What might have been

by Terry Camsey 

Some while ago retired General John Larsson wrote the following: 

“As I look back, how I wish we as an Army had been more positive in our response to the Holy Spirit renewal. Had we had prophets who taught us to welcome this movement of the Spirit whilst rejecting the wrong teaching that accompanied it, the story could have been so different. 

But, instead of hoisting our sails and setting them to catch the full force of this gale of the Spirit, we as a movement lowered them. Instead of fanning the fire of the Spirit we sometimes quenched it. And all because the explanation of an experience that was so right was so wrong. 

It is, of course, easy to have 20/20 vision with hindsight and none of this was clear at the time. It also has to be said that despite our hesitations as a Movement, the Holy Spirit renewal succeeded in bringing about climate change in the Army - in a positive sense. The temperature in our worship has risen markedly since those days, and we are still rejoicing in the new warmth…” 
 

I suspect that the Army has always had its prophets, since that is one of the spiritual gifts that are bestowed upon (some) members of the body of Christ…his church. Whether we were interested in what such prophets had to say is debatable. 
But recently, as I read those words again, they brought to mind an incident that occurred a few years ago at the end of a divisional music camp in Northern California. It was one of the first such camps opened to non-musicians who didn’t qualify for the music camp embracing them in what is now known as a Gospel Arts program. 

Unique to that camp was the production of a youth musical involving all campers.  Groups of non-musicians, coached by empathic and enthusiastic leaders, accepted the challenge of interpreting the story of Daniel in the lions’ den. Carefully studying Scripture, they worked out a script, did all the acting and (for want of a better word) choreography. They also had the task of rooting around the camp and getting together their own costumes, and props. The music students provided songs to illustrate each segment, and the whole production was called “FAITH, FANGS AND FIRE!” 

At the end of the presentation, on the last day and last event of camp, the participants swarmed spontaneously on to the floor of the hall and started dancing for pure joy to the music. 

When I reported to my next officer appointment a few days later, I was called in to the Territorial Commanders office, because one of the outside attendees had phoned THQ to complain about the dancing…which was “definitely not allowed.” In response, I produced a picture from a very old Army Periodical (the War Cry, as I recall) where Salvationists were depicted at a tent meeting dancing in the aisles in the Spirit and in full uniform! 

Some years later, while visiting a territory near the Land of Oz, I was made aware of sharp differences between younger officers who were into faith healing - and other visible evidences of the Holy Spirit at work -  and an older generation of Salvationists, very disturbed by this and labelling it “not real Army.” 

The old Army periodical I mentioned seems to contradict that claim.  

I recall doing some research on the subject of signs and wonders with (I believe, but its a few years ago and I’m not getting any younger!) the help of the International Heritage Center. In particular, I clearly remember a quote by General William Booth in which, talking about the supernatural gifts of the Spirit, he said he could not doubt that they were at work among the early Army. 

Another influential and highly placed early day commissioner indicated that his “delight” was the holiness and healing meetings. 

It is quite evident that signs and wonders, healing meetings and other such workings of the Spirit were not unusual in Booth’s young Army…a quite different interpretation of what “real Army” is. 

It has been my experience that, in using the phrase, “it’s not real Army,” many older people are talking about the Army in the era in which they were brought up…an Army that had (as the then, now deceased officer Charles Skinner wrote many years ago in an unpublished song warning against it) “become respectable!” 

Was Booth’s early Army the “real Army?” Of course! Is today’s Army the “real Army?” Of course! Are they the same?  

They may be to some extent, but in other respects not.  The big question is, “Are we allowing the Holy Spirit the freedom to do as He wills?” or are we quenching Him? 

General Larsson finishes the thoughts I have quoted above by saying: 

“…But it is what might have been that will always tantalize.” 

“Holy Spirit , come, O come,

Let Thy will in me (us) be done!

All that hinders shall be thrown aside,

Make me (us) fit to be thy dwelling.”

(Chorus of Song 188 in the SASB)

Writer: For thirty years Terry Camsey has been immersed in Church Growth and Health issues at local, middle and upper administrative levels. He is author of the book “Slightly Off-Center” (Crest Books) and is working on “Beyond the Cusp of The Curve..exploring the single most critical influence on the life, health, growth, vitality and decline of Christian denominations and the churches within them.”

He is founder of the new ChurchCatalystsInternational focusing on the role of interventionists as catalysts: shedding light, creating heat, inspiring energy and accomplishing transformation. More details are on his new website http://churchcatalystsinternational.org./ 

© Terry Camsey, August 2010 (Used with permission of the author)

“The Un-Churchable”

St. Patrick’s ministry was considered an outreach to “barbarians” by the Roman Church leaders of his time. To be worthy of receiving the Christian faith, a people first had to be considered civilized to some degree, and upon receiving the faith, they had to be willing to accept “the Roman way” (Hunter, The Celtic Way, p. 17).

The ability to be welcomed into the Kingdom was expected only of the non-barbarians of the world. The Irish who were believed to be uncivilized by the Roman wing of Christianity were considered, to coin a phrase, “Un-Christianable.”

Most established denominations come from Roman or European roots, and most have trouble reaching today’s barbarians. There continues to be a lack of willingness to welcome those who are considered uncivilized and not willing to take on “the Way of the Church.” To be sure, there are some denominations who boast that they are different, and provide a home to those who have no church that will accept them, but in my opinion, that is more lip-service than reality.

Most denominations have trouble welcoming homosexuals (who would come to Church with their ‘mates’), prostitutes (who have no plans of quitting their night job), couples who live together (and have no plans to get married), and, let’s not forget those who come for no other reason than they like the practical teaching of Christianity (but have no plans to “join” the Church).

There are many “barbarians” in our world today, who are not civilized enough, nor are they willing to become “Denominationized” and make themselves able to fit in with the predictable behavior of those to whom the Church finds easiest to minister.

So what to do?

Recognizing that we are all “barbarians” is probably a good beginning (s. Romans 3:23). Secondly, the Church would do well to remember who Jesus spent much of his time with-the twelve not-good-enough’s that no other rabbi would take the time to teach (disciples), and people whom very few, in his time, would even consider inviting to worship (barbarians).

“While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the ‘sinners’ and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?’ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Mark 2:15-17 NIV).

Denominational leaders are expected to spend the majority of their time with the “church folk”, as if he or she is the matradee of the civilized and churchized, while the barbarians are ostracized until they are ready to be assimilated into “the Denomination way”, like good little boys and girls.

I know my words may come across as a bit negative, and my intention is not to offend the establishment, but to bring recognition to the truth that many Christians could stand to hear God’s warning and promise in Ezekiel 34:4: “You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally” (NIV).

As George Hunter says so clearly, “…as in the case of the ancient Roman wing of the Church, denominations are still substantially in the hands of the less apostolic wing of the Church, which works overtime to gain and retain institutional control; which assumes it knows best; and which works persistently to impose Roman, European, or other culturally alien forms upon the more indigenous and growing movements within the denomination. This pathology is observed today, for example, in most of the denominations in the United States that were ‘imported from Europe’” (pp. 95-96).

In His dust,

Johnny

Works Cited:

George G. Hunter III The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West… Again (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000).

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.

Not a leg to stand on

From a true story (unfortunately)

“I‘ve lived on the streets since I was 13. That’s over 10 years. I couldn’t hack another foster family disaster so I got outta there.

Usually sleep in the doorways at the back of churches. It’s shelter and I feel kinda safe. Churchies are mostly very kind. My Aunty reckons that people like me have done that for hundreds of years especially during that depression time and the wars.

I’ve got a dodgy heart and the Docs say my circulation isn’t great. I have to take it easy, so I read alot. I love my books, reading takes me to another place. Books are like babies to me and they go with me with my blanket and jacket.

A few months ago I bunked down at the back of a sally hall. It was always dry, there was a nearby light for security and the odd kindheart in a uniform would sometimes give me a drink or food. Good old sallies. They’ve helped me many, many times; saved my life I reckon. Helped with food,  in court and one sally lady sometimes washes my hair and lets me have a long hot shower. That’s luxury I reckon.

I overheard a couple of sallie people saying that I wasn’t welcome there. They said I was a disgrace, a health hazard, a danger to the children and the old people. I pretended to be asleep. I wasn’t hurting anyone. And anyway I thought their whole thing was about helping people like me?

One day I found my blanket and me books trashed in a rubbish bin. I pulled them out, dusted them off and set up camp again. A few days later everything was completely gone and the doorway was wet and stank of disinfectant. I got another blanket from a mate and more books.

I had to go bush to see my sick Aunty. When I got back my doorway was completely shut off by thick steel fences. The mumbling people had won.

I had a rant to some other sallies I know about what a bunch of liars and hypocrites they all were. They turned away and looked sad but they still try and help me. I wondered if all those other people who arrived in their lovely cars, shiny trumpets and crispy clean uniforms on Sunday morning were happy to spend their money on the fences to keep me and my friends away from their precious back doorway.

I searched for another place, the nights were getting colder as winter rolled in. I spent my time between the cold, hard concrete of carparks or under damp trees in the park. I was getting pretty sick. My legs starting getting numb. I collapsed one morning a few weeks ago and ended up in hospital.

I was completely out of it for three days. When I woke up the Doc told me my legs would have to come off - above the knee. They got the saw out that afternoon.

So that’s where I’m at, right now. Homeless, broke and legless. Not sure what happens next.

Don’t tell me your God or that Jesus fella can help me now. His people didn’t. “

The Hitchens brothers

Review of: Peter Hitchens, The Rage against God, Grand Rapids, Zondervan 2010, hb, 224 pp.

by Maxwell Ryan

Christopher Hitchens is among the more prominent of the current crop of atheists, which is one reason why The rage against God (subtitled “How atheism led me to faith”) by his less well-known brother Peter, is such a fascinating read. This is a marvelous read, for form as well as content. Readers who are looking for a defense of the Christian faith against atheism will not be disappointed. Yet this is far from being a fundamentalist rant.

Peter - a British journalist, author and broadcaster - is currently a columnist for the Mail on Sunday. A former revolutionary, he attributes his return to faith largely to his experience of socialism in practice, which he witnessed during his years reporting in Eastern Europe. Three years as a resident correspondent in Moscow during the collapse of the Soviet Union confirmed his growing doubts about secular salvation.

This is a beautifully written and poignant book. The carefully crafted language is a delight to read as the author leads his readers along a winding autobiographical journey that is honest, thought provoking and kind. As the younger brother (by three years), Peter early learned to fight physically and verbally with a brother who defined much of his life. As Peter writes, “Christopher and I have had over the past fifty years what might be called a difficult relationship. Some brothers get along; some do not. We were the sort who just didn’t.”

The poignancy is evident as Peter muses, “My brother and I agree that independence of mind is immensely precious. This will not make us close friends at this stage. We are two utterly different men approaching the ends of two intensely separate lives. Let us not be sentimental here, nor rashly over-optimistic . . . But I was astonished that the longest quarrel of my life seemed unexpectedly to be over . . . as I have long hoped it would be.”

The rage against God is an important book, not only because it is a sparkling example of a well-written book, but also because it reveals that no one is outside the providence of God.

I find it interesting that the book is published by a Christian publisher and not by the well-known secular publisher that has published Christopher’s attacks on Christianity.

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

The Holy Spirit and The Salvation Army

  What, if anything, do Salvationists think or feel about God the Holy Spirit?

Let’s consider the historical roots of Salvationists’ theological grasping after the Holy Spirit. The Salvation Army has always believed in and preached on a personal relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit (p 40, the old Handbook of Doctrine). But we have no specific doctrine addressing the person of the Holy Spirit.

The Salvo doctrines touching on the Holy Spirit, as with all Salvo doctrines, are highly evident as being theologically sound and hailing, via Wesleyan and Arminian lineage back to orthodox Christianity’s origins. 

There is the third doctrine: ‘We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead - the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory.’ 

The seventh doctrine: ‘We believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and renewal by the Holy Spirit, are necessary to salvation.’ 

The eighth doctrine: ‘That we are justified by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and that he that believes has the witness in himself.’ 

The Spirit has particularly been sought through prayer; we plead with the Spirit to ‘indwell’ Salvationists both in their platform/pulpit ministry and in their daily lives.  

William Booth, no scholar but a great ‘practitioner’ who knew how to work a room, sought to establish a vital and compelling ministry that would work on people’s hearts and minds and compel them to make peace with God (General Booth by Railton: pp 40-43).  

He would consequently act like a spiritual berserker at times (ibid: p 42), his outlandishly demonstrative preaching style breaking through people’s formal and respectable ‘defences’.  

Booth believed he was empowered by the Spirit and acted with the strength of that belief. A committed belief in the indwelling of the Spirit, Booth taught his officers, would mean ‘you are full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost, you will have a full measure of salvation’ (Seven Spirits, p 88). That would affect the outcome of public and personal ministry. 

Booth taught his officers that they themselves were responsible for the outcomes under God’s steam, as ‘all this is in harmony with the law laid down by Jesus Christ when he said, “According to your faith be it unto you”‘ (ibid). 
 

Consider Commissioner Brengle’s classic if daggily-titled Love Slaves (for example, pp 70, 71). Brengle was of course one of the Army’s most prominent damage control experts (a ‘putter outer’ of internal arguments and ‘friendly fires’) and perhaps our most respected holiness teachers . To a certain extent we enjoy a legacy of ’seeking after’ holiness - we persist in this organisational quest and conversation - because of Brengle and his peers. We should all doff our caps at the Army’s remaining/surviving (?) spiritual retreats known as ‘Brengle fellowships’. 

Brengle emphasised the need for personal purity (Love Slaves, p 72) and also wrote against the dangers people in ministry encounter from wrongful expressions of their sexuality (pp 61-67, particularly the prophetic example given of the silver-haired American evangelist, p 62). 

Salvationists have traditionally been more comfortable pursuing the fruits of the Spirit rather than the Spirit’s gifts. But there have been experiences of signs and wonders that defy rational thought or conjecture. In particular the supernatural power of the Spirit has been attested to by Bramwell Booth, the Founder’s oldest son and the second international leader of the Army (see Echoes and Memories, p 50). 

I want to put the possibility of levity at ‘witnessing levitation’ aside (one of the high points of Bramwell’s memoirs), and add this disclaimer: I don’t want to sound disrespectful of the guy and his grasp on reality (not intended). But we should be aware that, as well as the reality of political payback on the part of his relative/s and his leadership peers, the second General’s mental and physical health was one of the reasons the High Council got rid of him some few months before he was ‘promoted to glory’  

Salvationists have occasionally issued criticism of other churches for lack of an authentic conversion experience of their congregations. This has been, it has been suggested, due to a lack of pursuing, wrestling and submitting to God the Holy Spirit (see These Fifty Years, pp 64,65). 

But no less an authority than the Founder himself attested to the fact that the gifts of the Spirit, including physical healing, had been enjoyed intermittently ‘in the Army throughout its history’ (Larsson, The Man Perfectly Filled With The Spirit, p 70). 

Obeying the Holy Spirit’s prompting was part of the way Salvationists were taught they would prevail in prayer. Catherine Booth urged her comrades to live in union with Jesus, obey the teaching of the word and the urging of the Spirit, and rely utterly on God (Practical Religion, p 211). 

Perhaps sailing a little close to the notion of a ‘magical formula’ for answered prayer, the historical record of the Army reveals that Salvationists did catch the wind of the Spirit in their sails. 

Evaluating the growth and sustaining work the Spirit undertook in the life of the Army, these words of Catherine Booth ring true for the Army of her day and challenge Salvationists in this era: 

‘God must be true; and if your experience contradicts the sure word of promise, you may be certain that it is your experience [read personal experience here] which is at fault. Examine yourself. Repent, and do your first works. He is faithful and just to forgive the sins of His people, and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness. 

‘And then bring all the tithes of a whole-hearted, loving, and believing service into His store-house, and prove him therewith, and see if He will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out such a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ 

Do we put up our hand and accept culpability for a perceived lack of spiritual success?  

Are our expectations of God too small?  

Or do we fail to back them up with genuine faith and works? 

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.

Scary Statistics and Terrifying Trends!

Steve Court posts some scary statistics and terrifying trends over at http://www.armybarmy.com/blog.html (Aug. 9, 2010). And his accompanying challenge is not only courageous; it’s spot on!

His concluding comment: “The Army is better than this. It deserves better than this. God certainly deserves better than this. If you aren’t uncomfortable reading this post, you should be, so ask the Lord to make you uncomfortable (and to show you what you should do to help)”. Click on over there, check out the numbers, and test your own personal comfort level. 

If you go back into the archives of my blog, “Slightly Irregular” (www.joenoland.blogspot.com), you’ll find posts on this theme, ad nauseam. So, I’ll spare you further comment on my part and share some outside, intelligent, authoritative voices. 

Anne Rice, on her Facebook page, recently announced that she is quitting Christianity. Interviewed, she says in part: “I’ve also found that I can’t find a basis in Scripture for a lot of the positions that churches and denominations take today, and I can’t find any basis at all for an anointed, hierarchical priesthood. So all of this finally created a pressure in me, a kind of confusion, a toxic anger at times, and I felt I had to step aside. And that’s what I’ve done.” The entire interview is worth a read: 

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs-anne-rice-20100807,0,5152082.story 

Leonard Pitts writes brilliantly in his Miami Herald column: “According to a 2008 study by Trinity College, religiosity is trending down sharply in this country. The American Religious Identification Survey, which polled more than 54,000 American adults, found that the percentage who call themselves Christian has fallen by 10 since 1990 (from 86.2 percent to 76 percent) while the percentage of those who claim no religious affiliation has almost doubled (from 8.2 to 15) in the same span…Organized religion, Christianity in particular, is on the decline, and it has no one to blame but itself: It traded moral authority for political power.”

He concludes, “But what of those who are not atheists? What of those who feel the blessed assurance that there is more to this existence than what we can see or empirically prove? What of those who seek a magnificent faith that commits and compels, and find churches offering only a shriveled faith that marginalizes and demeans?

Its response to those people, those seekers, will determine the future of organized religion. And it might behoove keepers of the faith to keep in mind the distinction Anne Rice drew in her farewell: Christ didn’t fail her, she said. Christianity did.” Read more:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/04/1760058/keeping-faith-losing-religion.html 

Phil Wall, insider-outsider, writes in his book I’ll Fight…’ Holiness at War’,

“Secondly, the nature of leadership is changing dramatically in the Western world. To say that top-down hierarchical leadership is dead is an understatement. Current specialists in leadership such as Charles Handy and Professor John Hunt of London Business School, suggest that linear and relational leadership will shape future organisations, and emerging generations will have little attraction to heavy authoritarian institutions.” 

Notice a unifying theme here? 

Can’t resist it. Here’s my slightly irreverent insider’s take (perhaps not as intelligent and authoritative) on it all: http://slightlyirreverent.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-had-dream.html. 

To nudge you over there, here’s a question asked within the post: “Were Jesus here in the flesh today, would He even entertain taking on a title: General Jesus or Pope Jesus or Archbishop Jesus?” 

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.

The (Shooting?), Silver Star

                                        The order of the fallen? asks Harold Hill 

The Order of the Silver Star is the award made by a grateful Salvation Army to the mothers of its officers, presumably to recognise that their children have been nurtured with a propensity to become officers. Fathers evidently make a lesser contribution to this outcome, though lately, at least in this territory, they have tended to be mentioned in dispatches at the time of commissioning even if undeserving of a medal in their own right. This distinction, apparently devised by Evangeline Booth in that sentimental nation that also gave us Mothers’ Day and later foisted on the international Army, provides at its best the opportunity for the Movement to engage in some way with non-Salvationist parents of officers, perhaps with the happy outcome that they enlist in its ranks themselves. At its worst, the administration of the Order provides one of those meaningless “little jobs for the ladies” dreamed up to fulfill the calling of the officer-wives of men occupying positions of great responsibility at THQ.

Recently I happened upon a further refinement of this system of recognition. The mother of an officer resigning her commission received a letter from the Personnel Section at Territorial Headquarters advising her that she was no longer entitled to wear her Silver Star. Might a non-Salvationist mother simply take this in her stride as one of those peculiarities of this curious organisation, or would she perceive it as somewhat ungracious? And when the mother is herself a retired officer, would it be perceived as shaming to some degree? Would it imply that just as the mother was held responsible and rewarded for the career choice of her son or daughter, she was now to be held equally responsible and degraded for that same offspring’s further decision to fulfill her calling in a different sphere? And should that child subsequently re-enter the Work, as sometimes happens, would the mother receive a further letter advising her that it was now OK to put up her decoration again?

Now within the cultural cocoon spun by a spiritual bureaucracy, the sending of such a letter may seem entirely logical and consistent. Anyone less myopic might find it hurtful and sick. We have a well-attested tradition of shooting our wounded in this Army; it would appear that we also take pot-shots at their relations. Of course this is par for the course under totalitarian regimes, but it would be nice to think that we had outgrown such behaviour.

 Writer: Harold Hill is a happily retired Salvation Army officer in New Zealand, happily married to Pat, blessed with two grown-up, married daughters and a fairly recent grand-daughter, happily occupied with research into the relationship between the Salvation Army and the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements, irregular writing, speaking and teaching engagements, and the garden. 

The Hospital (A parable)

Once upon a time, a group of doctors moved into a new town. They had heard that people were getting sick and no-one would help them get better. ‘This will never do!’ they said, and off they went.

When they got to the town, they realised how big a job they had. There were sick people everywhere-in the streets, in the parks, in the shops, in homes. Concerned, they went to the local hospital, but the doctors there didn’t seem the slightest bit worried about the
situation. ‘No,’ said the Chief Administrator. ‘There aren’t as many sick people in this town as you might think. And anyone who does get
sick wants to be that way.’

Unperturbed, the young group of doctors went out into the street looking for sick people to heal.

At first, people weren’t very happy. ‘If we want to get better,’ they’d say, ‘we’ll come and see you.’ Others would say, ‘I already have my own doctor, thank you very much. I have a check-up every month and everything seems to be okay.’ Yet others would say, ‘I’m not sick, and I would appreciate it if you stopped talking like that around my children!’

Yet the group of doctors worked diligently, and many people were healed. Some of the people who got healed wanted to help other people
who were sick. So they were trained in different jobs. Some became health educators, teaching people how to stay healthy. Some became
nurses. And some even dreamed of becoming doctors and enrolled in the big university in the city.

However, there was a problem. The doctors could only do so much working in people’s homes and in the streets. The health educators
needed a room to put their flip-charts. The doctors and nurses needed private rooms where they could do their consultations. And everyone
agreed they needed a tea room where they could eat their lunch.

After much discussion they realised that what they really needed was a clinic. So they started a huge fund-raising campaign so they could
build one. It wasn’t hard to do-all the people they’d healed were willing to help. A big hospital in another town sent them some money,
and before they knew it, they had a lovely clinic with a big waiting room, a tea room for the staff, and enough stethoscopes for everyone.

The town thought this was great! People came to the clinic from miles around and were healed. They went and got their sick friends who were also healed. Many of those people wanted to learn to look after people, and before long, the clinic was full of people wanting to help
others get better. In fact, the clinic was so full of people there wasn’t enough room for sick people to get in the door!

The doctors had a meeting to discuss the problem. One doctor thought they should open another clinic. Another thought they should close
their books and send people to the old hospital up the road. ‘No,’ said one doctor. ‘Let’s open our own hospital!’

Nobody had thought of that! But they thought through the possibilities. They could do operations! They could open wards for
people who needed to stay a few days! Instead of sending trainee doctors to the city they could train them locally! The health
educators could make their own flip-charts instead of buying everyone else’s!

So once again they started to raise money. Some of the ladies set up a stall and sold doylies and knitted animals. They sold space to
florists and newsagents who wanted to set up shop in the hospital. And instead of buying new sphygmomanometers, they got them donated by sponsors. They had a big raffle, and they had benefit concerts, and before long they had enough money to build the hospital.

The new hospital was a sight to behold. It had a massive foyer with coffee shops and newsagents and florists and restaurants. They had a
huge car park and a bus stop out the front. The operating theatre had lots of machines that went ‘ping!’ The wards were the the cleanest and
shiniest and fanciest any of the doctors could remember seeing.

Most importantly there was a huge Emergency room. It had several ambulances that would rush out at a moment’s notice to bring sick
people back to the hospital. All the best doctors and nurses were stationed in there.

Every floor had a tea room for the staff. The doctors elected the doctor who had had the idea of building the hospital to be the Chief
Administrator. The other doctors all became heads of departments. They made the nurses into matrons and sisters and ward managers. The health educators were given fancy laptop computers and projectors so they didn’t need to use flip-charts anymore.

Everyone got to work. The Chief Administrator held staff meetings every week in the fancy tea room on the top floor. The heads of
department had staff meetings every day to discuss budgets and new ways of doing surgery. The health educators would talk about the new
ways people were getting sick and write grant proposals so the government could fund programs to research ways to help the sickest
people in the community. The nurses would do training courses every week, learning new techniques in infection control and ward organisation.

News of this new hospital went for miles. People would come and take tours to see how it was run. They would marvel at the big tea rooms
and the gymnasium on the second floor. They were full of wonderful phrases like, ‘industry best practice’ and ‘a paradigm example of
mission focussed development, leveraging existing synergies to maximise staff potential thus setting new benchmarks and producing
positive staff/client interactions leading to the achievement of all stipulated outcomes.’

The wards were full of patients. Many of them weren’t even sick-they were just so worried about their health they would come in, just in
case. Some had been near sick people outside the hospital and were worried they might have caught their diseases, so they checked in.
After all, they were told, if your life’s at risk you won’t take chances. Many people were so worried about getting sick they stayed in
the hospital. Some were able to get permanent beds. Others got jobs in the hospital so they never even had to go outside. They could help
sick people by staying right where they were.

After a while the big new hospital started to feel a bit small. They had to expand. The Board of Directors held a meeting to discuss the
options. Someone suggested they open a new hospital. Someone else suggested they get rid of all the healthy patients.

After some discussion they decided that the Emergency room was taking up far too much room and money. So the Board of Directors decided to open a small Emergency room in one of the sicker neighbourhoods in the town. If people got sick they could go there. Once they were a bit
better they might be able to find a place in the hospital. That way no-one would have to worry about sick people coming into the hospital,
and the space saved would make a lovely play area for the children who had been born in the hospital. Whilst doctors might risk being around
sick people, it seemed reckless to expose children to the dangers outside.

The new Emergency room was very popular amongst the people of that neighbourhood, but after a few months the Chief Administrator
discovered that one of the doctors assigned to the Emergency room had sent a newly healed patient to another hospital. That wouldn’t do-that other hospital had female doctors and he wasn’t even sure the health educators were properly qualified! So he immediately shut down the Emergency room, saying that it was better for people to stay sick than receive bad medical advice.

Besides, they didn’t need an Emergency room anyway. After all, keeping people healthy was just as important as getting healthy in the first
place. Sick people could still come to the front door. And everyone agreed that if people were still getting sick it was all their own
fault. So they closed the Emergency room.

One day, the Chief Administrator got a visit from a group of young doctors from another town. They claimed that people in the town were
getting sick, and that they’d like to help out. ‘No,’ said the Chief Administrator. ‘There aren’t as many sick people in this town as you
might think. Anyone who does get sick wants to be that way.’

I think you know the rest of the story.

Writer: Cameron Horsburgh. Along with his wife Trudy, Cameron is the Corps Officer at the Colac Corps of the Australian Southern Territory. They have two daughters, Shekinah (12) and Charis (9). They all look forward to the day when the girls’ schools have enough money to buy all the supplies they needs, but the Navy needs to sell raffle tickets to buy ships.

blog: http://spiritcry.wordpress.com

David - Savage or Saint?

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like pirates, I cant help it! I understand well enough that they were a violent, blood thirsty lot who destroyed people’s lives wherever they travelled. But there is still something of the savage in me that resonates with these wayward men, sailing the high sea’s in search of treasure, adventure and mayhem. Maybe its the same part of me that resonates with King David also. After all, he was a savage right? Or do we prefer not to talk about that?

David, son of Jesse was a King, an adulterer, a murderer, a psalmist, a worshipper and a harpist the list goes on. But perhaps most importantly of all, David was the only man in the course of the Bible to ever be called, a man after God’s own heart. This always confused me when reading about David, because to be totally honest, he came across to me completely uncivilised and practically feral. The man killed wolves and bears with his bare hands and some stones, protecting his flock from a very young age. And he only killed the biggest threat to the army of Israel of his day, the giant Goliath! Not to mention after killing him he chopped off his head and paraded around with it! Bad winner anyone? In order to win Saul’s daughters hand in marriage he cut off the foreskin of 200 dead Phillistine men and laid it at Saul’s feet (I doubt my dad would be too impressed by that). He stole a mans wife, got her pregnant then had him killed in battle to cover up what he’d done. He danced like a crazy man in his underwear before the Ark of the Lord,.. the list goes on. He was a warrior, David knew war, he knew the battle, he was a fighter, a savage. He knew how to kill and how to do it well. So how on earth did he win the much coveted title of, ‘Man after God’s own heart?’.

I’ve read books on this subject and heard sermons preached about this very topic, explaining why David was ultimately called ‘A man after God’s own heart’, but the explanations always leave me unsatisfied, they are so sugary sweet and all wrapped up in a neat little bundle but there is something that still doesn’t sit right with stories the Bible tells about this man. Could it be as Christians that we over spiritualise David? When in reading the Scriptures we see that he was a broken person, like the rest of us. That David was a man, no more or less human than we, no more or less flawed than we, but still a man who sought the heart of God, a man who longed to know the inner workings of the heart of God and perhaps, at that time, David was the closest thing to being a man after God’s own heart that there was? That God looked down, saw David and saw a man who was a little wild and a little savage, but had a heart that was for God and a heart that was willing. Willing to be used by God, willing to be challenged and changed. Willing to step out into what others would consider terrifying, dangerous and just plain not worth it. Willing to give it a go, even if he made many mistakes, and willing to do what it took to make it right again in the eyes of God?

I really hope so, because to be honest, that’s how I feel a lot of the time. And I’m not so sure that the rest of you don’t feel like this most of the time either. Maybe there have been times where people might have come up to you and told you the reasons why God is using you, the reasons why you’re getting the opportunities to serve the way you do. Maybe its your faithfulness, your perseverance, your passion for the lost or your tremendous humility.  When in actual fact, if you were truly honest with yourself and them, you’d be telling them that actually, most of the time you feel like an absolute savage, a feral. That for a lot of the time you feel so uncivilised you can barely breathe in such a civilised world. But you’re willing,.. you have a heart that is willing to be used and challenged and softened and changed and even tamed by God if that’s what he so desires of you.

And its amazing what God will do with a heart like that.

Writer: Sally Joy Morgan’s life maxim is, ‘Dream, Risk, Create’, in fact the entirety of her passions and hopes both past and present can all be summed up in just those three words. Determined to always walk the road less travelled, Sally is passionate about two things, God and humanity and endeavours to give her life for both. Sally is a keen preacher and writer and looks forward to investing more time in these areas in the future. After serving for two years at Gympie Salvo’s as the Assistant Church Leader and Youth Pastor, Sally is back home with her family and friends in Brisbane where she attends North Brisbane Salvo’s.

Stuff Salvationists Like - Vol 1: ACTIONS

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‘ve recently started reading a book and its blog companion Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff. Acuff is to Christianity and Christians what Rick Mercer, Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart is to the news. He examines the “stuff” of Christianity and Christians like Mercer, Colbert, and Stewart examine the “stuff” of politics, news, and world events: with a tongue-in-cheek, satirical, laugh-out-loud manner. The book/blog is very funny; entertaining; and thought provoking. It’s inspired me to think about “stuff” we like; Stuff Salvationists Like.

Some of the thoughts may be unique to The Salvation Army, and some of the thoughts may include our brothers and sisters in Christ from other denominations. We’re all prone to foolishness; to having a good laugh (at ourselves). Laughter truly is the best medicine.

With that said, let’s look at one of the first elements of “stuff” that came to me when I thought about “Stuff Salvationists Like:” actions. I’m talking about actions that accompany choruses like “Building Up the Temple,” ‘The Love of Jesus,” and “These Are the Days of Elijah.”

I’ve got nothing against actions, I’m just not an “action” kinda guy (unless it involves car chases, battle scenes, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Bond, or Barry White and candles). I’m not even much of a hand clapper. Am I a lesser Salvationist or Christian for this? I like to think not. Am I less “on fire for the Lord?” I like to think not.

I just don’t need to feel like I’m sweatin’ to the oldies with Richard Simmons or working out with Jillian and Bob from The Biggest Loser when I worship our triune God. Especially out of summer uniform season, my tunic keeps in heat like a parka.

If you like actions, great; God bless. Just don’t repeat singing the song until everyone does them. Some folks don’t do actions; some folks can’t do actions; some folks don’t like actions.

But we do like seeing you do them.

Writer: Mark and Nancy Braye are the pastors/officers of The Salvation Army Tri-Town Community Church in Temiskaming Shores, Ontario, Canada. They have two children, pictured above, Hannah and Micah. The four of them love to play and watch Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, and The Wiggles.