Uses of scripture in TSA

Paper title: The Uses of Scripture in The Salvation Army
Author/researcher: Craig Campbell
Country of origin: Australia
Publication/completion date: October, 1995
Length: 107 pages
Keywords: scripture, The Salvation Army, hermeneutics, authority
Abstract: Within my experience the scriptures are a key point of entry into Christian life and faith. In various ways the scriptures are honoured and used to mediate a saving and transforming experience of God, within the community of faith and by individuals.

The question of how the scriptures work in this way was raised in me from a young age. Early years of ministry presented the challenge of responsible use of scripture in a more forceful way. To this end I enrolled in BD studies and enjoyed the wider world that opened up for me. I recognise myself as moving from a somewhat dogmatic, authoritarian style to understanding scripture as gracious invitation.

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Tags: authority, hermeneutics, scripture

Study of domestic violence help

Paper title: Transforming Domestic Violence Service Delivery: A Study of Mary Anderson Lodge
Author/researcher: Elli McGavin
Country of origin: Australia
Publication/completion date: May, 2007
Length: 104 pages
Keywords: domestic violence, The Salvation Army, internal values, culture
Abstract: This study examines the underpinning culture, service philosophy and a number of significant factors that have influenced the service delivery at The Salvation Army’s domestic violence service, Mary Anderson Lodge. The significance of research into the changing nature of The Salvation Army’s response to domestic violence is in understanding the ways in which internal values and culture interact with those of the wider community, the women’s sector, government standards and funding requirements.

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Tags: domestic violence, internal values

Officer training models

Paper title: Emerging models of training for officership in The Salvation Army
Author/researcher: Gregory Morgan
Country of origin: Australia
Publication/completion date: December, 2006
Length: 107 pages
Keywords: Officers, training, The Salvation Army, mission, ministry, equipping
Abstract: The Salvation Army needs action-oriented officers… for it to accomplish its mission. But here comes the crunch: they need to be informed men and women of action… it is high time to discard forever the false presupposition that has dogged us as an Army that higher education and action are opposites. It is wrong to think that you choose between the two, and that you cannot have both… As a Salvation Army we need leaders who are both scholars and dynamos: informed men and women of action. (Larsson 2005: 5)

This statement from the then world leader of The Salvation Army, John Larsson, succinctly encapsulates one of the challenges The Salvation Army has faced historically and continues to face today. Scholars and dynamos are required and possible. But they are difficult to deliver in a movement that is activist to such a degree that education and deeper thinking can be viewed with suspicion. However, we must cast aside our misgivings as we consider what it is that is required in the training of officer leaders for today and into the challenging landscape of twenty-first century society.

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Tags: equipping, ministry, mission, Officers, The Salvation Army, training

Meaning of salvation

Paper title: What is the meaning of salvation in The Salvation Army today?
Exploring a theology of Social Service and Holistic Mission
Author/researcher: Jason Davies-Kildea
Country of origin: Australia
Publication/completion date:
Length: 128 pages
Keywords: The Salvation Army, Salvationist, salvo, salvation, theology, mission, holistic, social service, evangelical, poor
Abstract: The Salvation Army, through a multitude of social services right across the world, is involved daily in saving people from the devastating impacts of poverty,  homelessness, addictions, unemployment and a wide range of other predicaments.   However, the dominant internal rhetoric about salvation would appear to suggest that theologically these efforts are at best secondary to an evangelical mission of  conversion.  What good is it to save people’s bodies if their souls are damned to hell?  A critical task of this study will be to explore theological notions of salvation which encourage a holistic view of mission, with the potential for reuniting the social and evangelical purposes of The Salvation Army.  It will be demonstrated that this broader view of salvation reflects the early history of The Salvation Army, has a solid scriptural basis and also fits within a number of other contemporary theological frameworks which are based in the life experience of the poor and oppressed.

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Tags: evangelical, holistic, mission, poor, salvation, Salvationist, salvo, social service, The Salvation Army, theology