There are certain things which The Salvation Army can spare and still be The Salvation Army - citadels and other meeting places, for instance. Money, too, can be done without. The advantages of organisation are not entirely essential. One things, however, The Salvation Army cannot spare. The Army, which William Booth gathered together out of the most impossible material, to the astonishment of the world, cannot do without the pioneer spirit. The pioneer spirit is as necessary now as ever, for left to itself a movement tends to stagnate. Uniformed officers and soldiers we have in encouraging numbers - but too many seem to have forgotten that they are not to be known as ‘members’. We can say without equivocation that were we to lose the daring and the determination of the pioneer spirit we should no longer be The Salvation Army. There are plenty of churches and congregations. They have their own special work to do, but we are called to be pioneers of the Kingdom.”
General Erik Wickberg
I was really struck by this quote when I read it and to some extents it puts the whole “Are we a mission or a church question into perspective?” It seems to me that Wickberg is clearly saying that our primary responsibility in Kingdom terms is to be a Mission. For him the local congregation side of things is a secondary consideration.
For me this is where we enter a difficult area. I believe that we are first and foremost a mission but what is our mission? Are we called to get people saved or are we called to make disciples? What do you think?
I would have to agree with General Wickberg. In my readings on the Army and the Church in general, I have become more and more convinced that as a MOVEMENT (for that is what we are) we are called to mission. I often here people refer to our Officers as “pastors” but I think they’re missionaries, as are our soldiers.
Many times I have considered the idea of changing churches…not necessarily because I’m unhappy with the Army - I’m not - but more for the mere consideration of the hypothetical, and I cannot see myself belonging to another denomination - not because I believe they are wrong or because I don’t agree with their theology (although this is sometimes the case), but rather because I cannot see myself leaving an organisation which carries to primary responsibility of mission on such a tremendous scale.
Innovation, exploration and spiritual adventure are to be our hallmarks and I can’t imagine a better way to spend a handful of decades on this earth!
I beg to differ!
Let me qoute from an unpublished article I never finished:
“In The Salvation Army there has been an ongoing discussion as how to define ourselves. Many places we have started to use more “church” terminology i.e. we have services instead of meetings, we call the corps officer our pastor and some places we label our selves as a “Salvation Army Church” or even “x-town Community Church”. Not everyone is happy with this development “We are not a church, we are an army” is an argument heard again and again. I cannot help wondering whether part of our problem of self-definition comes from a limited or wrong understanding of what church is. “There is nothing like the local church” Bill Hybels is often quoted for saying, and he adds “when it works”! Often we have looked at the church that doesn’t work and said “We don’t want to be like that!”, but it is not a fair comparison. I can think of many an expression of the Army, which doesn’t work and equally say “we don’t want to be like that!””
Are we a church or a mission? Well, it is of course possible to be a mission without being a church, but it is not possible to be true church without being a mission! The question is not whether we are, or should be, a mission or a church, but how we make sure we are both. Ever since Booth decided not to send his converts to the established churches our destiny have been set: we are a church, and our challenge is to be a true church.
I tend to agree with you Henrik. We have to be both a church and a mission at the same time. One of the things I like most about the current searching that people seem to be doing is that it is based around the idea of how the Church in general can be more mission minded.
In particular I love the fact that this mission is not being defined in the narrow terms of more recent years gone by, but instead is looking at a far wider viewpoint of what constitutes mission!