Ragamuffin: Bob and I (5)

Part five - the final installment

B

ack to Bob and the conversation we had at Starbucks… when we left him last time, he seemed isolated and lonely,  a little angry and discouraged. As we talked … or as he talked to me and I sat and listened … Bob repeated that he was concerned about the Army of the future.

I asked Bob how the church services were going. He told me a few weeks back that he was going to try some untraditional things in the service to hopefully shake things up and get youth more interested. I was totally shocked when Bob said a cuss word and then said …”They make me so mad!”

“Mad?” Trying to veil the fact that I was totally taken back at the fact that Bob had just said a word I thought would never come from his mouth. But I understood it was his frustration talking. He some more on his mind that he needed to share. So I listened.

Bob replied, “I was reading this book about sacred cows making great hamburger and was inspired to make some changes. One soldier said they never had any sacred cows at the corps. But boy was she wrong! As soon as we ended the first service in which I tried a few new things, the leader of the adult class pulled me aside for a few words about how they have always done the service a certain way and that I was going to kill the corps if I continued these changes. The teacher told me that the last officer that tried some of this “nonsense” was moved after just one year! It was an implied threat Jay.”

“So it isn’t going well?” I couldn’t believe I had said that but I did.

Bob sadly said, “Not well at all. I don’t know what to do. It seems right. The CSM and the praise team leader both liked the video clips and the open altar in the middle of the service but I don’t know what I am going to do next Sunday. I don’t want to be just a dying, traditional and dull corps. I want to be a living example of an Acts 2:42 church Jay!”

As he ended I turned to the verse in my NLT Bible and read it to myself:
It read, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.”

“Are you serving communion Bob?”

“No, Jay, no. But I want our corps to be a vibrant example of Christ in the neighborhood not just another run-of-the-mill church.”

“Does your DC support what you are trying to do there Bob?”

“Yes, she is very supportive. I think she gets what I am trying to accomplish. I have had almost all the DHQ officers support when it comes to some of the tough decisions.”

“Almost all?”

“Jay, the hierarchy of The Salvation Army can be a plus and sometimes it can be a burden. You know that. Sometimes I think less hierarchy would be good. If we could work more like a team that would be great. The DC gives the impression that she understands that concept. I was reading Philippians 1 and observed something really cool… let me see that Bible Jay… here - look at this verse

Philippians 1:1. I read the verse to myself, “I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons.”

“What are you seeing there Bob? I don’t see it.”

“Notice it says “including the elders and deacons” not under them. It is teamwork. In the TNIV I think it says ‘with’.”

“Oh, I see Bob.”

“Mandates or mission - what do we do? Jay, what is our overriding stimulus? Is it mandates from above or the mission from within?”

“Good point Bob, good point!”

Once again a moment of quietness.

“Bob, are you guys doing communion at your corps?” He just smiled. “Just checking.” I said, “Just checking.”

“Jay, really why are you asking?”

“Just asking. I’m just asking.” I smiled back.

Finally, Bob seemed to be running out of gas. Can’t blame him at $4.00 dollars a gallon! Bob was still. He sat back in his chair. Up to this point he was always leaning forward. But now he clothed himself with a repose that seemed calm. Maybe all he needed was a friend. Maybe all he wanted was a listening ear.I broke the silence with a concern of my own that I thought Bob would like to talk about.

“You know, I think we should have a twelfth doctrine. One added doctrine concerning the church. What do you think about that?”

“Jay, that is crazy … my cup is empty … and it’s 3:15 … I need to go, but Jay, thanks for listening.”

With a smile I said, “No problem Bob, call me anytime. I am always up for Starbucks, especially if you are paying!”

We left the coffee shop … Bob in his uniform … me in my blue jeans and t-shirt. There we were - at Starbucks solving the problems of the world one latte at a time!

*This paper was based loosely on the conversations and concerns of officers I know. Fiction? You be the judge.

Ragamuffin appears every Monday on theRubicon. Find past Ragamuffin posts and a bio of Capt. Jay Davis here.

2 Comments to Ragamuffin: Bob and I (5)

1. Jay, I’m sorry but I’ve become somewhat disappointed with Bob. I was hopeful when he started to look to an expanded model of church leadership as in Acts, but he seems to have lapsed into that code that non-officers like myself have difficulty understanding. Perhaps if this conversation had included a non-officer I would have understood what he was getting at.

   Andrea
Andrea614Regent on July 7th, 2008

2. Andrea

   I understand your difficulty of understanding. (That makes alot of sense :-))

   Although Bob is an Officer, or clergy, he still feels the same range of emotions we all feel. Take away the uniform and the church jargon and Bob is not different that many people we know. Read between the lines. Bob is lonely. Bob is isolated. Bob wants to reach out (and is in the story to some degree) but he is unsure of whom to trust. Where can he turn? Is there someone out there that will feel my pain (Bob says inside). Bob is frustrated. Isolation, loneliness, frustration and distrust of others can be an epidemic in the church - in the clergy - in the world we live in. Although the blog of “Bob and I” is finished Bob is not. He will eventually realize he has a friend or two. True friends that he can confide in. Those that will walk beside him and encourage but not enable him in his pilgrim journey. I want to say…aren’t we all on Bob’s journey? Although maybe at different stops along the road we all have at sometime felt what Bob feels. . . or at least sometime we will if we have not done so. It is the journey of life. It is the finding blessing in the community of faith (no matter how small it is). It is hope in the dark nights of the soul.
   and so much more…
Jay Davis on July 7th, 2008

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