Why I am a Salvation Army officer | 1

Recently theRubicon sent out a general call to officers on our mailing list asking them to tell us why they are Salvation Army clergy. The responses were pithy, profound, provocative and, in some cases, troubling. But most of all they were genuine and honest reflections on a career and calling that can both uplift and crush. We’ll be presenting the responses in two parts - today and tomorrow.

Captain, male, USA: I am a Salvation Army officer because God has called me and placed within my heart a burning passion for the lost. My heart was enticed by what once was and what will be again. I long for the day when the blood and fire are proclaimed with power and conviction. When the sword of the Lord is loved and feared and strikes a devastating blow to the enemy. When the giant is awakened and the salvation of the world is at the heart of every decision. When the Holiness of God is revealed throughout the ranks of The Army. When all boasting is not in brick and mortar, but in the finished work of Jesus. When all confidence is in Christ and the power of His resurrection. When all chains are broken, captives are freed, hungry are fed, the favor of the Lord is declared, lost are found and that glorious day Christ returns.

Until that day, it is my prayer that I will be found faithful and that everything in this temple shouts His Glory. (Psalm 29:2)

Major, male, Australia: When I was a teenager in the then-small country corps of Gosford on the Central Coast of NSW, Captain Hughie Macintosh was the corps officer. Hughie was a larger than life, charismatic officer, who encouraged me personally in ‘my calling’ to one day be an officer, if it was God’s will for me!

When discussing this with him and asking him how he knew whether officership is what God wants of me, I never forgot his answer: “Keith, if you can be anything else in life, other than being an officer, do it!”

Phew, what a relief. I was studying at graphic arts college at the time, so I knew there were many things that I could do for God in the corps and in the community other than officership. I was Junior Soldier Sgt, a songster, bandsman and also did a four-hour Friday night hotel run each week with Hughie, and I enjoyed it all!

I eventually figured out that Hughie’s cryptic answer regarding officership centered on the very fact that unless we agree with God on where we spend our working life, we cannot be fully fulfilled in God’s walk for us, in any of the other things we can do. Not because those are bad choices in themselves, just because they’re not the right choices for us.

Later, I started going out with an old officers’-kid friend and discovered that officership for her too had also been something that she had seriously contemplated but had put it off for a time. When it was obvious that our friendship was leading to marriage, we talked about becoming officers together, and it wasn’t a hard decision to make. We both felt that God had led us together and that we would get married, and go to college the following year.

That’s what we did. Ruth and I have now been married over 35 years and that was the beginning of a very long story, too long to add here today! Only to say, I’ve never regretted becoming a Salvation Army officer and since I was around 20 years old, that has been what I have always wanted to do!

So, if anyone is reading this today and wants to know if they should be an officer too, let me say on Hughie’s behalf, as he has gone onto Glory before us, “If you can be anything else in life, other than being an officer, do it!”

Lieutenant, male, Norway: For me it is a calling. I don’t really know how to explain it. Some 15 years ago I made a wrong turn (thankfully, the Lord made it good in the end, as he very often does) and had to resign from officership. All these 15 years, it was like having an out-of-body experience. Don’t get me wrong, there was ministry and lots of good staff, but something was missing. And it is not a pay-check, since as a lay person I was making much more money then officers do.

I was searching for the meaning of this out-of-body experience, and the closest I’ve found so far is what Jeremiah says: “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay”. (Jer.20:9)

What was missing was a sense of purpose, I guess. I was not who I was meant to be. Not that I believe in predetermination, but I do believe in destiny. Being an officer with all that it brings (the uniforms, hierarchy, moving from place to place, unlimited working hours in mentally and physically difficult environments, etc.) was and is for me, it is me.

Colonel, female, Canada: When I was 15, struggling with the fact that I was a foster child, a crisis happened. I hated being in this situation and was very angry, rebelling somewhat at school and certainly giving my parents a difficult time (skipping school, mixing with the wrong crowd, etc). I guess I was living two lives: one at the corps, involved in a lot of things, and the other at school and home.

That year, my mother fell very ill that year and the doctor said we would just have to wait and see what would happen. It is difficult to explain, but when I returned home from school one afternoon, no one but my mother was there and she was sleeping. I walked into our living room and an overwhelming sense came over me. I knew it was God showing me my two sides and helping me to question everything. One was the fact that there were three of us who had been brought up together as brothers and sister since we were babies in the same home. What would happen if she died or couldn’t keep us? We could be separated.

The second thing that was before me was the Army. I loved all that I was involved in and had a wonderful Sunday School teacher who visited our home. If we went to another home, I would not likely have the same opportunity.

It was then, in the privacy of the room, that I knelt before the Lord, thanking Him for the home I had and giving my life over to Him and praying that she would get better.

She did, but about a month after that I attended a Youth Councils and there was a call for officership. Being a shy person, this had never entered my mind, nor did it at that moment. About 10 minutes into the prayer meeting, again this overwhelming sense of a power spoke to me in silence and the tears began to stream down my face. I knew I had to go forward and offer myself. I did and once again felt a wonderful peace, along with “How can this be?”

After 48 years, I am awed at God’s presence, at the opportunities to serve, sometimes in ways that I thought impossible or found difficult - but He is the equipper and it is his spirit I represent. I am very proud to be a Salvation Army Officer and thank God to this day for placing me in a foster home of a mother who faithfully served Him and who led my father to the Lord when he was 84.

Major, male, USA: I am an officer because God has called me. It was a clear call that both my wife and I received. We were both involved in the corps life, God had placed us in the Army before the call and it was to the Army mission that we are called. We love our Lord, people and we love the mission. All three of these are the perfect opportunity for ministry to those who so desperately need to experience the love of Christ. The longer I am an officer the more I am convinced that others who God has called should also join the ranks. The war against sin, evil, injustice and oppression is ominous and the opportunity is ours to attack in mercy and love. To win the world for Christ under the shadow of the red, yellow and blue is my command, and I will not retreat until either He returns or the last breath of air has left my body.

Major, female, USA: I became a Salvation Army officer because, particularly through young eyes, officership appeared to blend a commitment to social work with a commitment to Jesus. I remain a Salvation Army officer because I lack the courage to leave - well, that may not be quite accurate, because it has taken perhaps even more courage for me to remain. Had single spouse
officership been an option in our territory, I probably would not be an active officer today, although the road of “what if” is a treacherous one to walk. Do I have a viable ministry? Absolutely. Do I render effective service to my community and to the Army? Yes. I’ve made my peace with my own heart and serve Jesus the best I can, and so, for now, I remain a disciple of Jesus, serving within the Salvation Army.

Join us for more responses tomorrow on theRubicon.

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