Curse of the third generation

Has today’s Army lost the plot?

In Australia we have a dynasty of media moguls called the Packers. Sir Frank Packer set up the empire, his son Kerry picked it up and took it all to a new level through to his dying day (he died in 2005 having amassed a personal fortune of $7 billion) and then along came son Jamie. After a number of failed personal business ventures this last week he sold out a significant chunk of the family media conglomerate. It’s a common story and in business it is often referred to as “the curse of the third generation”. It’s a concept that I first became aware of when Prince Charles addressed The Salvation Army International Congress in London in 1978.

The Prince identified a dangerous moment in any movement or business, when the founding visionary dies. “English business, “ said Charles, “is a history of three generations – the founding father, hauling himself upwards; the son who goes to grammar school and becomes a businessman and the grandson who goes to Eton and becomes a poet. The grandson is the ruin of it all.”

The warning from HRH was clear, but did the Army heed such sagely advice? Well, actually, no. I believe that the third and fourth generations (of which I am a part) seriously did “lose the plot” when it came to true Salvationism. Things have been going backwards ever since.

These may be seen as “fighting words” that will provoke the ire of many, but the dwindling statistics in Western countries speak volumes. If we step away from the emotion and extract our heads from the unrealistic, nostalgic “sand”, we can look at why we went off the rails.

God willing we can regain some ground before we become merely a fascinating curio forevermore.

Consider these areas of Salvationism:

Openness to The Holy Spirit

Are we guilty of actually quenching the fire of the Holy Spirit which so enflamed the early Army? Do we barely tolerate the odd “holy roller” or “Brengle” Institute attendee? Do we get really fidgety when someone starts talking about being “filled with the spirit” or anything to do with holiness? The fact is that unless everything that we do is inspired by and in fellowship with the Holy Spirit then we are doomed to be impotent in all other areas of our work and worship.

Theology

How many of us really know how our beliefs fit in with the rest of the Christian church? Can we separate the Wesley Armenian from the Calvinist or the Premillennial Dispensationalists? This is pretty basic theology, but too many of us see it as complicated, tedious and unnecessary. We need to at least know our basic theology to inform our understanding of why our movement was raised up by God in the first place and provide a foundation for our future.

Officers

The Army has always embraced the concept of the “priesthood of all believers” but somewhere along the way we left most of the responsibilities of stoking the movement’s fires to our officers. In some ways we’ve over-empowered them; in many ways we’ve ground them down and burnt them out. The retirement/attrition rates of officers, compared to numbers of graduating cadets have been a concern for decades. It is now at crisis point. Either soldiers step up and resume their equally “ordained” positions or it’s all destined to grind to an unceremonious halt.

Interaction

A majority of our frontline work is carried out in our social and recovery centres, but how many Salvos have any personal interaction with the people who frequent them or work or live there? Even if we do the obligatory visit with a music group, don’t we appear and then disappear in a sort of bubble that keeps us away from any sort of friendship evangelism? Shouldn’t we celebrate and support the brilliant work of our officers as the hands and feet of Christ? Do we appreciate that it is our social centres and services, and our social work employees, who afford us the huge degree of credibility we have in the secular world?

Music

We have to admit that we got too wrapped up in the music-making and at some point let the “tail wag the dog”. Our music is brilliant - but it’s not everything. “When the music fades and all is swept away and we simply come …” how many of us are seriously out of our comfort zone when it comes to the true “heart of worship”?

Uniform

Beyond practical considerations such as cost, and the clothes we wore becoming unfashionable and a barrier for some of the younger generation we forgot about our uniform’s real purpose. It’s probably our most distinguishing feature, but far too many Salvos (including some officers!) have come to see the uniform as an impediment to their Christian walk. Our uniform is held in high regard by the world and therefore is still a highly effective entry point for evangelism.

Testimonies

The testimony period used to be such an integral part of our meetings but these days testimonies seem to be few and far between. Any advertiser will tell you that the most effective tool is a heartfelt, practical testimonial. It seems that we have become reluctant to unleash someone with something passionate to share onto a platform.

SAGALA

SAGALA (Salvation Army Guarding & Legion Activities) may be a bit on the dodgy side in some people’s minds but is actually one of our most effective corps-based evangelism tools. Other denominations recognise that Rangers, Scouts and Guides are a great way to reach out to the children (and adult helpers) of the community in a practical, weekly and non-threatening way. SAGALA  slowly but surely introduces unchurched folks into the broader life of the corps.

I recently noted that an officer held a SAGALA church parade on a Monday night… the timing kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? Anyone with doubts about the effectiveness of a SAGALA type of program should remember that Hillsong’s Darlene Zschech came to church through the very similar “Rangers” program.

Have we done irreparable damage from which the Army can never recover? Or is there hope for the future?

As much as we members of the third and fourth generation may have dropped the Army ball it is not too late for us all to get back in the game.

What is really exciting is that the fifth, sixth and seventh generations seem to understand what the Army should really be all about. As “tradition for its own sake” crumbles in a post modern world, the phoenix that rises from our cultural ashes is an energetic, proud, committed Salvo who is mission-hearted, social justice-conscious, community-minded and Holy Spirit driven.

New generations of Salvationists encourage us all to look to the Army of 1865, rather than 1965 for inspiration and direction.

Perhaps we need to let HRH know about this new concept within our Army, one that goes against the trend and well and truly goes against the odds to create a new beginning for our movement. The triumphant rise of the fifth generation – it’s unheard of anywhere else, so it must certainly be a God thing!

 

6 Comments to Curse of the third generation

1. Bruce - very keen insight into where we happen to find ourselves at this point in time as The Salvation Army. We have lost our way and despite numerous attempts at rediscovery, we’ve fallen short of identifying a vision for the future and a true mission for the present.

   I’ve come to realize that as a movement, we’re coming dangerously close to the cessation of any forward motion at all. Sure, we (mostly) say the right things, but have we backed up our words with the appropriate action? Do we cater to the donor to the neglect of the very people such money is meant to help?

   I stand with you in the call for Salvationists to rise up and resume their place in the ministry of our Army and help direct mission once again.
Rob Reardon on November 19th, 2008

2. I was forwarded your article >applause< “well said”. The truth is - it is not only Booths army stuck in this paint the walls move the furniture mode(s) sell a book(s) “ futility” all the while thinking that all this distracting fanciful stuff would enlighten things back on course.
   Have a look at Focus On The Family’s latest - The Truth Project – it is an effort exploring the TRUE claims of God, not what we have made It.
   It is worth a look… http://www.thetruthproject.org
   i think the days of hyper Hybellisms and the rest are behind us.
Greg Armstrong on November 19th, 2008

3. Bruce…well I wish I had your way with words. Well done! I have read a few of your articles and you seem to have a way of being the devils advocate so to speak, which I know makes us think. This one seems to be a little more ‘down the line’ and after personally being involved back in church leadership at Caboolture Salvation Army just out of Brisbane, Qld, Australia…this year, I keep coming back to many of the basic things we need to do as you have rightly stated. It’s all about connecting with People! If not at our place…then at their place!
   Prince Charles had a good thought didn’t he, I think I can feel a sermon coming on…good onya Charlie!
Keith Hampton on November 19th, 2008

4. Hi BR

   So accurate. Things can only change when people not only decide the status quo is not a healthy place to be but that there is a healthier place to go to. And this is why vision casting is so important. A vision that is inwardly focussed leads to our death (amen if need be). A vision that is outwardly focussed is one that can bring life.

   See you in Brissy!

   SG
Stuart Glover on November 19th, 2008

5. Thanks for the piece.

   I wonder though about how tranfersable this observation is from private sector firms to TSA. Indeed within the Church members are reborn to Christ, so by the time we get to the children of initial converts, we are on what generation?
Andrea614Regent on November 23rd, 2008

6. AMEN, Brother!

   Just to let you know that in Peterborough (Ontario, Canada) we have 25 youth still involved in Scouting (Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts) who are mostly not from the Corps as well as leaders from the community. We are trying not to let the old flag fall!
Deryck Robertson on November 23rd, 2008

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