Thinkaloud | where’s the proof?

the only antidote to the world’s corruption

The people behind the most powerful information processing of our age - the electronic and print media - appear to have little understanding of the Christian faith and what happens in the life of a person who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord.  Media reports often caricature the faith, or edit out any references to Christianity. The result is that the values and insights which God has given to the world through Christ are either trivialized or ignored.

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JustThinking | the ghetto rant

The Married Women’s Ghetto
by Captain Danielle Strickland

So here’s the rub. There were many married women officers at the most recent High Council, and not one of them was nominated to be General. Do we think that out of all the women officers represented at the High Council, only single women have the gift of leadership? Are married women less capable, less inspiring, less able? Most would insist, with some trepidation, that no married women possess the experience necessary for the office of General. The rough part is this: they would be right. This problem is the result of what might be called “the women’s ghetto of The Salvation Army”.

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On Calling

David Witthoff says desire and character define calling

It’s come to my attention that the current way that we in the Army think about calling may not be entirely helpful. It may be rather misleading. The idea of calling touches on the presuppositions that people have about how active God is in the world. Is He actively changing and doing things, directing people’s actions, choices and influencing them one way or another, or is He laid back after giving us His Word, expecting us to look there for answers. On this topic scripture gives no clear answer, and so our understanding should not be either/or, but both. God expects us to look to scripture for our direction in life as He orchestrates the events and happenings of the world. But where there are two extremes that need balance, we usually find people who fall to one side or the other. That is what brought about my concern.

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The Concise Oxford | Heaven’s Rehearsal

they shall come … and sit down…

A few weeks ago, an event called “Heaven’s Rehearsal” was held in one of our local major league sports arenas. The concept was to try and have a worship service that somehow incorporates people from every possible nationality. It was to display that despite our obvious differences in worship styles, skin colour, politics and lifestyles, we are all brother and sisters united together by the saviour of the world, Jesus Christ.

More than 20,000 people showed up for the event and it was a spectacular show of unity in the body. I honestly believe the idea for this event came from a very pure place and I do think it was kind of a neat gathering of people for sure. However, it cost an enormous amount of money to pay the rental fees, and to pay for all of the musicians and performers and the bells and whistles to make it work. As a result, everyone who attended had to pay $25 for admission.
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The advantages of vegetarian diet

by Bramwell Booth

This article originally appeared in The Herald of the Golden Age many years ago, and is being reprinted now to bring to mind again the great importance attached by the writer to the vegetarian way of living.  His views were also shared by his illustrious father, General William Booth, the founder of the world-wide Salvation Army which has done, and continues to do, such noble work among the poor.

Unfortunately, as in the case of John Wesley, this aspect of their teaching has been largely lost in later developments, though not entirely, for recent experiments made in Salvation Army Homes, although not purely vegetarian in nature, have established the important fact that diet does affect the moral character, surely a most important contribution to modern knowledge in view of the present increases in juvenile delinquency.

Even at the time when this article was written The Salvation Army, chiefly due to the initiative of Mrs. Bramwell Booth, had established the fact that drunkenness and flesh-eating were related and that the quickest way to cure drunkenness was to put the “patient” on to a non-flesh diet:  another significant fact which, to our knowledge, has not been sufficiently appreciated by would-be temperance reformers.

We are indebted to Miss Catherine Bramwell Booth, the daughter of the writer, for slight alterations to the original text which are shown in square brackets.  It will be appreciated that some of the statements occurring, as for instance in paragraph 6, while being undoubtedly true at the time of writing, may no longer apply and that some of the views expressed on dietary need to be reconsidered in light of the fuller scientific knowledge of dietetics now available.—Editor | The London Vegetarian Society

THE ADVANTAGES OF VEGETARIAN DIET

I have been frequently asked to write something on this subject.  In fact, on one occasion, I received from no less than forty Local Officers of The Salvation Army a request that I would explain to them all I meant by what I had called, when speaking in one of the [Conferences], the Gospel of Porridge.  I do not think I shall be able to do all that, but I will try and briefly reply to one question, which I often hear: “Why do you recommend Vegetarianism?”

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Deeper shade of grey | finding home

The seldom known end of the story

Mr Hopgood was a regular feature of URBANarmy [ed: Gordon's own blog] several years back. At the time I could not get my head around how I could not help this elderly and very eccentric homeless guy who had been made street homeless when a hostel closed for a refurbishment. Everyday Mr Hopgood would come into the community lounge at Poplar Corps [in central London, UK] for breakfast, lunch, warmth and a sleep. Everyday we would help Mr Hopgood in with his over sized suitcase. Everyday Mr Hopgood would sit and create his own atmosphere, his sweet aroma of percolating street smells!

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Squeezing the drops

Rob Jeffery labours in the vineyard

The parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16 is perhaps one of the least understood parables found in the New Testament canon.  While other parables, such as The Yeast and The Mustard Seed, are admittedly more cryptic in their telling, the Labourers in the Vineyard is often misunderstood to the point that Christian readers assume a meaning that the Gospel writer (or at least the Matthean community) did not intend for it.

Although there is no widespread exegetical consensus on this particular parable, by way of a concise scriptural analysis, it is perhaps possible to discern the Gospel writer’s true meaning of Jesus’ parable and to show how Jesus’ use of parabolic and metaphorical language connected with his first-century audience.  In order for this to happen, however, Christian readers must be willing to lay aside the parable’s traditional meaning and interpretation that has so often been preached from Christian pulpits.
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Thinkaloud | For His glory

We know our moment of glory won’t last

Most of us are shameless opportunists. We prefer centre stage and the applause of admirers who listen to our words as if they were the voice of God. And each of us has a fantasy where we throw out the wittiest sayings, the most telling retort, the joke that everyone laughs at and where we are the one who starts the fashion trend.

This is the kingdom of Number One, where ego rules supreme, where every other person must give us respect, must offer honour and glory and must always affirm us by telling us how well we are doing, how attractive we are and that whatever we want will be given to us.

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From Russia with Blogs | influence

Who influences you? Who do you influence?

While reading books by different authors about the church, I sometimes get a feeling that I am reading the stories of some mysterious fairy tale heroes. They do everything and their prayers get a response from God even before the utter the final “amen.” And God comes to them daily as their personal secretary, providing them with the daily schedule every morning. These heroes are always surrounded by positive people, full of joy and contentment.

But in my life I have not met people like that. The people who come to my corps often seem to embody the word “negative”.  And if you are prepared to listen to them, after awhile everything around you will inevitably darken. People like this whom I’ve met have many problems. Every day they face temptations and often they end up giving in rather than gaining victory. Many pray regularly. But the answers to their prayers are more likely to be a rare Christmas gift than an everyday reality.

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The Devil made me do it…

… or did he?

The modern world has been unsure what to do with the biblical texts around the world of the demonic, and has often swung between total unbelief and a kind of unhealthy over belief. This Areopagus episode - recorded November 1, 2008 - takes us straight to the heart of this territory, to see if there isn’t maybe a sane and reasoned middle way.

In a measured yet engaged presentation Dr. Pierre Gilbert, of Canadian Mennonite University, takes us over some of the key points from his recent book: Demons, Lies & Shadows. A Plea for a Return to Text and Reason published by Kindred Press.

The presentation and questions that followed were recorded at ideaExchange, a monthly church-sponsored public lecture series held in a bookstore in Winnipeg, Canada.

There are three ways to hear this talk and the lively discussion time that followed (runs 1:02:22):

• click on the arrow below
• use the podcast widget in the right sidebar
• click here to download the episode from iTunes