Dear Salvation Army, Blood & Fire!!!

I have met so many struggling Officers recently.
I have also met some tired and weary soldiers.
Questions frequently come up about why so many are abandoning their posts as Officers and even as Soldiers within the corps. When viewed this can be very disheartening to many of us. We have been engaging in these battles in our communities. We have seen lives come to Christ, decisions made, life choices altered…but we have also shared in the heartache of those who have fallen away. We have witnessed strong Christians washed away because of sin issues and moral failures. We are not impervious to such assaults by the enemy. We must constantly be on guard because the Father of Lies has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, and he will use them to divide and conquer us. Be aware of this, do not, for a minute grant him a foothold in your life!!

Encouragement:
I say these things to you today because I feel that in some places in our Army morale is low. I can sense the rolling tides and currents of life pulling some of us under, and it threatens our very calling as Officers and Soldiers. In some places even our charge forward into the fray has waned and we have become static…no longer pushing out into our communities, having no longer the strength to care for others because our hearts and our spirits are worn. I am here today to tell you that you are not alone! Although it may feel this way from time to time, although you have frustrations in leaders and in situations beyond your control, you have both an Advocate in the Holy Spirit and a wealth of power at your disposal – all you need to do is cry out to Him and He will sustain you, He will empower you once again. “Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you!” (James 4:8)

I am also here today to encourage you in the Blood and Fire of this Army…for it is the very soul of who we are. It is our very life-source, and if we stray from the Blood of Christ and the Fire of the Holy Spirit, we will lose strength in every attempt to do things on our own. This Blood and Fire is both our source of Salvation and Holiness. It hangs as a constant reminder upon our Salvation Army flag. It ought to resound in us as we move about in our day, regardless of the tasks, both big and small; insurmountable and the mundane. This Blood and Fire is more than just another motto we spout out while wearing the uniform, it is a strength and doctrine firmly rooted within the Scriptures! We can cling to His unfailing love and His Divine presence with us not only daily, but moment by moment.

The Misnomer Of Worldly Ambition:
While others might view this organization with ambition and a desire to climb imagined ladders of power and position, may we be constantly reminded of our First Love and our true purpose of being called in the first place! And, though evil might still abound and even dress and look like “Soldiers and Christians”, do not be swayed, do not be perplexed…stand firm and cling to the Blood and Fire!! We will be known by our fruit, and judgement is reserved for God alone! So be persistent in your faith, do not waver, you are never alone and our purpose is for Others, while we strive to live out-loud which is Holiness: the very Image of Christ in us!

To the weary Soldier today I say: Blood and Fire!!
To the weary Officer currently penning their resignation letter, I say: Blood and Fire!!
To the Soldier faithfully teaching Sunday School for over thirty years and is still persevering, I say: Blood and Fire!! Keep up this fight, and do not resign or quit, or back down…We are an Army with Blood and Fire!

To God be the glory!
Something more for our Army world to Ponder today!

July 18, 2016 12

Family Time: Pokemon Go…

I will admit it, I was very skeptical of walking around looking for imaginary creatures with my cell-phone. Everyone looks so funny holding out their phones like they are looking for cell service in a mountain pass somewhere remote. I will also admit that I looked like this – when my older son came home talking about this new app that has been blowing up social media and places all around the world:

I mean really? Kids and even adults staring at their cell phones while they are outdoors…what could ever be wrong with that?
Don’t we already have enough of that already with our families all laying around looking like this:

The cynical side of me says, “oh yeah, that’s all we need, something else on our phones that will distract us from what is right in front of us…”

I honestly felt that way about Pokemon Go…past tense, I don’t feel that way anymore, and I’m ashamed not to admit that I was wrong.

Here’s what I mean:

We Need Family Time!
Families who have had trouble getting their children outside during these beautiful summer days need not face this struggle any longer. All you have to do is embrace this craze called Pokemon Go! Check it out for yourself. This app is available on both the iOS app store as well as the Google Play store. Another great incentive – IT’S FREE!! Once downloaded (and hopefully the servers aren’t overloaded anymore) you can begin walking your neighborhood with your kids looking for these Pokemon. Granted I know nothing about the whole Pokemon story-line, but I do know that my kids are excited to journey outdoors and ACTUALLY walk and get some exercise…

I was impressed that even my 15 year old son who is a “cave dweller” that loves to watch YouTube and hang out in the basement all day unless I force him outside, was excited to go discovering with us using the Pokemon Go App. This is great! We talked, we walked and we found more than just imaginary creatures using a fun little app, we found family time again! The kids were yelling and were only too excited to run towards the next stop on our journey. I’m finding that we are not the only ones caught up in this craze, there were hundreds of kids and families out all over our downtown with their phones out laughing and exploring.

Educational:
Another cool tidbit is this: your children will learn about locations and history as they go exploring. We learned that in our community within one of our cemeteries the first American soldier killed in World War I is buried. This is really cool! Not only is it fun to go exploring but many historical locations house information and education for our kids to discover. That alone makes this not only fun to use, but a tool to teach and to connect with my children.

If you haven’t already, give Pokemon Go…a go.
I am not embarrassed to say that I have enjoyed exploring it with my children.
My first impression was wrong, and I don’t mind if we look like a bunch of nerds walking around with our cell phones out…we’re together, and that’s what really matters.
Have fun, and don’t forget to spend quality time with your children in whatever activity you decide to participate in.

Something more to ponder.
Check this crazy video out – Central Park Filled With Pokemon Go Users

July 18, 2016 0

God’s Justice

“Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” Revelation 22:11

There are news reports from around the world, all sorts of stories, let alone here in the US, stories about injustice and evil. Stories about victimization, the strong overpowering the weak, those without a voice or advocate at the merciless hands of evil people. Life, at times is wrought with injustice and acts of evil.

Even David, one after God’s own heart, proclaimed:
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
²How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?”

We witness news stories when we turn on our televisions, and perhaps even in our own interaction with other people these injustices, these wrongs that seem to go unpunished. We cry out for help. We become angry. We rage and decry these evil people and these evil acts. There is a bitter taste in our mouths, as we come to the conclusion that life is not fair…and sometimes we’re absolutely right. This is a fallen world. This is a broken place full of broken, horribly marred people. I won’t defend the actions of evil people – for they do exist. I also know that many innocent people face life and death situations and there seems to be no justice.

I would not want to simply boil it down to God’s final judgement.
I never want to short change, and thereby cheapen these injustices found all over the world. In fact, if we are able to, we ought to fight with every breath in our lungs for justice for ALL people. We ought to wage a war against injustice at every turn. Those without a voice, or a voice drowned out by the noise of silence, ought to have advocates and people willing to stand up.

The Day of the Lord is coming.
When that day does come, we will all be held accountable for our actions or lack there of…in the mean time, let us shine a light into places of darkness. Let us bring a loud voice to the voiceless. May we fight against injustice at every turn, and as we do, may we display how we ought to love in this broken world, because God first loved us. This kind of love is needed in our world, more so than ever.

Something more to ponder today.

July 7, 2016 1

Perspectives: Featuring Lieutenant Blake Fewell

“Officer’s Covenant: ‘Called By God…'”

The Officer’s Covenant begins with one statement that carries through the rest of the Covenant: “Called by God…”. This is the foundation from which the rest of the Covenant is built upon. It is a statement of affirmation that the officer has listened to and discerned that the Lord’s will for his or her life is for full-time service as a minister of the gospel within The Salvation Army.

MY CALLING

The way in which God calls people to service can vary from person to person. I will tell you of my experience, but I do not claim this to be the only way that God may call someone.

I knew from the time of my salvation that God had a purpose for my life – there was a reason why he saved me from certain death at my birth. When I was somewhere around the age of 12, I began thinking that maybe God wanted me to be a Salvation Army officer. I am sure I had thought about it prior to that age, but I cannot nail down a specific date in which I was “called”. I also never had an “aha” experience – I never heard God’s voice audibly speaking or had some magical vision or anything like that. I had grown up in The Salvation Army and was always open to the idea of officership. So around the age of 12, I set my sights on becoming a Salvation Army officer. Again, there was no specific time when this happened, it just happened.

One thing that played a huge role in discerning my calling was watching the examples of various officers, active and retired, within my corps. I loved listening to their stories about the joys and challenges of officer ministry. Through those examples, I was encouraged in my pursuit of officership.

Since I never had any sort of divine revelation regarding my calling, I ultimately stepped out in trust. I knew that if it was truly God’s will that I would be a Salvation Army officer, then he would provide whatever was necessary for that to happen. I knew he would open doors where I needed them in order to guide the way. He certainly did! He provided countless opportunities and opened numerous doors that solidified his calling on my life. Looking back on those times, I can see God’s work through my life in making my calling sure.

Did I ever doubt my calling? Of course! I would even dare say that it can be healthy to have times of doubt because when God provides the answer to that doubt, it strengthens our sense of calling. In the times that I doubted my calling, God provided people and environments in which I was encouraged. Again, when I think back to those times of doubt, I see God orchestrating ways in which my calling would be strengthened.

I would like to share a few insights about calling in general and specifically for officership. Some may agree and some may disagree with these statements, but I hope these can stimulate our thinking and understanding of calling.

CALLING IS BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE

When we talk about calling, we seem to always discuss the individual side of calling. “Tell me about your calling.” “When God called me…” I think we, for the most part, understand that God calls people individually for certain things. He may call one person to do one thing and another person to do another thing. Our responsibility is to be responsive and obedient to our individual calling.

There is also a corporate aspect to calling, specifically for calling to ministry. In the first three verses of Acts 13, we see this corporate element at work. God had called Barnabas and Saul to go and proclaim the gospel. The church at Antioch responded by praying for them, fasting, and sending them off. This is the corporate response to calling to ministry. The church body is responsible for recognizing God’s call on a person’s life, affirming that call as evidenced by the person’s fruit, and sending that person off with their prayers.

It is important that we do not neglect the corporate aspect of calling. I know that God has called me to officership, but I need to know that others see evidence of that calling in my life. This keeps our individual callings in check and accountable to the Church.

CALLING DOES NOT REQUIRE DIRECT REVELATION

I think I have indicated this already through my calling experience. Calling does not mean that a person has to audibly hear God speak to them or have some other sort of divine revelation from God. This is why the term “calling” can be confusing to some. We need to make sure that when we describe calling, we do not restrict it to a specific time or a specific experience.

As I said with my calling, I never had that one moment where I said, “Yes, I’ll be an officer.” I also never had a defining point in which God spoke to me or revealed it to me. It was a process of observation, reflection, and acceptance in my life which was not grounded in one moment. I think it is dangerous for us to insist that God’s calling must take place in a “crisis” manner.

I don’t mean to say that God does not call people at a specific time such as at Youth Councils or during a Candidates’ Sunday. I don’t mean to say that God does not work in a “crisis” manner to call people, but it is not something that happens to all. We do not want to exclude or alienate those who have had aspirations toward officership but may not have had such a “crisis” moment.

CALLING MAY OR MAY NOT BE SPECIFIC

God’s calling comes in a variety of forms. Calling is not restricted to officership – people are called by God to all sorts of professions, careers, and ministries. With that said, God’s calling may not always be specific.

I was speaking with a young lady in one of my classes at Olivet this spring. She was studying children’s ministry and knew she wanted to be actively working in ministry with young people, but she did not know where. She was aware of God’s calling on her to minister to children – that was specific – but she did not know in what manner, degree, or location God wanted her to serve. I also know a number of people from my time at Moody who may have been studying pastoral ministry or theology or biblical studies and have been specifically called to full-time ministry, but the details of how that would happen had not been made clear to them.

I know that God has called me to specifically be an officer within The Salvation Army, but that much detail is not always the case for all. God calls people, but the specifics of that calling may not always be evident.

I want to write for a moment about our recruitment of Salvation Army officers as it relates to this. I appreciate what our divisional and territorial leaders do for recruiting and equipping candidates for Salvation Army ministry. The process, though challenging, is much needed so that we invest in the right candidates and cadets for officership. I do believe, however, that we have an untapped resource for officers. As I said, there are a number of young people who know that they are called to full-time ministry but do not know where to turn. The unfortunate result is that many do not end up in full-time ministry positions. Could these be our future Salvation Army officers?

I think we can focus a lot of our attention on internal recruitment, and that is not wrong in any way, but there may be future officers out there who simply need to be introduced to The Salvation Army and to officership. From my experience at Bible college, there are thousands of students in this nation who are zealous for ministry and the gospel who are searching for their ministry outlet. These could be our next officers.

There is so much more that could be said about the topic of calling and I hope to write more on this subject. Turning back to the Officer’s Covenant, it is important for every officer to understand that officership is not of our own self-will or desire, but because of a God-instilled, Holy Spirit-directed calling on our life. The manner in which we are called may vary, but the God who calls remains the same. He is still calling men and women to officership – we must continue to be responsive. With the prophet Isaiah, we resound, “Here I am! Send me.”

**Check out further writings by Lieutenant Fewell via his blog site at: Blake Fewell**

July 4, 2016 1

Dear Salvationists: The Army Of The Broken

The day of The Salvation Army’s Birth or as we call it “Founder’s Day”, I thought it fitting to offer a pondering on who this army is.

We are an army of the broken.
This is not an insult, this is a complement…hear me out:

There are many who come to this Army to serve and to offer themselves, and they come with all of who they are. Many have stories that will break your heart. Many have grown up with all shapes and sizes of brokenness. Brokenness isn’t all that we are. This is how we lead. This is our catalyst that propels us and spurs us onward into this mighty fight, as we pull others who are broken – out of their brokenness through the power of The Holy Spirit. We are broken and yet because of this brokenness, we can be an effective Army for the Lord!

Jesus selected disciples who were not the best in their field.
These disciples also had stories.
They were not the most educated.
They were not top of their class.

Gideon was told by God to select an Army to fight the Midianites.
They started out as 22, 000 strong but ended up with only 300 warriors.
God used this small force to defeat an entire army.

God is still using the small, the weak, the burdened, the broken and the vulnerable.
In our weakness He is truly strong.
His marvelous acts become evidenced in transformed lives living for Him and serving Him every day within This Army of Salvation.

So, dear soldier of this Salvation Army,
do not be ashamed of your scars.
do not be embarrassed by your story.
do not think less of yourself because of your brokenness.
This is our Army!
This is how God works!
He takes our experiences, those hurts, those things that were meant to do us harm and cause is ill and makes them beautiful again! He restores us, and in the restoration process, we are sent out to help others who are broken, because we speak “broken”, we know “broken” and we can shine a light into the unspoken broken places of this world!

In recognition of our Founding today, may we continue to allow the Savior work within our hearts and lives. In our brokenness He is strong! Allow Him also to begin to restore you, as we desire the very image of Christ in our lives!

Happy Founder’s Day you Broken People of The Army – May God continue to Bless This Salvation Army!

July 3, 2016 1

The BFG Movie Review

Every once in a while a film comes along that reignites the child in us all.
I remember having this book read to us as children, and I read this book to my children…and now we went as a family to see it on the silver screen.

About The Author:
Roald Dahl is a fascinating writer who is best known for such books as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, and Matilda. Roald Dahl also wrote several short stories which Alfred Hitchcock turned into episodes of “Alfred Hitchcock presents”. Thus some of his plots and language within these “children’s” novels have a dark side to them. This, in my opinion makes the story even more likable and remarkable.

The BFG:
On screen, Steven Spielberg brings to life one of my all time favorite children’s stories, and he does it in a very “Spielbergesque” way. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the actress who was casted to play Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) does a remarkable job! The CGI is not perfect for character of the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), but it is close and not noticeable once you become completely immersed into the story line.

The movie follows the book very closely, and I caught myself saying out loud “that’s how I envisioned it!” Spielberg has done it again, walking through my (our) childhood, recapturing the mystery, magic and awe! I recommend you take the whole family! You will laugh, you will cry and most of all you will have a “hopscotchy” good time! Remember to drink all of your “Delumptious fizzy frobscottle”…you’ll find out what that means!

Go see if for yourself, I won’t give away the plot, but if you go as the child you once were even if you pay the adult ticket price, you will enjoy it! I’m calling this my hands-down favorite Family Friendly favorite movie of this summer!

Every once in a while a film comes along that reignites the child in us all, this was one of those movies for me!

I give this movie

July 2, 2016 1

Sermon Podcast: Holiness – Back to the Future

Listen to our sermon podcast here:

2 Peter 3:3-14 (NIV)

³Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ⁵But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

⁸But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. ¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹²as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

June 27, 2016 0

Dear Salvation Army, Answering The Call

“Here is the principle – adapt your measures to the necessity of the people to whom you minister. You are to take the Gospel to them in such modes and circumstances as will gain for it from them a hearing.” –Catherine Booth.

How far do we go in answering the call for help?
Are we truly listening?
All around our communities, there are hurting people.
Regardless of their backgrounds or circumstances, our mission is to help, and in so doing, we can open the door to offering spiritual aide as well. But how far will we go? Do we still adapt our measures to the extreme of the need of people?

A Snoozing Army ?
Are we alert to the ever present need to adapt to our changing communities?
Are we awake? Or are we happily slumbering in an Army of bygone eras and rusting instruments in a chapel only marginally attended? This may sound harsh, but perhaps we have been caught snoozing. In our attempts to play “Church” which we are not, or more than – we have forgotten this principle plainly outlined by our Co-founder Catherine Booth. While we have been polishing our awards and photographs of yesteryear, we have lost sight of the present dangers ruling our streets and pulling the helpless into the very pit of hell, lined with addictions, abuse, pornography, apathy, hatred, human slavery, and all kinds of other horrors. Is this you? Is this me? I pray it is not. I pray if it is, we would wake up and recognize the reasons we may be dying are directly related to our missing vision and mission. Our origin story. Our principle for being an Army in the first place. To go for souls and go for the worst. To combat the forces of evil that still ravage our communities, and do so without fear of reprisals and attacks of the enemy.

I fear we have slipped because we have failed to adapt.
I fear we have stopped being revolutionary in our methods to reach the lost.
Perhaps we have grown too comfortable in our offices and in our perceived places of power and authority. Perhaps we have grown lax and lost some of our vigilant passion. If we are to continue winning souls for the kingdom, we won’t find them banging on our doors to be let into our Sunday services – No! We must adopt other means to seek souls out. William and Catherine Booth didn’t start the Christian mission in a pristine church ornately decorated with stained glass, NO! They went to the Pub, they went where no other church would go. Are we as bold as they were? Can we, perhaps, pray for such a boldness in our Army today? Oh Lord, grant us the courage to go where you send us, and the conviction to remain steadfast despite the intimidation of the evil one. For I fear that currently the evil one is perfectly happy with our lack of zeal in the streets, as we usher ourselves away quietly in our corps halls to worship and nothing more.

No, a new revolution must be waged!
A new passion for souls must be prayed for, not just in our hearts but in every soldier’s heart. This isn’t just an army that preserves a heritage of the yesteryear, this is an army that carves out its destiny in the present and future through faithfulness and reliance on the Holy Spirit! We must recognize this need! We must reorganize, realign, re-imagine and act upon this mission of ours! We are not an army to sit on our backsides and do nothing! No! We MUST be a forward moving army, who has accepted and adapted to this modern spiritual war we are in. We cannot capitulate, grow soft and comfortable – to do so will bring about our fall, and someone else will take our place! I say we still have a war to wage! I say we support our Officers not just in prayer but action. I say we support our Soldiers not just in flowery words on Sunday mornings behind the pulpit but with deep compassion, love, truth and by God’s authority. When we are united as one Army, we are so much more effective than just solitary entities running around in the streets trying to do good.

Are we ready?
Let’s Go!
Let’s fight to the very end!
Let’s continue to wage this war – and through God’s power, we will prevail in this generation…and the next!!!

Questions to ponder:
What can we do that is revolutionary to reach our community?
Are there “out of the box” methods we have yet to employ?
What is holding us back from employing them?
How much prayer to you devote to your mission and your community?
Are there burdens or unaddressed issues in your corps that need tending so that you can unite and move out into the streets?

I know it is easier said than done.
I know we all have so much to do.
I realize there are programs to “maintain”…but can we do ONE thing that impacts new lives for Christ? Can we focus on individuals, not numbers? Can we develop connections with people, not statistical figures? Perhaps set a goal with your corps council or your local officers…or even just with yourself – to make one impactful relationship in the next three months. Pray about who that will be. Ask the Lord to lead you to that one person…and watch out! When we are alert and aware of our surroundings, those people God places in our path will not be too hard to find.

Are you ready to answer that call?!

Something more for our Army to ponder today!
To God be the glory!

June 24, 2016 2

Parent Review: Disney’s Circle

What is it?
This little cube is a filtering device for your home that allows you to protect your family from inappropriate sites and content on the internet.

A couple years ago, I looked around, as my children were growing older, and noticed that there was very little by way of family filters for the whole house available to the public. I even asked a tech friend of mine for some help, and the ways to tweak my router (which is provided by the company we use for internet) were very complicated and truly beyond my “networking” skills…trust me, I tried.

Then I saw this new device that began as a kickstarter and eventually was picked up by the Disney corporation – A.K.A – Disney Circle.

We’ve had our Circle for about a month and I would like to do a review on it for you.

Ease Of Use:
This device sells for $99, and we bought ours at Target, but I believe most major retailers will have this device for sale. Basically we took this sleek looking box home, opened it and once we plugged it in, it was a easy to set up. Have your internet router’s password available, walk through the app (which you install on your mobile device or cell phone) and once it connects the real magic and ease of mind can begin.

The app is easy to navigate and you can add then add your entire family to the “Circle”. Once you add your family, you can then assign specific devices (which are visible to the network) to each person. So, for example if your son has a google tablet, it will show up within the local devices and you can assign that tablet to your son on the circle.

The Filtering Software:
If you are worried what your children might watch on Youtube or even apps on their Apple or Android devices, here is some ease of mind. You can assign the filter level of each child based upon their age. All of the apps available on an app store can be filtered because this Disney Circle interfaces with the home router. Even if your child is on their Xbox or Playstation console, it must still get its information from your home router, and Disney Circle will filter out the inappropriate content that you do not want your children to have access to. I recently let one of my teenage boys use my Ipad, so since the Ipad is assigned to my profile, I adjusted my filter to “Teen”…when I went on my phone to access one of the streaming apps I use to watch tv, I was stopped, and I realized I had been filtered via the Disney Circle – it does really work! This device, in my opinion, is totally worth the $99 I paid for it!

This device gives parents peace of mind when their children use the internet and/or various electronic devices throughout their homes. No longer is finding a family friendly, easy to use filter a hard thing to do – I completely recommend this device for your home!

Other Perks to Disney Circle:
1) You can set a bed time for each profile/person in your home. When the clock strikes that hour, the internet turns off for those assigned devices to that profile/child.
2) Does your child spend too much time on devices? Then set time limits! Once the time limit has been met, the internet will also turn off.
3) Pause the Internet in the entire house by hitting the “Pause” button on your device loaded with the Disney Circle App.
4) There is no work around, once the Disney Circle has been paired to your home router!
One of my kids tried to unplug the Circle and just use the router, and it wouldn’t work.
5) “Insights” – You can view all of the content your child views by using your Circle app. You are the House Admin (and your spouse can be as well). View the time your children spend on specific apps or site. Learn what they enjoy doing, also start to see just how much time they spend in a day on these devices.

One word of caution, and this should be obvious, but here goes:
Do not load the Disney App onto devices your children will be using, this is the only “Work around” to the filtering software. The one(s) who has the app loaded can control what is fed to all the devices. So parents, you load the App, and you will ensure you children are protected in your home from unwanted, inappropriate content.

Should you buy Disney Circle?
That’s entirely up to you, but we love ours and as our kids are getting older, it gives us peace of mind that they will not be subjected to pornography or other harmful content because of this little device and what it does.

I am giving Disney Circle two thumbs WAY up!!!

For further review check out these youtube reviews/videos:
The Official Website: Disney Circle
Disney’s Cirlce
Disney Circle Unboxing and Review

June 22, 2016 2

Dear Salvation Army, Baptism & The Great Commission?

^16″Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

Salvation Army Doctrine #1: “We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice.”

I do not mean to stir the waters, pun intended, but I have often wondered what your Salvationist response would be on this topic. I must confess that I have often struggled with reconciling our doctrine with the lack of fulfillment of the great commission as described in verse 19; “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” Yes, I understand that we are non-sacramental in religious practice, but one wonders why even such a discussion often evokes the same response one might expect from a discovery of a sin issue. Seriously, it’s generally frowned upon, knee-jerk reactions abound every time Communion and Baptism are even mentioned. It almost seems like we treat such conversations as heresy and equate such talk to sin. Why is that?
Why such harsh attacks on even the mention of these religious practices?

I bring the topic of Baptism up today in this pondering so that we can dialogue together, so that we might bring a deeper understanding of our theology to the forefront and that we do not linger amongst the shallow answers of “Because that’s how we have always done things“…but why?

Historical Context:
We ought to recognize that Industrial England, the birth place of The Salvation Army, certainly had it dichotomy of the upper class and the poor. Many within the lower East-end would not have been welcome in The Church of that day. Also, within the lack of practice of Baptism and Communion, we know that our theological tradition precludes the need of such symbolic practices because we are “baptized by the Holy Spirit” and “The Sacrificial life is more important than participation in the Sacraments”. Understandably so, but I wonder if such staunch views have prohibited some in recent years of full membership? What I mean is, does our lack of practice or participation in these fundamental “Christian” elements, distract some would-be soldiers in joining our ranks? There are certainly many views on the subject. On one extreme – there are those within other denominations who feel since one was never “properly” Baptized they cannot claim to be Christians. And then on the other side of the spectrum, there are those who view practices of water baptism to be archaic and unnecessary.

So back to my original question…
If we believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice, Why do we fail to include parts of the “Great Commission”? Again I don’t mean to stir up controversy, but I would like us to answer this…I want you to help me fill in the content here that I struggle with. No, I don’t have a baptismal in my corps building, no I don’t baptize my members, but I’m curious how we decide to fulfill some of the “Divine rule of Christian faith and practice” while excluding others? Why is this topic so taboo?

Another question that comes to my mind then is this: Are we a fluid moving Army or are there somethings that cannot change within our structure and practice? I am in no way advocating we change our stance on Baptism or Communion; but is there a point where the reasons we refrained from such practices in another age and era should be reconsidered in another age and era? Would this be going backwards or progressing forward? Or perhaps there is too much emphasis on the baptism part and there ought to be more emphasis made on the “make disciples” component to the Great Commission. Perhaps this is the “happy middle”?

Again, I’m curious on your answers here.
As always, I look forward to the responses that sound off with shock and awe that such a question should ever be asked within the Army. Again, it is surprising to me how we often treat this topic as “hush, hush“, almost as if we’re talking about a sin. Why is that? Couldn’t we even deepen our understanding of our own doctrine by talking out-loud about such things and there by adding clarity to the topic for others? Also, I am not looking for a lecture here either, simply a dialogue and what your response might be on this specific topic.

Something more for the Army to ponder today, hopefully you don’t label me a heretic for even asking the question. Blessings on you today!

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are not necessarily the opinions and views of The Salvation Army, but rather the writer’s own thoughts, questions and opinions expressed. Reader discretion is advised.

June 21, 2016 50