When The Salvation Army Dies...

A decade ago I signed the Officer's Covenant. What a privilege I felt in my heart, to be able to lay down my life to serve others and lead people to Jesus Christ.

That passion is still there. In fact, it is there more than ever.

See, I have such a holy discontent that we are not doing more to support people in need and see lives transformed for Jesus. I long to increase our impact upon society. I long for more people to join the cause. I long for more people to commit themselves to the ideals of the soldier's and officer's covenants.

But then this nagging feeling comes upon me.

I began to reflect one day on what would happen if The Salvation Army died. Let me qualify what I mean by that: I began to wonder what would happen if The Salvation Army lost its focus so much so that it became significantly different to the original movement that I signed up to be a part.

Maybe you have asked that question once or twice. It's not because you or I lack faith or fail to have a view that God raised up The Salvation Army, but because we don't want to see it be less than what God raised it up to be.

Recently I was walking around a large lake at a local park, praying and thinking about that very question.

'What if The Salvation Army died?'

Then I felt some words in my spirit that said:

The Salvation Army does need to die. 
It needs to die to its own image.
It needs to die to its own strategic plans.
It needs to die to its own narcissism. 
The Salvation Army needs to spend less time celebrating the mission it has achieved, and more time celebrating the source of the mission.
The Salvation Army needs to spend less time focused on how good it thinks it is, how good it thinks its forebears were, but rather point to how good it believes God is.

We need to reignite the coals of Jesus-focused, gutsy, Spirit-filled fervour, that is embedded within the very DNA of this movement. We need to re-embrace the Apostles, Evangelists and Prophets across the globe, to join again with the Shepherds and Teachers to work together to establish God's kingdom here and now.

Captain Matt Reeve quoted this recently, 'Movements start because their founder loves Jesus. They die when the movement loves its founder.' There's a tension there. One that I feel and acknowledge. We are thankful to William, Catherine, Bramwell and the team. We love their focus, passion and tenacity to raise up such a movement. We are thankful to Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit that we should be a part of such exciting times.

Though The Salvation Army didn't succeed because General William Booth always spoke about how good John Wesley was.

The Salvation Army didn't succeed because Catherine Booth chose to put Phoebe Palmer up on a pedestal.

Part of why The Salvation Army succeeded was both because Salvationists learned and were inspired by the past, but were driven ultimately by a passion for Jesus Christ.

In John's Gospel, chapter 15, we read that Jesus is the true vine, and that the Father cuts off every branch in us that bears no fruit. Jesus says we cannot bear fruit unless we remain in him, because apart from him, we can do nothing.

I look forward then to the day that The Salvation Army dies.

A day we lay our timbrels at the mercy seat.

A day we lay down our own ambition for that which is even better.

A day we commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the cause of Jesus Christ in the world.

This is the day I long for.

This is the day that we will be at our best.

And Praise God that in some places, that day has already arrived.

Why God is Not Finished with The Salvation Army.

The response was varied. The readership was huge. The viral nature of my previous blog astounded me. I wrote a piece entitled, 'Why The Salvation Army is in decline and what we can do about it!'  For different reasons it sparked discussion right around the globe (especially in the West - and many are right when they assert that decline is most relevant IN the West). In one corner people agreed, and in another there was vehement disagreement. Some sought to sharpen up the original post, with some clarifying thoughts. Some pointed out that some of my assertions were general assumptions and not applicable to their setting.

Well, the dust has settled and I want to follow up that provocative post with Part 2: Why God is Not Finished with The Salvation Army.

I am convinced that Salvationists need a sense of urgency of the need for change, hence my previous post. One does not get a hair cut until they are dissatisfied with their current hair style (Ok, I do not speak from experience on that one...). You know what I mean? We can not change the course of history by trying to solve the challenges we have with the same thinking that existed when the challenge arose. We must think outside the box. Give new things a shot. We keep what is absolutely essential to what makes us The Salvation Army, and allow the Lord to reveal to us new ways of expressing gospel-centered ministry to a broken world in our rapidly changing global environment.

So, that's why I have written this post. God is not finished with The Salvation Army. In fact, I think the best days are still ahead. No offense, Will and Kate. You did great things. Though God has planted something within this movement that desires to do greater things!

We could rewind to the vision imparted to The Salvation Army from William Booth, found within In Darkest England and the Way out. The vision was an army pulling people from the ills of society, and giving them the hope of full salvation. You can see workers straining to reach out to people in need. There is a passion for the transformative work of Jesus to transpire in people's lives.

Today we have Salvationists right around the globe still working tirelessly to draw people out of addictions, hate, pornography, apathy, homelessness, loneliness, anger, abuse, bitterness and the list goes on.

I think of the street ministries of Salvationists and volunteers that give cups of cold water to those who thirst, and the community lunches that feed the hungry. I know of a ministry that provides free legal advice to those on lower incomes. There are Salvation Army hospitals and schools, and rehab centres, and shelters from abuse. There are Corps that are ignited by a passion to lead people to Christ and disciple them in the process. Some Salvation Army communities of faith meet in buildings, under trees, in houses, in fields, in large basketball arenas, in 'mission houses' and even in secret.

There is a passion to do something about our faith!

But one knows only too well, that there is still a job ahead of us.

This is why I believe God is not finished with The Salvation Army. See, within this movement is an embedded DNA that says, while there is still one lost soul, we'll fight. While there is still brokenness, we'll fight.

We're still fighting.

Until the fullness of the Kingdom of God has come among us, we will keep fighting.


We may wrestle with what The Salvation Army looks like a decade from now. We may not be able to conceive of how God will shape us moving forward. No doubt we'll discuss uniforms and music and ecclesiastical structures. A commissioner here and there will make some tough decisions. We'll debate about how to do effective mission in the world and we'll work at finding alignment on such issues. But that being said, I know this: we'll keep fighting.


We'll keep fighting, because there is still something to fight for. And while there is still something to fight for, you'll find The Salvation Army.


* These are my opinions and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Salvation Army.

Getting Our Hands Dirty - Guest Blogger - Captain Scott Strissel

“While we have been standing UPON OUR DIGNITY- WHOLE GENERATIONS HAVE GONE TO HELL- if the Bible is true, how much longer shall we stand there” - Catherine Booth


Dear Salvationists,
 
Our hearts need to be broken once more for those we serve and love.   It can be easy to become jaded by this work.  It is dirty work.  It is hard work. 

Service and love should always walk side by side.  We don’t simply hand a homeless man a cup of warm soup because it is “our responsibility and obligation”, no, instead we do it because we care for that man.  It is not just a duty to perform and then we are on our way, it MUST go deeper!  God’s prevenient grace came to us even when we did not deserve such a gift.  He came to our level and poured out upon us such a lavishing love – His One and only Son Jesus Christ.  This is why we serve.  This is why we put on our uniforms and go out into the streets of our communities. 

Secondly, we serve a Mighty God for the purpose of bringing others to Him!  The Salvation Army Mission Statement says this:  “The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”

Never discount the work of the Holy Spirit in this vital salvation mission!  He can and will transform the worst of sinners.  He will change lives!  What He requires from us is to get our hands dirty.  He longs to have “dirty Salvationists.” 

What do I mean by “Dirty Salvationists” you ask?  What I mean is that we have to go to the places where the lost are located.  We were once lost until we came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Since we accepted that saving, we should be willing to go to those places where the lost and dying are still chained to their sin!  It might not look like a church, where are must go and reach those who are hurting, but the places that Jesus went didn’t look like a church either! 

Didn’t someone, long ago seek YOU out?  Did they not take the time to come to your level, to roll up their sleeves and get dirty so that we might be cleaned?  I recall countless of godly examples of Salvationists who embodied Christ to me while I was still ignorant in my old ways of living.  Their kindness and love showed me what it meant to be like Christ.
With that being said, we cannot be afraid of those “dirty” places.  Those places where the “unclean” or unsaved reside.   We cannot cower within our corps buildings and expect people to come to us.  We have to get our hands dirty by accepting this important work that the Master calls us to.   This work first begins within our hearts.  Are we prepared to say to Christ, “Use all there is of me for Thy purpose”?   This statement can be deeply impactful on our lives.  It places God’s priority over ours.  It clears the various barriers of “self” away so that we might be Holy and then do Holiness in our lives. 

Catherine Booth once said these very profound and I believe prophetic words, “It is a bad sign for the Christianity of this day that it provokes so little opposition. If there were no other evidence of it being wrong, I could tell from just that. When the Church and the world can jog comfortably along together, you can be sure there is something wrong”.

Today, it is very easy for the Church to simply ignore sin and its effects on people.  I don’t wish to meddle or prod here, but the easy road is often taken because we don’t want to point out immorality in our world for fear of criticism and loss of popularity.  The sad thing is that many within the Church are more afraid of what the world will say rather than what God will ultimately say. 

Salvationists, if we aren’t willing to get our hands dirty…if we aren’t willing to stand up for those without a voice in our communities…if we aren’t willing to be sent out by God anymore because we are fearful of critics and hatred, then we have truly lost what it means to be a Salvationist. 

So let us roll up our sleeves.  Let us become dirty Salvationists who are willing to get on our knees in prayer for the drunk who loiters on “Army property”.  Let us throw off the fears of public condemnation and worries of how it may be perceived – and live out our calling within this Mission as Salvationists and as Christ-followers!   Jesus went to people where they were…shouldn’t we as well?

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Find more from Captain Scott Strissel at Pastor's Ponderings