City there have been more depressing Saturday afternoon waiting for the final score than I care to remember! So imagine my joy when I come out of Sian’s bedroom after putting her to bed and look at the BBC Sport website to see that Lincoln have won 7-1 at home! Yes I did say 7-1!
As everyone else is at the Prayer Conference, I’m sharing you instead! :d
Now with everything that is going on in the world, especially in connection with the so-called “War on Terror” its not always that easy to feel much pride about being British.
Yesterday however was one day that I did. The Queen in visiting Latvia on a state visit at the moment as Zoe & I were invited to a special performance to celebrate co-operation in the field of social integration. Here the work that is being done behind the scenes, with virtually no publicity, was showcased to the Queen, Prince Philip and Latvia’s President.
It was great to see that as well as British investment in business, we are also involved in projects that make a real difference to the lives of people who are some of the most disadvantaged in Latvian society. From our wheelchair basketball players helping their Latvian counterparts, to dance choreographers working with deaf young people, Brits are giving up their time and talents to help those less fortunate than themselves.
Not the tinned ham, but the terrible all consuming rubbish that we get in our inbox. Being the recipient of all incorrectly addressed mail in The Salvation Army in Latvia I have received about 600 spam e-mails this week so far!
Today I open my Wordpress admin page for this blog to find the message that:
Akismet has protected your site against 5 spam comments
It took exactly one month and 2 days from the launch of this new domain for the spammers to track me down! 
Does The Salvation Army need to change in order to better meet the challenges of today’s society?
This seems to be the question that everyone seems to be asking in one way or another at the moment. Whether it be in terms of leadership style, mission style or the emphasis of holiness in our teaching, many bloggers (including myself) want the Army to change in some way or another!
Some embark on searches for the Salvationist DNA! Some insist that the Army will die in the West if our leadership style stays the same.
My thoughts at the moment are turning to the complex nature of The Salvation Army worldwide. If changes are made in the Western world how will that affect the growth of the Army in other areas of the world?
Do the demands of the post-modern, post-christendom culture we find in Europe mean that change has to be forced upon other areas of the world that have not yet come under the influence of these societal changes? If we change what happens when society changes when there is yet another paradigm shift in society?
Can The Salvation Army ever change enough to satisfy the disgruntled within our ranks?
The questions that are raised by the issue of change are many and varied. It is likely that unless any change happens in a way that takes account of all areas of the Army, and in a way that keeps God central to the question, then the Army will undergo a schism that will ultimately destroy rather than change. Is this really what we want?
On my list of books to buy is God in all things by Gerard Hughes and it’s just shot even higher up my list. Why? Well Gordon Cotterill (see URBANarmy to the right) has just quoted one line from the book that has grabbed my attention and has challenged me to think in a different way about some of the things that are on my heart and mind at the moment.
We should be asking “what is to the greater glory of God” rather than “what is the right thing to do”
When faced with a complex social or political issue do we ask ourselves we tell ourselves we should be involved because it is the right thing to do. But what happens when we start to ask the question “What is to the greater glory of God?”
I suspect that our agendas might change considerably!
I suspect that our comfort-zones are more likely to be breached. When we ask what the right thing to do is, it is possible for us to allow the Church as an institution to carry the load with our personal involvement being kept to a minimum. But when we ask what will give God the glory, then I reckon its going to cost us more personally.
Whilst fighting sinful actions might be the right thing to do, getting alongside the sinners where they are is more likely to bring glory to God. Whilst holding special events to raise awareness on Human Trafficking might be the right thing to do, opening our homes to trafficked people would be to the greater glory of God.
Earlier this week I had an opportunity to have uninterrupted access to the radio, so I was listening to the BBC World Service. There was a repeat documentary on called “Return to Sarajevo” about the Balkans war and how people are still affected 10 years after the Dayton Accords.
At one point the journalist (Allan Little) was interviewing a twenty-something woman who he had met during his time in Bosnia during the war. This young woman said,
“Those were the best years of my life. The best years. Because everything was so simple. You live everyday as if it is your last day and you care about people and you share everything you have and we had so much love for other people.”
I was so amazed by these words that I ended up having to search long and hard for the programme on the internet, so that I could get them down on paper correctly. What an amazing testimony of what war is like.
She could have concentrated on the death and destruction that abounded in Sarajevo during the long siege. She could have highlighted how the war tore communities apart along ethnic lines. Instead though she puts the emphasis on the way people came together and celebrates how this has shaped her whole life.
We’re in the midst of a war that has been going on for millennia yet the Church is often the last place we see these sentiments! For so many people I know the outward expression of their faith is that old a grumpy old man or woman. I include myself in this as well, because all too often I can be a miserable so-and-so!
We seem to have lost so much of the appeal of Jesus’ teaching. That is world-changing, life affirming stuff, yet we get bogged down in the “Thou shalt nots” of Christian tradition. How does this sort of thing glorify God? Maybe we have been beaten down by the long-term nature of the battle and have forgotten what it is we’re fighting for. Maybe that’s why so many cannot find the sort of camaradarie that so many crave.
The Christianity of the early church and of the many awakenings/revivials over the years was a joyous, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants expression that enlivened the people who were caught up by it. Oh for such a time as that now! Oh for a church that is characterised by communal spirit, love and sharing! Maybe I wouldn’t be such a grumpy old man then!
I’m going to stick my head above the parapets here and ask a question that seems to be one on many Salvationists hearts at the moment. What about Baptism and the Eucharist/Lord’s Supper?
One of my main reasons is that I am about to study a course on Salvationist Life and Faith in preparation for officership and I’m pretty certain this subject will turn up during the study. I’m interested in knowing what the view is outside of the context I find myself.
I know where I stand on the subject, but I’d be interested to hear what others think. The issue was revisited under General Rader but I’m not sure many people even realised that it had happened. Certainly, the a sizeable portion of the debate at the moment seems to be whether we simply have chosen to be non-sacramental or whether we’ve moved from our traditional stance into one of being anti-sacramental.
So if you want to add your comments then feel free!
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