Politics #5 - Politics Happens

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wo people, of any age or background, enter a space, and politics happens!

Politics works out the power relationships among a group of people, and whenever we meet with another person we are engaged in politics.

Politics decides who gets what; how the money is allocated and who has the influence.

We have choices around how we do our politics, and whether we do it well or badly, but unless we live an entirely solitary life we are always involved in politics.

Those who are clear in their values work their politics so as to give shape and substance to their convictions.  We all ‘do’ politics, and we do politics well when we bring our most deeply prized convictions into effective action.

Jesus engaged in politics. He “set his face steadfastly” in the direction of the values of the Kingdom of God, refusing to live any other way. The church and the state were each threatened by the politics of Jesus, and they formed an alliance that eventually crucified Jesus in an attempt to silence him.

Jesus did politics well, aligning his action with his most prized values.  And it killed him!

The Gospels do not hide the politics between the disciples.  Throughout Mark’s Gospel the disciples consistently fail to understand the values and the ways of Jesus.  They struggle for power within the group and Jesus contrasts this struggle by setting a powerless child in the middle, to demonstrate the ways of God.

Jesus also rebukes his followers when they try to dismiss other people who have no power - women and foreigners, those who are different.  Consistently Jesus embraces and cares for those whom society tries to forget.  It takes a lot of time and a lot of grace for the disciples to learn the ways of God.

So, is TSA in politics?  Of course it is!!  By being part of society we are part of society’s politics.  Even if we remain silent on an issue our silence speaks.

The better question is: Does TSA do politics well?  And that depends on how clear we are about our core values, and how effective we are in bringing these values into effective action.

The Australia Southern Territory declares it mission values as Human Dignity, Justice, Hope, Compassion and Community.  These words and the actions that flow from them express the ways of God through TSA.  Enacting these values leads to transforming lives, caring for people, and reforming society.

When our politics are driven by these values we do politics well.

Remember, it’s all level ground before the cross.

Writer: Married to Laurel and with two adult daughters, Dr Craig Campbell was for 27 years a Salvation Army officer. During this time he completed Doctoral studies, with a research project Emerging Images of Mission in The Salvation Army.  Prior to officership Craig practised as a civil engineer, and over the last four years has managed a youth service that offers an individualised and educational response with disengaged youth.

Politics #4: A Scary Divide! (Joe Noland)

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n America there is a divisive, unhealthy divide, politically, within the Christian community. In fact, the church tends to align itself with a particular political party based upon its orthodoxy, liberal or conservative, TSA included. And that’s not only dangerous; it’s downright scary!

For example, there is a church in the Deep South with a sign on its front lawn: “No homo mayor.” Or one in the Northeast who lost its tax exemption for taking out an advertisement in major newspapers during an election claiming that the presidential candidate was a “sinner” and that people who voted for “sinners” were “sinners” too. The illustrations go on and on, really scary!

The quintessential example of a Christian leader for whom there is no political divide is the Reverend (Dr.) Billy Graham, one of my heroes. He has been the spiritual mentor for every U.S. President since Harry Truman, political leanings, whatever they are, so unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

In the news recently, President Barack Obama met with Billy for spiritual counseling and prayer. Google the response to this meeting and you will be astounded by the results. It was a hot topic for discussion on my Facebook page, one of my professing Christian brethren commenting, “Will the praying do any good, after all, he’s a Muslim?”  And another saying, “What’s he doing meeting with Graham, he (Obama) isn’t even an American citizen!” This said in the context of praying for our leaders, even if we don’t agree with them politically. In other words, “I don’t have to pray for him, because technically and constitutionally, he is not my leader.” And these are supposedly Christian Brethren weighing in, some of them Salvationists. Scary!

Think about it historically, when a church with a particular orthodoxy (persuasion) assumes control over a nation. It never works, thus the founders of this nation wisely insisted on the separation of church and state, constitutionally. Ah, but certain religious persuasions in this country would have it otherwise, some of my Salvationist brethren included. Beyond scary!

When we allow the government to step into the pulpits of America, or anywhere for that matter, the free exercise of religion is endangered, and the government plays the role of a religious monitor. As the Supreme Court stated in 1943, “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in … religion.”

I wonder whom God has chosen to follow in the footsteps of Billy Graham; a role model to help us monitor the balance? Whoever it is, you can rest assured he/she will not be influenced politically. Peter learned this lesson, unmistakably, during his God encounter, Acts 10: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality (Vs 34 NKJ).

It’s a lesson that many of us in the Christian community have forgotten, and that’s what’s really scary! 

Writer: Commissioner Joe Noland’s ministry can be summed up in three words: chaos, creativity and controversy - three elements implicit in any successful innovative endeavor. Cecil B. DeMille, renowned producer of Biblical epics, once wrote, “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” Joe’s mantra reads, “Creativity is my drug of choice.”  Access Joe Noland’s complete bio, among other things, by clicking into his website.

Politics #3 : Polichristians (J. Gainey)

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he list of passionate differences among the people of this world seems to be limitless. We all have our soap boxes and points of frustration that we have a hard time not talking about. I’m as guilty as the next person, though I have begun to purposely avoid many conversations and subjects in these days of exaggerated tempers and disagreements.

Topics of public opinion have always been important to humanity. They are the discussions of our hearts, though not always rooted in our most compassionate thoughts toward the one(s) with whom we are speaking.

Wherever there is a television, radio or internet connection, heated monologues and dialogues of religious and political differences are being discussed, even by Christians. The political atmosphere is filling pulpits and facebook pages with followers of Jesus humiliating themselves and their family (the Church), over their political opinions.

Jesus’ monarchy was misunderstood by many, including Jews and non-Jews. Jews argued with Jews, non-Jews argued with non-Jews, and Jews and non-Jews had their arguments as well over the subject of Jesus’ kingdom and how he should run it. But Jesus made it a point to remind those who questioned his kingship that his kingdom was not a part of this world’s politics.

When Jesus’ kingship was questioned, he said to Pilate,
“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John　18:36　NIV).

In this statement, Jesus is not saying that the Kingdom of God cannot be found in the world. He told his disciples, “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick that are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you’” (Luke 10:8-9).
The point of Jesus’ claim that his kingdom is not of this world was to say that his kingship was not received by way of votes, assignment, or human birth.

The kingdom of Jesus was one that was not of a divided kingdom or a bickering nation, but a kingdom of unity and peace. It is not the loudest or the richest or the greatest number that made him a king, but by the hearts and minds of those who desired peace in their world, not more divisiveness. And yet, many of us who call ourselves Christians speak of and to our brothers and sisters with disgust and disdain.

I agree that many subjects that involve citizens within a nation are important to discuss and even vote on. But the way in which we discuss and the purpose for which we vote, must have the Kingdom of God always before us, if we call ourselves Chrsitians. We cannot claim to be Christians and hurt others with our heated words, no matter how important and personal the oponion or view.

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness” (James 3:9 NIV).

Jesus’ is the King of a kingdom that makes no sense to the world. He is a King who only divides those who refuse to come together and love one another in a world full of confusion and turmoil.

As followers of the Messiah, we are called Christians; people whose kingdom is built on a system that did not come from this world. When we get involved in the hate-mongering and verbal bashing that is so common to the politics of this world’s system, we should not call ourselves Christians and prove ourselves to be poor examples of godly images.

I think we should separate ourselves from the confused believers who dive head-first into the painful and stress-filled bloviating of useless political banter by calling them “Polichristians.”

Now that sounds like a kingdom that is of this world.

In His dust,
Johnny

Writer: Capt. Jonathan Gainey was born in Jacksonville, FL in June, 1969. He has been married to Staci, the daughter of retired Salvation Army officers, for twenty years and they have four children ages 18, 16, 12, and 4. Jonathan was commissioned as an officer in June of 2002, and is currently serving in his third appointment in New Bern, NC, USA. He is working on a Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is the creator and manager of the Flocks Diner website, where his passion for learning and teaching is expressed and shared through writing and a weekly podcast.

Politics #2 : Speaking to Politics (Chick Yuill)

Chick Yuill was invited to preach at the service organised by the churches in Manchester and the Conservative Christian Fellowship as part of the Conservative Party Conference. This is his sermon on that occasion, slightly ammended for publication.

Conservative Party Conference - “Welcome to Manchester Service”  Tuesday 6^th October, 2009 Text:  Isaiah 58:6-12

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here are many in 21^st century Britain who would question the rightness of a Christian worship service being linked in any way with a party conference.  I am clearly not one of them  -  and that for reasons that I can articulate briefly and simply.

The Christian faith is not merely a private matter  -  something between a man or a woman and their God.  There is far too much in the teaching of Jesus about love for others and justice for the oppressed for that to be true. On the other hand, I do not believe that the church should have a privileged place in society. We live in post-modern, post-Christendom, multi-cultural Britain and I, for one, do not seek to turn the clock back.

Our calling is neither to personal piety for ourselves nor to a crusading pursuit of power for the church. Our calling is to express our faith in the public arena, not by forcing it on others but by living it out in every area of life.

It is most definitely not the role of the church to politically endorse any party. But equally certainly, it is our task to prophetically engage with those who serve us and lead us in politics. I want to offer you four reasons why that is both our right and our responsibility.

1. The church calls us to a point of reference

In every human enterprise  -  perhaps especially in those that set out with high ideals  -  there lies the danger of expediency:  principles can be abandoned and people can be trampled in pursuit of even the highest of goals.

I would not suggest for one moment that Christians and other people of faith are the only ones with a moral compass, but it seems to me that the beliefs to which we are committed provide an ultimate point of reference for all human endeavours including the political arena.  If, as we believe:

- The world is the creation of a good God

- All human beings are made in his image

- God, whom Christians describe as trinity, is in his own being community and has created us for community

- God loves the world so much that he gave his own Son to die for it

If all that is true, there is a clear point of reference for how we live, how we treat each other, how we conduct business, and how we do politics. It means that in politics, as in every human endeavour, we must act in such a way that everything we do demonstrates our commitment to:

- Respect human dignity

- Encourage personal responsibility

- Work for a healthy society

2. The church has a proven track record

There is no other group of people spread throughout our nation like the church. In every town, city and village throughout Britain, the Christian church is present and active.  We’re by no means perfect in our efforts to be the body of Christ on earth  -  but we are there!

And in so many places  -  often the most needy areas in our society  -  these Christian churches are not just gatherings of the faithful. Ask who is running youth clubs, after-school clubs, breakfast clubs, homework clubs,lunch clubs for the elderly and a thousand and one other projects. And again and again, you’ll get the same answer:  It’s the church!

Ask who are the people volunteering as school governors, local councillors, community activists. And again and again, you’ll get the same answer:  it’s members of the church and followers of Jesus who are seeking to make their communities better and safer places.

We have a right to be heard simply because we’re there. And  -  more importantly  - we have a responsibility to speak for those who often cannot speak for themselves. We don’t ask to be the only voice in our nation. But we are an important voice which cannot and must not be stifled.

3. The church wants to partner in renewal

All of us here this evening  -  whether we are part of the church in Manchester or members of the Conservative Party  -  are in the business of renewal.  We want to change things for the better.

Politicians who imagine that this can be done merely by improving the environment in which people live without recognising and addressing their deepest spiritual needs are mistaken.

That way lies the disillusionment of empty materialism, but so are Christians who imagine that the job of the church is simply to prepare people for the life to come.

That way lies the escapism of the religious ghetto and the dereliction of our responsibility to work for the Kingdom of God here on earth.

We refuse to accept that there is a division between the sacred and the secular. We refuse to accept that faith is only about the individual.

Our Christian faith is holistic.  We believe that God is concerned about the whole of life. The scripture that was read earlier calls us to a renewal of our towns and cities.

¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

(Isaiah 58:10-12)

And we will partner with all men and women of good will and with politicians of every hue who are committed to working for the restoration and renewal of our towns and cities.

4. The church holds the promise of resurrection

But this is perhaps the most important thing that we bring to our society. The most important thing I will say this evening:

At the heart of the Christian faith is the conviction that God’s new creation has broken into this world, into our time and space, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. And that conviction fuels and fires our hope that what God has done in the resurrection of Jesus he will one day do not only for us but for his entire creation.

So we are not, as some imagine, primarily concerned with going to heaven. Rather, we are committed to working to bring heaven to earth.

We all know  -  priests and politicians and all people of goodwill  -   that every victory for good in this life is partial. We know that this is a fallen world and that there are always injustices to be put right, wounds to be healed, and evils to be eliminated. We know that there are set-backs and failures.

But we believe that every victory, however small, is worth the winning. Because one day God will take it up, make it part of his great resurrection project, incorporate it in his great plan of renewal.

The story of the resurrection is a story that everyone who is working for good needs to hear. It is a truth that everyone working to make a better society needs to grasp. It is a hope that needs to take hold of every one of us if we are not to give up in despair.

Let me end with a personal story…

About 18 months ago a very dear friend of ours, Nicola, died after a magnificent battle with cancer. Her death might have been seen as just a tragedy, but on the night she died her husband, Phil, sent a text message to all his friends.  There has never been a more glorious text message. It said simply this:

Nicola died peacefully at 6.00pm this evening to continue her resurrection adventure.

That says it all perfectly and beautifully.  Life that is lived for God and for good  -  with all its setbacks and tragedies  -  is part of God’s resurrection adventure. Every good thing that is done, albeit imperfectly, is part of God’s resurrection adventure.

Every act that alleviates human suffering and pain, however seemingly small, is part of God’s resurrection adventure.

So let’s work together to build for the Kingdom of God:

- in the hope of the renewal of all things

- in the promise of the resurrection, and

- in the pursuit of God’s great adventure.

Besides which all our political convictions and even our theological constructions are but faint shadows of the great reality for which we strive and which, please God, will one day dawn over our world.

(c) Chick Yuill 2009 - (Used with kind permission)

http://www.anvilding.com/speakingtopolitics.htm

Writer: Chick  has spent over thirty-five years in full-time ministry.  Most of this time has been devoted to leading and pastoring local congregations, both in the UK and the USA.  He is a passionate communicator and has frequently appeared on national radio and TV, speaking on issues of faith and morality. He is also a regular speaker at major Christian conferences such as Spring Harvest and contributes frequently to Radio Two’s Good Morning Sunday show. Chick is the author of a number of books including, ‘We Need Saints’, ‘And God Created Sex…’ ‘Leadership on the Axis of Change’, ‘This Means War’ and ‘Others’, a new look at the story of Jonah.  His latest book, ‘A Terrible Beauty:  the fierce splendour of gospel and grace’ was published jointly by Spring Harvest Publications and Authentic in April 2008. In October 2006 Chick relinquished his position as the denominational leader for The Salvation Army in Greater Manchester and now devotes himself fully to reflecting, speaking and writing on issues relating to what it means to be authentic followers of Jesus in the 21st Century.   As part of this ministry in the wider church, he gave two days each week to fulfil the duties of chairman for HOPE in Greater Manchester during 2008, an initiative that sought to encourage churches to work together to share the good news of the Christian gospel in word and deed in a way that will not only bring individuals to faith but will also impact and transform surrounding communities. That particular ministry has now come to an end and from September ‘09, Chick will work half-time for the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity (LICC) in the North West of England.  His role, which is linked to LICC’s Imagine Project, will involve working with churches to promote and facilitate the concept of Whole-life-discipleship. Chick has been married to his wife Margaret for over 40 years and for all of that time they have shared their ministry.  Their commitment to God and each other is summed up in their joint mission statement: To model Christian marriage and Christian ministry in a manner that glorifies God and serves as an example to others.

Politics #1 : Political parties - An Erroneous Assumption

Geoff Ryan walks the fine political line

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s a member of the local riding association (Canadian electoral district) for the Conservatives, I was involved in strategy and policy discussions for our candidate during a provincial election in our province a couple years ago. She is a white, well-heeled lawyer in her mid-fifties who lives in the upscale, old-money end of our electoral district. Her husband is in banking. She is a good woman who genuinely cares about social change and about certain key issues in our area. There are parts of the riding where who she is and what she appears to represent would play well, but not in my particular neighbourhood.

The New Democratic Party candidate was a Latina woman who worked with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation and was personally connected with many of the people and places in my neighbourhood. Though younger and more attractive than the Progressive Conservative candidate, she was not warm or personable, and struggled as a public speaker. In my community, she was quite popular. However, in other areas of the riding, people wouldn’t even open the door when she came knocking.

One Tuesday evening, I made my way to the Conservative campaign launch. It was held at a nice restaurant on Yonge Street. Several well-known political figures were in attendance. There was an open bar. Expensive (and inedible) finger food was served and shoals of bright young things, recently graduated from political science university courses via Upper Canada College, were working the crowd and tapping on their Blackberrys. I made sure my attendance had been noted, then left. This was not really my scene nor my crowd.

The following Saturday, I was in my backyard putting up a shed with help from a guy who recently started attending our church after coming through drug rehab. Around noon, I remembered that the NDP candidate was holding her campaign launch that afternoon in a rented space just around the corner from my house. Though dressed in paint-splattered jeans and a torn T-shirt, with a disreputable baseball hat crammed onto my head, I decided to wander over. As I rolled up to the office, I was met by the campaign manager, a woman with a crew cut who was chain-smoking out front. Looking into the office I saw a small group of immigrant women, sitting in a circle, chatting and eating home-baked goodies. The “staffers” in the office were young, bearded men with backpacks and wan smiles, and thin girls wearing badges in support of alternative bands and various left-wing causes. I schmoozed for a bit, and then went back to my shed.

The problem that niggled at me for the rest of the weekend, the duration of the campaign and, frankly, ever since, is that the NDP crowd was pretty much what my church looks like on any given Sunday. These were my people and this was the milieu in which I have lived most of my life. And the Conservative party (pun intended) wasn’t.

Certain things are important to me-small government, fiscal responsibility, entrepreneurship, individual initiative and self-reliance, plus a deep conviction of the limitations and shortcomings of the welfare state. Having lived in a post-Socialist state for almost a decade (Russia), I am quite clear-eyed about the retro-socialism that the NDP is trying to sell. Yet, there are things that come with the label “Tory” that I struggle with and don’t particularly want to own. But this is where I have landed. It’s the same with the “evangelical” label that I, at times, reluctantly wear.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso, two-term President of Brazil, sociologist, professor, politician and, according to some, one of the world’s top public intellectuals, wrote a piece entitled “Political Parties” in Foreign Policy magazine in 2005:

We take it for granted that political parties are vital to modern political life. They have shaped representative democracies since the late 19th century. Yet, their prospects are not bright in today’s large democracies. In fact, these powerful political machines may soon disappear. The ground is already shifting underneath their feet. Political parties have based their platforms on ideological and class divides that are becoming less important, especially in more advanced societies. Although class consciousness still matters, ethnic, religious, and sexual identities now trump class, and these affiliations cut across traditional political party lines. Today, the labels left and right have less and less meaning. Citizens have developed multiple interests, diverse senses of belonging, and overlapping identities…. Political dislocation exists alongside a growing fatigue with traditional forms of political representation. People no longer trust the political establishment. They want a greater say in public matters and usually prefer to voice their interests directly or through interest groups and nongovernmental organizations…. And thanks to modern communication, citizens’ groups can bypass political parties in shaping public policy. Political parties no longer have a lock on legitimacy.

When I first read this, I thought: That’s me. I shopped the idea around to some friends and acquaintances and felt like I was moving from room to room in a large house flicking on all the lights.

Though disillusionment with established political structures might be very real, political disengagement is not the answer. This is not the place to make the case for Christians to be involved in politics, but a short quote by Glenn Tinder, writing some years ago in The Atlantic Monthly, says it well enough:

We are so used to thinking of spirituality as withdrawal from the world and human affairs that it is hard to think of it as political. Spirituality is personal and private, we assume, while politics is public. But such a dichotomy drastically diminishes spirituality construing it as a relationship to God without implications for one’s relationship to the surrounding world. The God of Christian faith … created the world and is deeply engaged in the affairs of the world. The notion that we can be related to God and not to the world-that we can practice a spirituality that is not political-is in conflict with the Christian understanding of God.

If Cardoso is right, then it might actually make little difference with whom Christians choose to align themselves politically (here in the West). Parties rise to power and fall from power in cyclical patterns, and when they are in power, their influences on the policies and laws that impact “our people” are neither consistently good, nor consistently bad, regardless of political stripe. It is a misguided course of action, based on an erroneous assumption, to associate one party in particular with particular concerns or with any consistent approach to things that matter most to us.

For instance, one might associate the concerns and needs of the poor with Labour (UK), Democrats (US) and Liberals (Canada). Or, to mention another example, one might associate the religious right, along with its concerns and positions, with Conservatives (UK), Republicans (US) and Conservatives (Canada).

I have socially conservative Pentecostal friends who tell their congregants to vote Conservative, hoping they will overturn the same-sex marriage bill-an erroneous assumption. The rhetoric and policies of the NDP include care for the poor and working class, but they aim to do this by an endless expansion of government programs, strengthening the welfare state, yet thereby perpetuating generational dependence and dysfunction-another erroneous assumption. The Conservatives, reputedly cold-hearted when it comes to the down and out, actually believe deeply in the tenets of community development over service provision (whether they know it or not) and so might, in the long run, be a better bet for the poor-yet another erroneous assumption. It gets complicated.

I have a friend in Germany, Frank Heinrich, who, like myself, is a Salvation Army officer. He pastored a 614 church in Chemnitz, a city in former Eastern Germany. His church is situated in a vast and bleak micro-city of Soviet-era apartment buildings, home to thousands and thousands of people. Frank decided to run for political office in hopes of improving life in his parish. The Salvation Army (in an unusual move) granted him a leave of absence to run. This past September, he won in a landslide and is now in the Federal Parliament representing Chemnitz. Frank is a flamboyantly left-wing kind of guy with a huge heart for the poor and marginalized. But he ran his campaign as part of the Christian Democratic Union Party and was elected as a member of that party-one seen as representing the conservative right wing of the German political landscape, analogous to the Republicans in the U.S. or the Conservatives here in Canada.

His reasoning? They were going to win anyway, and he really wanted to achieve something in Chemnitz. So he threw his lot in with them, planning to work from “the inside” to effect change. A triumph of pragmatism over principle, some might say. The words of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, if true, suggest that today’s political parties are quite malleable. My German friend, then, may find himself with some significant room to do some things he might not have had room to do before.

So what’s a reluctant Tory like me to do? Short of starting my own party, I figure that picking a party to get involved with is kind of like picking a church. As a Christian, you have to be in community, and so you pick a church of some sort to belong to. The same thing goes politically. You pick a party. There’s no such thing as the perfect church, or perfect political party. Settle on one that you can live with and go from there.

Just don’t make assumptions.

Copyright © 1974-2010 Cardus. All Rights Reserved.

Writer: Major Geoff Ryan is co-founder of theRubicon and was publisher for three years. He is co-ordinator of the 614 Network and organizes the bi-annual Urban Forum. His interests include writing, politics, coffee and his children. Geoff and his wife Sandra minister in Regent Park, a social housing project in downtown Toronto, Canada.

This article originally appeared in Comment magazine, the opinion journal of CARDUS: www.cardus.ca/comment http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/1524/

I was a teenage fundamentalist - part ten

Barry Gittins asks if we are expecting a ‘return to form’ by Jesus.

Firstly, a prologue: if you are still clicking on to read this series I want to commend and thank you for your tenacity and patience. It’s been a long haul; occasionally bumpy, sometimes uncomfortable and smelly from the fumes of the human road. Still, we are in the home stretch now; discussing the 10th and 11th doctrines of The Salvation Army and your chauffeur’s limited understandings of those statements, both ‘back then’ and right here and now. Feel free to chat about the direction we are taking or give me a rest by taking a spin at the wheel through any relevant and reverent comments. Shalom, Barry

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his is not an article about ‘Christ’s second coming’. I accept that Scripture awaits such an event; I note the some of the church has gone cold on it and also that some highly dodgy teaching has been around for a century or so now, concerning that event’s likely shape and form. Christ himself suggested that we live our lives and avoid speculation about the end of life. I am happy to comply, leaving the topic for wiser and more gifted parties.

This article is a love song about a guy named Jesus and a girl he aimed to make his bride. It’s not imagery that sits comfortably with most heterosexual males, I know, but it’s biblical, important and eminently assuring.

You know the thing about going to weddings? They connect you with others and put you in an altruistic space beyond your own rumbling stomach, tired feet or hectic schedule. Regardless of if you are attending as a single, as someone’s main squeeze, as a married person, a divorced person or a remarried person - all radically different experiences, I can vouch for that - you enter a space where the needs and desires and hopes and dreams and fears of the happy couple are paramount.

You enter into community with them. You uphold them in your heart and soul.

I believe Jesus wants to woo the world. Mixing metaphors, we as his Body, are expected to help by actively recruiting members for his Bride; um, which is also us. Confused? You are not alone; western traditions of Christianity have tiptoed around these images for millennia. Endearingly, in more innocent, perhaps naïve days, Salvationists used to sing of Jesus as the ‘tender lover of my soul’, and of keenly waiting to experience ‘intercourse at hearth and home’.

So, who wants to be loved, and who wants to love? Who wants to stay at home and wash their hair, or keep their oil unused for later, more desirable lamps?

As a teenager I knew without any doubt or disturbing grey areas that God loved me and God loved the world. Unlike that dodgy trio of enemies ‘the world, the flesh and the devil’, I knew that my tribe, the Salvationists, used the term ‘the world’ in this instance to include an almost infinite number of people.

All the people I met. Passed by or bought newspapers off. Studied with or threw chalk at. Watched on TV. Played footy, cricket or volleyball against. Dated, attempted to date, or played music with. Read about, or went without food for (I was a weak excuse for a participant in the annual 40-hour famine, often caving after the first 20-odd hours and consequently assuaging my conscience with extra self-donations).

‘The world for God.’ It was big news for me, and good news for everybody.

But the good, big news seemed to get smaller in some people’s minds. I looked around at the people who weren’t there while I was oom-pa-pahing with my bandmates at the open-air meetings we held on empty street corners and heard Salvationists criticising those unsaved hordes not present for, well, being not present.

I attended the evangelism seminars that talked the talk to Christians. I listened to altar calls preached at ’saved’ folks while looking out church windows at long lines of cars of ‘unsaved sinners’ roaring past. I celebrated my faith with people who shared it.

I occasionally broke through with friends, enjoying moments of truth and revelation and beauty and Spirit. But I was getting mixed messages.

Some Salvationists, who I looked up to and admired, saw God as an active presence in their lives; somebody out and about, busy and loving, ‘the whole world redeeming’ - other Salvationists, who depressed me and confused me, drew up embarkation lines between their take on faith and the rest of a soon-to-be-damned, unhelpful and unsaveable humanity just waiting for God to smite ‘em good and proper.

This confused me. One mob of Salvationists wanted to open the doors wide and let love rule. Another mob wanted it simple without any gray: black and white, us and them, saved and damned.

I even, as a callow 19-year-old, rocked up for one night meeting (when we still had “salvation meetings”) to have a corps officer get us to our feet and tell us to go and stand in either the ‘heaven’ spot or the ‘hell’ spot, depending on how we saw our relationship with God. I never could accept or follow that person’s simplistic, dualistic way of thinking, when scripture teaches us to rest in the assurance of salvation, all the while ‘working out our salvation in fear and trembling’.

It seems to come down on how you read the gospels and the other books of the Bible. Either A) God loves us and wants to be reconciled to us. Or B) God is cheesed off that expectations weren’t met, goals weren’t scored and it’s all gunna burn when Jesus comes back to get ya.

I tend to side with A) because that’s where Jesus is at, in word and in deed.

Consider the 10th doctrine of The Salvation Army:

‘We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’

If you believe in Jesus, in God’s love and power to change you and save you from yourself and all the wrong that occurs in life, then you aren’t held responsible for being human and stuffing up. Not that you are invited to continue stuffing up royally without fear of condemnation; that’s cheap grace and ingratitude.

Rather, our life in this realm and our life in other realms to come revolve around how we choose to live our lives. In other words, how we treat others and how we respond to God (you cannot separate those two aspects of life and faith). We await new life after this gig’s through; but it’s right here and now, on this planet, in this universe, as you read this article, that Jesus wants us to have ‘life and that more abundantly’. We need to resurrect ourselves now before we can worry about an afterlife, for God’s sake.

Just as with Christ’s resurrection, and the scriptural message of his return (when was the last time you heard that preached, incidentally?), so our life and continuation of life is in God’s hands: we serve at God’s pleasure.

Captain Jason Davies-Kildea has written, helpfully, that ‘the real challenge of resurrection is not about belief, but about experience. It challenges us to place deeds before creeds, to live resurrection before we can begin to preach resurrection.

‘Here the message of Leonardo Boff resonates powerfully with the mission of The Salvation Army: Wherever people seek good, justice, humanitarian love, solidarity, communion and understanding between people, wherever they dedicate themselves to overcoming their own egoism, making this world more human and fraternal and opening themselves to the normative Transcendent for their lives, there we can say, with all certainty, that the resurrected one is present, because the cause for which he lived, suffered, was tried and executed is being carried forward.

‘There is only one appropriate response to the reality of resurrection experience: to seek out and work towards creating resurrection experiences and opportunities for new life in the lives of others.

‘The Salvation Army is continually finding ways to impart hope into people’s lives. Surely this is something we want to multiply, so that every corps, every social centre can function as a community of resurrection possibility.’

Amen.

Writer: Barry Gittins is a Melbourne-based writer, lifelong Salvationist, husband (to Trudy) and father(to Emily and Benjamin) who seeks God in everyday encounters. A frustrated poet and playwright, he has worked for the Salvos’ Australia Southern Territory in various roles since 1991: as a journalist (for Warcry, The Young Soldier/Kidzone, The Musician),technical writer and CD-ROM author in corps program (mission development), senior review editor (Warcry) and editor (On Fire). He currently works as a social program and policy consultant (writer/researcher) for the social program department.

Sadness & joy

by Maxwell Ryan

“Let’s play a game, little one,” I sang into my daughter’s ear, some years ago.  Eagerly she complied and, dropping her dolls, swung up to my lap and snuggled down.  An impish smile pulled at the corner of her mouth as she poked a finger into my ribs with astonishing speed and said “I tickled you”-a statement of invitation as well as of fact.

I declined this overture and instead said, “I want to ask you a question.”

“Well” she said, bright with impatience “what is it?  What’s your question?”

“I want you to tell me what makes you happy” I replied.  She hesitated for a moment or so and then, in a doleful voice, replied “Daddy, I can’t!”  There was a pause and then came the explanation, told with urgency.  “I don’t know what makes me happy, but” and then her voice sparkled with certainty “I do know what makes me sad!”

She is not alone.  You know that, don’t you? Most of us can tell, at a moment’s notice, all of our problems and the concerns that depress us and make our life miserable.

But we are slow to remember the good things.  We are hard put, sometimes, to scare up a few blessings.  And so our days continue in their bleakness as we moan and groan about our lot in life.

Of course, this is not the whole story. It is not even half the story. I find it very significant that one of Jesus’ most consistent promises to His people was that they could receive the gift of joy.

Joy is not emotion-based. Rather it is embraced when we decide to focus on Jesus, while opening our inner life to the empowering Holy Spirit.

The next time you find yourself spouting a litany of complaint, decide instead to nourish the joy and peace that has the taste of Heaven. Good-bye sadness, hello joy!

His word, and his life, had been given; who was he to take them back?

Writer: Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell Ryan is a former Editor in Chief in Canada and the UK. In retirement has been a copy editor of theRubicon and the author of two series on theRubicon - Resurrected Writers and Thinkaloud

A theory of everything?

by Adam Couchman

I

n the 1950’s one of the great scientific races of all time ended. The discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, the building blocks of life, opened the door to many more significant scientific breakthroughs in our time.

This discovery has had a huge impact on our understanding of life as we know it, and in particular has provided the framework for some very significant developments in the areas of medical research and criminal investigations. In the twenty-first century a new race is on, for the elusive “theory of everything”. The challenge here involves drawing together multiple, widely accepted, but at times seemingly contradictory theories (such as quantum theory, the theory of relativity, string theory, etc) under a single unifying whole - the so-called, but yet to be discovered, “theory of everything”.This challenge is proving particularly elusive for scientists, but I believe the church also needs to embark upon a similar quest lest it continue on a path of segmentation and eventual separation.

As I see it, there tends to be three main focal points that people, by virtue of personality, interest, culture, upbringing or otherwise, tend to be drawn towards within the church; worship, mission, and social justice. Of course, these three categories are not mutually exclusive, nor an exhaustive representation of the possibilities that exist, and they are of course generalisations as well, but from my observations it appears that people tend to lean towards one of these particular areas more heavily than they do to others. The danger here is that people lean “too far”, becoming exclusivist in their approach to Christian living and misunderstanding and even looking down upon others who do not share their views or passion in their particular area of interest.

For example, those who lean in the direction of “worship” tend to place a great emphasis upon the weekly gathering. A lot of preparation goes into this meeting, with practices, musical arrangements, sourcing new songs, movie clips, decorations, sermon preparation and so on. These are all worthwhile activities for worship is a good thing. We are created to worship and enjoy God’s presence, but without the added dimensions of mission and addressing the issues of injustice that exist within the world we risk becoming “Sunday” Christians; only interested in the next service and never actually engaging with the world around us.

Similar dangers abound in the other two categories I have suggested. Those who lean towards “social justice” are passionate about righting the wrongs that exist within the world. This particular emphasis has received much attention in the last five to ten years and rightly so. Before that time we’d rarely even heard of phrases such as “fair trade” or “people trafficking”. Sure, the church had been involved in dealing with these issues in the past but what has changed dramatically is how accessible the solutions have become. The average Christian now has the opportunity to become a part of the solution, not just your heavyweights like John Wesley, William Wilberforce, or W.T. Stead. Simple things like what thinking about what chocolate, tea and coffee we purchase are making a difference for those who produce these commodities. Recently we saw Cadbury in the UK and now in Australia release “fair trade” labelled chocolate, as a direct result of the pressure that has been placed upon this company from those with a particular interest in social justice issues.

However we must remember that Christians are not the only ones trumpeting this horn. This is not a bad thing, of course. The more, the merrier. But the danger is that as we address these issues the “why?” becomes detached from the “how”. There is a significant threat that social justice activity loses its theological framework, and so successes such as the “conversion” of Cadbury, become “human” successes and not God’s. We put the pressure on the company and we convinced them to change their ways. We forget to acknowledge and thank God for his activity in sanctifying one more of the impure and unjust structures that have existed within society.

I could continue, but you get the picture.

I guess what I am trying to suggest here is not that we stop any of these activities. That would be an absolute travesty. Nor am I suggesting that those who have a particular bent towards “mission” should suddenly stop and get on with the “real” issues of worship or addressing social justice issues. Again, that would just be arrogant and misguided. Rather, I would like to propose a “theory of everything”; a theological framework that I hope each of these emphases, and indeed others that come to mind (education, youth and children, aged care etc.), can be one part of. If each of us can hold onto this “theory of everything” then perhaps there is the opportunity to see ourselves as contributing to the whole, and thus benefiting each of the other areas.

So here’s my suggested “theory of everything” summed up in a phrase I picked up in Clark Pinnock’s Flame of Love - “social sanctification”. If we try and look at this issue from God’s perspective here is what we see. In creation God saw that everything was “very good”, in other words the whole was holy - it was “socially sanctified”. Then sin enters the equation and causes all the problems that we see within individuals and society as a whole. But, against the popular myth that sin caused “separation from God”, God remains very much interested in his creation. He does not separate himself from his people, but rather sets about the task of “sanctifying” that which is no longer “very good”. This takes place by means of floods, covenants, the calling out of a particular people as a royal priesthood, a sacrificial cultic system, the provision of land, the continued self-revelation of God’s self by means of the Scriptures, and ultimately through the Christ event and the sending of the Holy Spirit into creation. We also possess the eschatological hope that is revealed in passages such as Revelation which reveal a time when creation will ultimately be re-created (note not destroyed), and return to a state of being “very good” once again. This is, as I see it, God’s ultimate purposes in the world, and I describe this process as “social sanctification”. The miracle is that God invites us to be involved and equips us for the task in this ongoing process.

Within this broader category of “social sanctification” we can see many possible sub-categories that contribute to this ultimate goal of restoring creation to being “very good” once again. These include, but are not limited to, the three main categories listed above. Worship; restoring right relationship between humanity and God by means of attributing to God the praise that he is due as God. This is social sanctification and addresses the rampant individualism that sin is founded upon and continues to infect society with. Mission; eliminating the barriers that exist preventing those who are not a part of the people of God from entering into fellowship with the Triune God and true fellowship with creation. This is social sanctification and responds to the call of God to share the good news of the Gospel with the entire world. Social justice; directly addressing issues of injustice and inequality that particularly affect the poor, disadvantaged, marginalised of society, not forgetting issues related to ecology, for the betterment of all creation. This is social sanctification and recognises that the Christian faith is not just about “me and my relationship with Jesus”, but about God’s restorative activity within the world which we are called to be a part of.

The more I think about this theory, the more it resonates with me, and the more I think it has value within the Christian church. One of the major problems that scientists face in their pursuit for this elusive theory is that a “theory of everything” must be a theory of EVERYTHING. It must encompass every known scientific endeavour and include all possible outcomes. So too for this theological “theory of everything”.

So it’s time to take this theory from the hypothetical and trial it within the test tube. Does it fit? Does it work? Are the outcomes consistent? Is it possible for all Christian activity, thought and practice to be conflated beneath this umbrella?
The task is massive, but I think the call to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3) calls for such an endeavour.

For the glory of the Triune God and for the purpose of His kingdom, may it be so.

Writer: Captain Adam Couchman is currently the Director for the School for Christian Studies at Booth College, Australia Eastern Territory. He loves reading, talking, discussing, thinking, and re-thinking all things theological. Most of all, he just wants to “be Holy as God is holy”. Adam is married to Megan and together they have two girls - Brielle and Annabelle.

On a High Horse?

by Terry Camsey

“If your outgo exceeds your income,

Your upkeep will be your downfall!”

I

t’s an old couplet but one that has application in many different contexts. For example, while on holiday in Germany last year, my wife and I visited the town of Saltzburg… a  city with close connections to the early life of Mozart.

The Tour Guide mentioned the dilemma of the Catholic Church there which was losing thousands of members a year… and with that loss a considerable reduction in guaranteed income. It reminded me of that couplet with the outgo of members significantly impacting the upkeep potential.

No church can survive without members…in fact members are the church. They are the one measurement that can - more than any other - impact (no, determine!) the future of the church.

In John 3:16, God sets out the foundational purpose of His church quite clearly. He gave his only begotten Son that… “people should have clothes on their backs?” No! That “people might have a roof over their heads?” No! That “their bellies might be filled?” No!

Our ministry may include all of those and more, but the supreme purpose God gave us Jesus was that people might have everlasting life. William Booth was astute enough to know that it was difficult to speak to a man about his soul while such physical needs might be so urgent that he could hear nothing until those needs were satisfied. There is a real danger that in meeting only temporal needs, we can fail to take the opportunity to speak to that man about the state of his soul.

Salvation Army history books tell us that everyone coming through the soup lines of Booth’s day was dealt with spiritually.

The mandate (command!) given by Christ Himself in The Great Commission - to the disciples of his day and by inference to those who follow in their footsteps - is to: go and make disciples of all nations; baptize (enroll them in His church), and teach them to observe all the things He commanded those first disciples to do…promising that, if we did, He would be with us always to the end of the age.

We can (and do) measure many things, but the bottom line in evaluating our mission and ministry in accomplishing The Great Commission is quite clear, “souls won, enrolled in the church and being discipled.”  That is the ultimate measure of our success in ministry. All else should contribute to that end.

General Wellington, once sent a dispatch to the British Foreign Office while fighting in Spain. It read thus:

Gentlemen, while marching from Portugal to a position which commands the approach to Madrid and the French forces, my officers have been diligently complying with your requests which have been sent by His Majesty’s ship from London to Lisbon and thence to dispatch riders to our headquarters.

We have enumerated our saddles, bridles, tents and poles, and all manner of sundry items for which His Majesty’s government holds me accountable. I have dispatched reports on the character, wit and spleen of every officer. Each item and every farthing has been accounted for with two regrettable exceptions for which I beg your indulgence.

Unfortunately the sum of one shilling and nine-pence remains unaccounted for in one infantry battalion’s petty cash, and there has been a hideous confusion as to the number of jars of raspberry jam issued to one cavalry regiment during a sandstorm in Western Spain. This one reprehensible carelessness may be related to the pressure of circumstances, since we are at war with France, a fact that may come as a bit of surprise to you gentlemen in Whitehall.

This brings me to my present purpose, which is to request elucidation of my instructions from His Majesty’s government, so that I may better understand why I am dragging an army over these barren plains. I construe that perforce it must be one of two alternative duties, as given below. I shall pursue either one with the best of my ability but I cannot do both:

1) To train an army of uniformed British clerks in Spain for the benefit of the accountants and copy-boys in London, or, perchance

2) To see to it that the forces of Napoleon are driven out of Spain

Your Most Obedient Servant,

Wellington

One wonders whether leaders on the front lines of other “Calvary regiments” (no misprint!) might even today face a similar dilemma in determining priorities.

It’s a point worth pondering, don’t you think?

Writer: A published and recorded composer; cornet soloist of international fame; Terry Camsey was a Salvation Army officer for over twenty years mostly in the area of Church Health and Growth who in retirement is a church growth consultant. He studied with Carl F George (of the then Fuller Institute of Evangelism) as a church growth “doctor” (Diagnosis with Impact), Lyle E. Schaller, Charles and “Chip” Arne and trained as facilitator with Covey Institute (Seven Habits and  First Things First), and The Edward de Bono Lateral Thinking Course.

Terry has traveled as Church Growth teacher around the world including Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, Philippines, Germany.

He is writer of “Slightly Off-Center” (Crest books) and regular columnist in New Frontier (The Salvation Army USA West’s periodical) for over two decades.

© Terry Camsey, August 2009 (Used with permission of the author)

1000 Posts - Comments from Contributors

Congratulations on the 1000th post! I am so proud to be a part of such an amazing group of writers and contributors, to such a great publication. The Gospel has been a blessing to many, many people because of this site, and may it continue far beyond even the 1 millionth post.

In His dust,
Johnny (Jonathan Gainey)

I like to think that blogging is a much less formal type of writing. It’s like jotting on a napkin at the restaurant. It’s a way to think out loud. However, here at the Rubicon, it can be like talking out loud in church. Suddenly everyone turns to listen and every word matters. It was Geoff Ryan who encouraged me to submit some of my jottings. I did, and I quickly discovered I’m not from around here, it’s a little like having a foreign accent. 

I am a thinker. My favorite tools for thinking are observation and dialogue. I am a visual learner and a vital part of the process is talking through my observations in order to refine the valuables. I didn’t do well in school, except in a few subjects where this learning style seemed to work. It wasn’t until midlife before I discovered writing. Writing became a process of sort words, almost like talking to myself. I found myself using this technique to sort through ideas, often reading my words back to myself aloud. Today I carry a note book with me, or my iPod, and I jot down ideas as they come to me. I’ve tried using voice recordings, but it doesn’t seem to have the same effect. There is something special about forcing ideas through the word arranging part of my brain. Having written that I’d still rather talk about it. Anybody who works with me knows that. I spend a lot of time standing in office doorways working through ideas.

Many of the pieces that are posted would never be considered napkin jottings, most are essays. Joe Noland, and perhaps a few others occasionally produce the exception. So many seem to be about the functions and doctrines of the SA. The ones that score the most comments are those that wrestle with the theological/ideological issues. It seems as though the focus of the Salvation Army is the salvation of the Army.
Although I struggle with my writing, and although I am not from around here, both Bruce and Geoff and a few others have made me welcome. I will continue to write on napkins, about things that turn my crank. I can promise they won’t be about officer training strategies or how to keep the big machine running. I can also promise that many of my ideas won’t be well thought out, three point essays. I believe the Rubicon should be like a coffee shop, the kind where you can walk in and join a conversation. This will only work if we write in a manner that invites dialogue.
So what do you think?  

Wayne Rumsby

The Education section of theRubicon is a unique international repository for post graduate and research material relating to the work and mission of The Salvation Army.  Finding high quality academic work on The Salvation Army has never been easier as it’s all stored in the one place, with summary pages to tempt you in to the lengthier documents.  The next stage of development will see a targeted collection of research relating specifically to the social service practices of The Salvation Army.  We’re always looking for more material, so if you or someone you know has recently completed a post-graduate dissertation or has engaged with an academic institution in research that relates to The Salvation Army, please let us know.

Jason Davies-Kildea (Captain)

Who would have thought, in the distant days of urgent discussion and planning, that we would be celebrating the 1000^th post on the Rubicon. But it has happened, and here we are, energetically anticipating the future! Thinkaloud” and “Resurrected writers” may yet live again occasionally – if the editor has space from time to time. Blessings on you Bruce and the team, and may the forum continue!

Max Ryan

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Wow, quite an accomplishment! In those beginning days, Geoff wrote and asked if I would like to be a regular contributor, to which I quickly replied, “Yes!” 

To my way of thinking, this is “Order of the Founder” groundbreaking stuff (WB would be proud!). Who knows? So, let me join the well-deserved “kudos-giving” parade.

The risk-taking has and will continue to payoff big time.    Joe Noland