Raised Up?

Is this really what SA Youth need? asks Joe Noland

T he  SA is holding a World Youth Convention in Sweden in 2010 with 1000 delegates expected from around the planet. I’ve been following the progress closely, this being one of my several interests and passions. I’ve recently visited its newly installed website, www.raisedup.org, and was taken particularly with the presenters, listed as follows:   The General (expected, of course), three Commissioners (rank indicative of an upper age bracket), two Lt. Colonels (young in spirit, comparatively older - ask a 19-year old), a Major (we used to say, being promoted to Major is akin to being promoted to old age) and one Captain (Hallelujah!). 

Four things immediately jump out at me: Age, Hierarchy, White and Western.

This is not a criticism but rather an observation. There is no question that each presenter is extremely qualified in his or her particular subject matter, and the conference will have an impact, no matter.

But I can’t help but wonder, however, why there are no youth presenting? Where is the young Senior Soldier voice in all of this? What about the ethnic and cultural diversity?

Some of our strongest, committed young voices are ministry-minded, non-officer, soldier employees. It just seems to me that we should be asking and listening, not telling.

Leadership needs to understand and grasp the wants, needs, desires and cultural differences of this emerging generation if we want to reach them quantitatively and qualitatively.

Again, let me emphasize that this should not be construed as a criticism, only an opinion and observation, placed out in cyberspace for some stimulating mulling over. Whatever, you can count on my prayerful support for the success of this conference, and for a Spirit-filled blessing upon each presenter, whoever they are.

One thing I’ve learned through experience is that the person at the top can never please everyone (Especially old, retired Commissioners), no matter how brilliant and Spirit-filled he/she may be!

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.

Thinkaloud | Our father

We know what a good father should be says Maxwell Ryan

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

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

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

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Common holiness

Have we forgotten the joys of holy living asks Maxwell Ryan?

While it is true that authentic religious experience is always based on sound doctrine, it is equally true that the reverse does not always apply. A burning heart on fire for the Lord, moments of ecstatic joy, the radiant glory of Jesus: all these experiences are wonderful, to be sought and enjoyed. Yet they cannot be the basis for a continuing relationship with the Lord.

While emotional highs may be valuable in themselves as signs of the Lord’s blessing, we should not rely upon them. Commitment to God’s direction for our lives really begins when we give our will to the Lord, unreservedly. A definite decision to live for Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit may, or may not, be accompanied by signs and wonders. The truth of such a decision is confirmed by our obedience to the Lord in the ordinary demands of life, for when our will is given to Him, all else will follow, with determination and hard work.

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Incredibly good days

Let the sunshine in | Maxwell Ryan

The natural pessimism of human nature too often sets the emotional tone of the day for many people. Aches and pains, upsets and conflicts and things negative assume an importance they do not deserve.  They become magnified and before long we are almost paralyzed by depression, fear and anxiety.

But this need not happen.  Minutes, hours, days, weeks and years can be filled to overflowing with the brightness and the joy of the Lord.  Each day can be greeted with anticipation and ended with thanksgiving.  The events, people and places that engage us can be welcomed, not feared.  The heart and mind can be filled with song, laughter and rejoicing can be on the lips, and praise to God can bring an astonishing sense of well-being.  Every day can be a good day.

I’m not suggesting that life will be trouble-free for the Christian believer.  Trouble is - and will continue to be - the lot of everyone. However, people who have given control of their lives to God have the practical possibility of living in moment-by-moment victory.  Their relationship with the Lord enables them to rejoice in all circumstances.  They may have more difficulties than non-believers but they conquer the circumstances and bring glory to God by the incredible joy of their lives.

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Thinkaloud | Fifth column

by Maxwell Ryan

Members of a fifth column are persons within an organization who secretly work for its destruction. While they appear to be ardent supporters of the cause that supports them, in reality they are stealthily working against the cause.

While the term originated in a political setting, the matter of divided loyalties is not confined to politics. Through the ages the Christian faith has had its detractors, both outside and inside the Church. Those on the outside are easier to meet in debate, challenge and love. It is the fifth columnists that are the most dangerous for they respond to love by biting the hand that feeds them and by subtly distorting the gospel message that a dying world needs.

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Thinkaloud | pride & prejudice

by Maxwell Ryan

Extreme nationalism is one of the curses of the modern world. “My country, right or wrong” is not a Christian response to the requirements of responsible citizenship. Christians are good citizens when they remind their leaders that God is the final authority and that all true leadership flows from obedience to His will. God has not created one race superior to another, but He has built-in different gifts and capacities. Such real differences should be a cause for rejoicing, not a reason for national pride or merciless competitiveness.

The belief that one nationality is superior to another is destructive and has invariably led to atrocities. Savage wars have been fought with great loss of life because of supposed racial superiority. The conflicts that rage across the world often have their roots in intolerant pride which leads to prejudice, and the willingness to destroy people simply because they are different.

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Thinkaloud | Of scaffolds & thrones

Truths to be grasped | Maxwell Ryan

Does it really matter if one person holds to the truth, despite the fact that most do not? Does it make any difference to the workings of the universe when people are honest, or is untruth just as acceptable? Surely lies and deceptions are all right when they support a good cause, or are they? Is honesty always the best policy, or is truth merely one of many commodities available to the consumer?

Questions such as these assume that there is a universal standard of truth that moral principles exist, and that people are born with a sense of right and wrong. Indeed, Christian - such as C. S. Lewis - and non-Christian thinkers through the ages have recognized the existence of and written about “the natural law.” By this they mean the law of God, which is “part of the equipment” that people receive at birth, and which is part of what it means to be human.

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Thinkaloud | the best of times

… holy bravado and a fearless charm

This is the best time of all to be alive, to be vibrant with the joy of the Lord and the expectation - founded on solid fact - that there truly is nothing to fear, despite the gloomy predictions of the doomsayers, Tragically, many today are experiencing the truth of the biblical phrase “fear involves torment” (1 John 4:18), without the consolation the Scriptures offer.

The opening lines of Dickens’s A tale of two cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” are often quoted by people who ignore the first phrase and concentrate on the second. For them life is a dirge, a burden, a frantic race to beat the clock and thus to “fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds’ worth of distance run.” They are so convinced that the world is grinding to a halt that they spent their time either in pious, head-in-the-sand incantations that they call prayer or by madly embracing pleasures that offer the most gratification, regardless of personal cost. Both options are selfish and unworthy.

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Thinkaloud | Salvation feminism

In praise of women | Maxwell Ryan

Today, in North America at least, is Mothers Day - a time of celebration that honours women who provide the nurturing foundation that is fundamental to a healthy society.   In biblical times the phrase “a mother in Israel” was used to describe women whom God used to rescue their nation from calamity. In our society today there are many “mothers in Israel” (to use the biblical phrase) whose obedience to our Heavenly Father gives stability to what is often a lawless society.

Leadership by women is part of our way of life. In many seminaries most of the students are women.  The God whom we serve has not been revealed in the Bible as One who chooses candidates for ministry on the basis of gender. True, there are a few verses in the New Testament that seem to suggest that women have no place in ministry leadership. But biblical scholars know very well that it not an appropriate or accurate interpretation of Scripture to use a few verses that relate to a local situation to negate the broad sweep of God’s Word.

There is more than ample proof in the Bible and from Church history - if such were needed - that our wise Creator has allowed His message to be taught and preached by both sexes. Following the example of its Founder, Jesus, the Christian religion liberates women, whereas some other faiths do not.

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Thinkaloud | the essentials

Realignment | Maxwell Ryan

When a person faces death much of what seemed important becomes insignificant. It is at such a time as this that the essentials of life assume their proper place. The burning passions that have sustained us are seen, in the clear light of eternity, for what they truly are. For some this is a period of frantic attempts at life-readjustment, of setting new priorities and trying to make up for lost time.

But not everyone has the privilege of knowing that their time is short. Many leave this life unexpectedly, having made no plans for their departure. Their lives are snuffed out suddenly, through accident, through illness or by choice. Those left behind have the grim but necessary task of sorting out the complex details of a life.
Whether or not the time of our departure from life on earth is expected, we would be criminally foolish not to have made plans. Despite what the cynics and the unbelievers say, it is possible, now, to prepare to meet God. We can be assured that the next life will be full of the glories He has prepared for those who love Him, and that it will be free from the pressures of our own mortality.

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