Enriching community

“There are many forms of poverty: economic poverty, physical poverty, emotional poverty, mental poverty, and spiritual poverty. As long as we relate primarily to each other’s wealth, health, stability, intelligence, and soul strength, we cannot develop true community. Community is not a talent show in which we dazzle the world with our combined gifts. Community is the place where our poverty is acknowledged and accepted, not as something we have to learn to cope with as best as we can but as a true source of new life. Living community in whatever form - family, parish, twelve-step program, or intentional community - challenges us to come together at the place of our poverty, believing that there we can reveal our richness.” (Henri Nouwen)
 
It has been my privilege to be a part of theRubicon community for the past three years. As each of us has written, spoken and commented together as a community, wrestling with ideas, affirming and adopting convictions and voicing doubts… and as we have shared out of our collective poverty - this has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life. Thank you. I look forward to continuing the journey with each of you.
 
Geoff Ryan

With thanks

from behind the scenes

An enduring memory of my time with theRubicon highlights the internationalism of both this magazine and The Salvation Army,  an organization the site spends a lot of time dissecting. An article had stirred the ire of many and at one point we had furious debate between readers in six countries, on four continents. It was the ability of this journal to engage and connect people all over the world that kept me interested in the periodically dreary task of editing and posting.

And whenever I was tempted to wallow in the self-pitying muck of thankless tasks, I reminded myself of our copy editors - Lesley Carter and Maxwell Ryan. Without their vital but seldom noted work, our editorial standards would have been much harder to maintain. Thank you to them and to you…

Bramwell Ryan

Greetings Rubicon community!

The start of something new

Thanks for your notes of encouragement and pledges of continued support as theRubicon editing baton is passed. I have become familiar with many of you through your posts and comments and I look forward to corresponding with more of you in the future.

The vision and commitment of Geoff and Bramwell Ryan and their editorial team in getting theRubicon to this point is nothing short of extraordinary, and I am humbled by their trust in the new team to carry on such a legacy. The great news is that Geoff will now be able to do more writing for theRubicon along with more thinking about other innovative projects of which I’m sure we will all ultimately benefit.

As many of you would know from my regular articles, I am a passionate contributor to theRubicon and a true believer in the free speech ethos of the publication. If The Salvation Army (and the Christian church in general) is to survive and thrive into the future I believe that it is important to promote such open and honest dialogue. We are called to be people of the truth after all.

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The thirteenth column

by Joe Noland

I‘m not positive, but I think Max Ryan, in his post Thinkaloud/Fifth Column might have been responding to the substance of mine on same subject [editor note: both articles - by Max Ryan and Joe Noland - came in about the same time and were written without reference to each other]. Granted, the use of the term Fifth Column may not have been the right one because of its original meaning, although I still think the analogy is a good one in many ways. Anyway, my contemporary allusion, comparing the TSA, has nothing to do with apostasy and everything to do with autocracy, which probably had something to do with the formation of those original Fifth Columns in the first place.

The point is that autocracy must be redefined and reassessed in our contemporary society. Booth’s strong hand was essential at the beginning, and it was in accordance with his 19th-century acculturation. It worked then, but it ain’t working now in the Western world, my friends. Like it or not, admit it or not, a contemporary column is forming in this present age. To thrive (as opposed to exist), we must understand, recognize, embrace, release and empower this new, emerging force - one to be reckoned with.

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Deeper shade of grey | Faith House 12

The reality of heaven on earth | Gordon Cotterill

A regular feature at Faith House has been the development of a thought to round off the evening, each of the volunteers take a turn to share something of their thinking. This week it was my turn and I finished my thought by thanking the guys at Faith House and by letting them know how much they bring to my life.

“This has become an important part of my community; I don’t come to Faith House to make cups of tea and give out fish finger sandwiches … I come because I want to be here, I am who I am because of what you share of you with me… together we are community”.

Frank chips in, looks around at the 10 or so of us in the room. 

”I don’t come because of the tea and fish fingers either, I come because it is important that I am with you all as well, you are family..!”

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Thinkaloud | Our father

We know what a good father should be says Maxwell Ryan

What’s in a word? Well, it all depends on the particular word. Especially is this s o in some circles when the word is “Father”, and when it is used to describe God.

Some in the Christian Church have taken a leaf out of the feminists’ notebook and argue that to refer to God as Father is to discriminate against women. Further, they state, such language is sexist in that it favours the male and puts down the female. Therefore, they maintain, language should be neutral; it should not exalt one sex above the other.

It is right that the biblical phrase “Christ died for all men” - as translated in some of the older versions of the Bible - is better rendered as “Christ died for all people”. It was clearly the intent of the writer to share the good news that all human beings could, by personal choice, receive God’s grace. It is not diminishing the content of the phrase to use the inclusive word in this context.

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Living with arrows

The pain we give is the worst | Jonathan Gainey

When I was a child, I never wanted to get old. Now that I’m close to forty, I would never want to be a child. The definition of life must include irony.

As a student of God and His creation, I have read many books on the subject of people. We are a strange creation to say the least. Each of us is made up of so much more than flesh and bones. Even our temperaments and personalities are made up of many levels. There is no person who is exactly like another person. And don’t give me the twin argument; I am a twin. My brother and I are a lot alike, and we are a lot unlike.

This past year, I have had the privilege of being tutored in the area of leadership by an amazing couple of coaches. They have taught me so much more than I ever knew about the way people communicate and process information. Some of us attach everything to everything else. These are the ones who have a hard time letting go of past hurts and disappointments. Others of us completely detach everything from everything else. These are the ones who don’t understand why others can’t just “let it go and get on with life.”

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Covenant

by Kathie Chiu

I

t was covenant signing day.  The officer stood at the pulpit and looked out at us as he prepared to speak about what his covenant meant to him.  I was intrigued because during my two years at the College for Officer Training I had come to admire this man and his commitment to educating cadets.  He always challenged us to think beyond what was commonly accepted as ‘gospel truth by the tried and true, the faithful of the beloved Salvation Army.  What would he say?

The gist of what he said was this. “When I married my wife, I married her for who she was that day.  My covenant with her was not based on my expectation that she would improve or change.  I accepted her for who she was right then.  It’s the same with my covenant with God and The Salvation Army.  I accepted what The Army was that day without expectation that things would change or improve.”
For the last 17 years his words have stuck with me.  They have been a blessing when things are good and a sore spot when things have not been so good.  But they have never left me.

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The lover and the hidden treasure

by Ian Gillingham

God is a lover. And He’s looking for a lover to enthrall and draw close to Himself. The opening chapters of Genesis commence unfolding the heart of the lover and the love story, but it is purposeful for this Decree chapter to look much later in the Scriptures and see how the story ends.

You may be like some who, in wanting to find whether the story is worth reading, jump to the last pages to know the conclusion before they dive into the novel. The Bible doesn’t disappoint such readers, for the windup in Revelation 19-21 offers glimpses of the grand conclusion and peeks into eternity. But along the way God yields clues and secrets of treasure, much of it hidden from the masses but disclosed to the wise and understanding seeker by revelation.

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From Russia with blogs | lonely

… lonely in the crowd | Vadim Hurin

Today there seem to be many more lonely people that there were 20-30 years ago. I remember that in my childhood I lived at my grandmother’s house out in a remote village. There many knew me and I knew many. It was possible to simply go outside and meet someone that I knew. This was especially fitting when there was an emergency. There was always someone I could refer to for help. Joyful moments in life, holidays also gathered many people. What was most pleasant about such occasions is that we all knew each other well.

Then I moved into the city. There I no longer knew as many people. But still I knew quite a few in my apartment complex. I could easily knock on someone’s door to ask for a Russian blog1missing grocery item or for a glass of water.

But times change. Today I live in a big city and I do not know any of my neighbours with the exception of one. He comes to borrow money when he is drunk, usually on a weekend. Even though I greet people when I meet them on a stairway, they do not know my name and I do not know theirs. Somehow it feels uncomfortable.

In my friends list on an internet site I have over 100 friends. But all of them are out there - in the world of internet. I can write something to them and receive an answer, but very often they are too busy to come in for a cup of tea or to meet at a certain place. Loneliness prevails in the end.

In a corps the situation is not much different. There is a small circle of friends where people know each other. But their conversations rarely exceed the familiar ground of the common “How are you?” question. Then come some prayer needs, which do not really touch upon serious life struggles. The rest of the congregations are faithful attendees. They just come and go. We are happy to see them, but very few want us to know their names, let alone to engage their lives and well-being. These attendees realize such a reality quickly and abstain from providing detailed accounts about themselves. They quickly learn the rules of conduct and proper answers.

Although, I have to note, there is a group of people who want to get closer to one another. They pray for one another consistently. They meet not only on Sundays, but also begin to participate in one another’s lives. But this fire quickly fades under the pressure of problems or sins. And then, once again, it becomes “all quiet on the Western Front.” Lonely people, trapped by their sins, fears and problems attempt to solidify their relationships with God by using “new” methods and spiritual disciplines.

Too often, unfortunately, this becomes another barrier which they use to separate themselves from others. But this cannot be. Perhaps you have experience with penetrating the thick of loneliness. Your experience can aid someone. Please write, do not hesitate!

Writer: Captain Vadim Khurin was born into a family of circus artists. He joined The Salvation Army in 1995 and is now an officer serving in St. Petersburg, Russia. He loves music, sports, reading and learning. He has a beautiful wife - Inna - and three children. He likes to ask hard questions and find different ways of helping people get back their wholeness and integrity.