The more I think about how we have done ‘Church’ or ‘Army’ in the past the more convinced I am that the Church and the Army have failed generations of people.1 The biggest problem is not only have we failed people by selling short the fullness of life on offer through the grace of God and faith in Jesus, its possible that we have also enslaved them into a way of living that is probably contradictory to what following Jesus is really about.
These words may seem harsh, but I’ll explain what I mean. Over the years in the Army a great deal of emphasis has been placed on the practical side of discipleship and the fact that it is our duty to serve. In my opinion this has caused two things to happen. Firstly, we have narrowed the avenues in which we are able to serve Jesus. Secondly, we have created a reluctant core of members who serve, not out of joy or even with joy, but because of some misguided sense of duty.
In some places we now face a situation of our own making. We see soldiers who are more interested in maintaining what has gone before than they are transforming the communities in which they live. I’m not sure whether this is simply a result of our humanity and our not liking change, or whether it is also because there is a belief that the Army subculture, in which I grew up, is to be protected at all costs because this is what the ‘real’ Army is.
Now I know that I am opening myself up to being accused of making generalisations, so I acknowledge that there are some wonderful expressions of the Army/Church that are working. However, as I have talked to people over the last few months and have been involved in meetings where extremely difficult situations have been part of the discussions, I have come to see how bitter some Salvationists have become and I simply cannot ignore that. I’m seeing and hearing of people so caught up in past hurts that they seem incapable of moving past them. I see people so indoctrinated into a particular way of ‘doing church’ or serving others that any joy they have found in the past has gone. I see this and I want to cry out to heaven and ask “Why Lord? Why have you allowed this to happen?”
The real tragedy is that this bitterness is often not of the person’s own making. It is more often the result of a institutional form of faith that draws people in with the promise of personal salvation but which then requires subservience to the institution rather than the Jesus who the institution should be serving. What is even worse is that it is this is not done through a concious effort that has resulted in this, but it is simply something that we have slipped into over the decades.
I suppose this post is really an expression of what is on my heart at the moment. Unfortunately, it seems in some situations the bitterness is simply too ingrained in people that only the Spirit can make a difference, yet those same people are often not open to the Spirit’s leading.
Where do we go from here? I honestly have no idea, but I do think we have to be honest with ourselves and search for a solution that only come from an openness to the Holy Spirit! I also suspect that something that will be needed is corporate repentance on the part of the Church for the sins of our past.
1 Please note that I’m not singling out the Army for criticism in this post but can only write about what I know and currently see.
Greame
Like you I can only comment from an Army point of view and this rings so many bells with me. It’s cropping up in a few places. I noticed your comments on Andrew’s post here
http://beyondthebrook.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-modernised-railton.html
And that links with what Kev says here http://kevelliott.blogspot.com/2007/11/sally-speak.html
I might comment further but in the meantime, I thought I’d let you know that someone was reading.
I agree that we probably have failed generations of former Salvationist (and existing ones come to think about it). I’ve been wondering how and why did Army meetings become dull?
When did shiny shoes, sitting still, being smart and putting up with “dull” become more important that exciting, entertaining, life-changing and spirit-filled?
I know there’s more to your point that that but it a key feature of Army life that seems to have moved a long way from our roots.
Thanks for the comment Heather! I’m pretty sure that the ‘dull’ meetings is a symptom of the deeper problem. Through my reading this week (as well as my meeting preparation) I feel that the problem is down to one issue. Lack of real holiness!
I’ll clarify my thinking a little. One of the problems I see in the Church in general is there is a real lack of passion in many areas. Without passion there seems to be little point to our Christian walk.
Having said this, passion without an accompanying surrender to the Holy Spirit can very easily lead to a misdirection of our passion. This is why good holiness teaching is so important. Passion without holiness can result in an obsession with the things of the world, or the things of the Army/Church. Holiness without an accompanying passion for following God’s will is actually more likely to be religious piety which focuses on being ‘holy’ rather than Jesus from whom our example of holiness comes.
Does that make sense?
Not ignoring your question - just thinking about it.
(I had a boss once who I admired for his ability to understand complex issues and solve problems. He said to me “the problem with you is you think about things too much”. Maybe I’m just slow :-))
H
Have we introduced people into a RELATIONSHIP where His sheep hear His voice and follow where He is leading or have we introduced them into RELIGION
I was standing on the slave auction block because of my sin. . .
The devil was bidding for me. . .
I asked God to step in and pay my debt. . . and pay He did . . . it cost Him the life of His only son!
Then he brought me into His home. . . not as His slave. . . not even as a paid servant. . . but as His adopted child. He has invited me to become a partner in the family business. “Come” He said, “I will make you fishers of men!”
Audrey, good points there! Relationship is key and too many relationships have been destroyed in the name of religion.
Heather, still thinking?
My computer locked up on me before I had a chance to really finish my thoughts. . .
When I begin to see myself as a redeemed and adopted daughter of The King of Kings, I begin to view life differently.
My service flows from my gratitude and love for Him. I know longer do things to please others. . . I do them to please Him.
I am intensely interested in learning all I can about this new family that I’ve been adopted into. I invest a great deal of time reading chapters from the family’s history book (the bible).
I want to learn to think like He thinks. There is no higher praise than for people to say they can see the family resemblance when they look at me.
And as the King’s adopted daughter I have His power and authority backing me as I seek to expand His kingdom here on the earth. I have become an adoption agent with an offer to extend to any and all who will listen to me.
I am to put into action my prayer for His Kingdom to come, and His will to be done on the earth just like it’s done in heaven.
It’s not that I chose him. . . HE CHOSE ME! (and all of this just blows my mind).
Mmm…
For me, one of the biggest issues is a lack of clarity on what it means to be Salvation Army in the 21st Century.
When I was growing up, it was much clearer. We were a bit like Marks and Spencer - different size buildings in different locations but mostly town center sites with similar contents.
There were few decisions to be made. Or that’s how it looks from here.
But times changed and we questioned whether we were doing things right, or doing the right thing.
ROOTs has been the biggest influence on my thinking - but that’s part of a wider move challenging how things are. (Interestingly there’s the primitive Salvationist who say the change is to go back to the way we were.)
Do you remember the article in the Salvationist several months ago about the “voices” of the Army (the Author was from Australia I think but it was a good reflection of the UK too)? But the point is there are so many different views about what it means to be Army. Some views will be based on study, pray and debate and I guess some will be based on emotion.
And I think we will struggle as long as there is a lack of direction from the centre/top (?). I think the situation in my corps reflects the UK Army. It feels like our journey is about reacting to what comes along and trying to keep everyone (inside) happy.
Are we like the Children of Israel - wandering around when our final destination is in fact close at hand?
So I’m not sure about the corporate repentance – I’m not sure if individuals can say sorry for someone else’s “sins”. I’m also not sure what “sins” we be repenting of.
But I think we do need some corporate seeking for the future.
And then I need to ask myself - if the centre/top of the Army told me what to do and how to do it, would I be Obedient?
I understand where you are coming from Heather. The Army I grew up in was very similar to that which you did. The problem though is that whilst it was very attractive to many of those on the inside, it became increasingly unattractive to those on the outside. It served it’s purpose as a social institution for those who wanted lunch clubs and coffee mornings, but because one style was prevalent across the whole country there was little local variation. This led to a polarisation of ourselves from society as a whole.
Now we find ourselves in a very different situation. The Army is undergoing a process of change that seems to understand that the Gospel needs to be worked out outside of the walls of the church. For centuries the Church has imposed its views on society but now louder voices have taken over. The Army is suffering from this just as much as other churches and therefore we need to find ways of getting the message back to the people. In order to do so we need to be relevant without compromising the essential truths of the Gospel.
Interestingly as regards to leadership from the top/centre I would actually suggest that the real issue has been consistency. In our culture of rapid change of officers it often seems that the vision for our corps change every time the officer changes. This is simply crazy when you think that the officer arrives with no knowledge of the place to which they have been appointed and need to learn what is needed before changing everything! Maybe this didn’t matter when the Army was essentially the same wherever you went, but in a day when we are trying to meet the needs of a local community we need a consistency that continues on after officer change!