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Dear Salvation Army, Why I Don’t Agree With “Saved to Save”

Today we ponder The Salvation Army’s quote of “Saved to Save” and why I don’t necessarily agree with it.
Clarification: I am not discounting the fact that God can save us, in fact that is the crux of this statement in my opinion.
crest
Dear Salvation Army, I don’t believe we are saved to save.
There I’ve said it.

I believe the Holy Spirit has saved us, I am not disagreeing with that by any means.
I know what it means to kneel at the altar of repentance and receive forgiveness and salvation.
I also believe in the second blessing – the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our lives.
When He takes up residence in our lives we begin, with His direction and prodding, the intentional shift of reflecting more and more of Christ and less and less of our old lives (Holiness).

Thus when we are saved we do not go out and save others.
I believe that the saving is NOT the work that we have been called to do.
Instead, we are called to be holy.
In this response we begin to see others the way Christ sees them.
We begin to love the way Christ loves.
It isn’t perfect…and perhaps it may never be, but the initial transformation must begin internally before it can be transformative in the lives of others.

What I’m not saying
Photo Mar 10, 11 06 52 AMI am not saying we aren’t called to lead others to Christ.
I am also not saying that we don’t show care for others.

In fact we, through this internal transformation, begin to see the necessity to usher others to Christ.
We begin to understand how vital the new life is for others.

                                                                  BUT…
Uni1Here is where I draw the line.
Here is where I wage and struggle with the Salvation Army’s understanding of this quote.
Whose work is it to save?
Who does the prodding of the heart and the pleading of the soul?
Who takes aim at the conviction of sin and implores the search of forgiveness?
For me the answer has always been the Holy Spirit.

What is our responsibility then? 
What are we as Soldiers of the cross to do?  uniform2
We sing songs like “The world for God” and “Marching on“, and I wonder if we sometimes turn the warfare of sin and the spiritual realms into something narcissistic, and it then becomes all about us?   It then becomes all about what WE can do instead of what the Holy Spirit IS doing.

There is always the temptation to say look how wonderful The Salvation Army is, look at the amazing things that we have done and the amazing things that we are doing.  Slowly, the focus is taken off of the Holy Spirit and more on our shiny uniforms, our programs and our feats and accomplishments.   I am not saying that we always do this, but I am saying that it does become a temptation, that it does enter into our thoughts and motivations.

Our responsibility was never to “saved to save”.
Our responsibility was never to be the salvation of man.
We are merely the conduit of this amazing grace.
We are merely called to be faithful.
Our responsibility is first a call to faithfulness to The Holy Spirit.
We can do nothing without this first response.
We are powerless to save anyone let alone ourselves.
How can we then say that we are saved to save?
I am more inclined to say we are saved to serve.
We are saved first, and then most importantly, we serve and respond to the Holy Spirit.
Then, and only then, we are saved to serve suffering humanity.
This response can be simultaneous and should compel us to respond as Christ would to the suffering of others. We must respond to His call on our lives to serve Him as HE saves!
Without Him we cannot save.
Without Him we can only do good works and be another social service agency.
That isn’t all bad, good things are done here…BUT we are called to be more.
We are called to BE holy…and from this calling, we serve Him and in turn we serve others.

You may differ from my opinion…that’s fine.
We are called, and from this calling we go.
Regardless of if we are “Saved to Serve” or “Saved to Save”, may our immediate response to the Holy Spirit be one of obedience.

Something more for This Army of Salvation to ponder today.
To God be the glory!

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PastorsPonderings Wins Blogging Award!!!

Today, I was informed that Pastorsponderings.org has won an award from Canadian Church Press awards in the category of “Best Blogs”!!  I am extremely honored to have even been considered for this prestigious award.  What a privilege to be able to write about life, our spiritual journeys and Christian living and to be recognized for it.

canadasaca
Here’s the news site about the award:
http://salvationist.ca/2015/05/army-magazines-and-website-win-15-awards/
http://canadianchurchpress.com/awards/

Here’s to another great year of blogging and journalism!
Thank you for tuning in, reading, subscribing and sharing this Pastorsponderings.org!
What an awesome honor it is to be recognized for doing what I love.

-Blessings on you today!

-Scott.

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Ponder Cast #3 (A Pastorspondering.org Podcast Series) “Diligence and Perseverance”

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:15,16)

Please click on the link below to listen and download our latest “Ponder Cast” – #3 “Diligence and Perseverance”.
Also please share, and subscribe!   Thanks!

Podcast Link:
http://scottstrissel.podomatic.com/entry/2015-04-30T10_51_44-07_00

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Dear Salvation Army, Earthquakes, Fires, Disaster…We Are There!

Today I write with encouragement.
Today I take off my critical lenses on this army that I love and I wish to encourage you.
Every one of these entries on pastorsponderings known as “Dear Salvation Army” has a purpose.  All of these postings and articles are intentional and purposeful.  All of them are constructive in nature, geared for the purposes of improving our Army, not tearing it down.  I want us to work together in this.  I want us to march onward (so to speak) and continue to win souls for Christ.  If we lose this momentum we will fail at our mission.  If we lose this momentum we will never achieve our vision.
katmandu
Today: (News From IHQ)
http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/news/inr290415
Nepal.
The Salvation Army is in Nepal.
We are providing aid and much needed funds and supplies.
I know that we care.
I know that lives matter.
I know that it’s not just about winning souls, but taking care of men, women and children.
What happened to one of the poorest, most congested cities in the world is horrible…but I know that we, among others, are there!

When utter disaster faces occurs, people are desperate for help.
We can be that source.
We can be that life line.
We are that life line.

I am not painting a perfect picture of The Salvation Army.
I am not proclaiming us “the best organization” in the world.
I am not saying “look at us, look at us”…BUT I believe God has placed us here to be His hands and feet to the world.  We have access to many places in the world where other organizations can’t go.  Our soldiers are on the ground in some of the most remote places in the world.  This is no accident.  This is no coincidence.  I firmly believe that God has placed us in those places.   How we react and how we offer salve to those hurts matters!

Questions to Ponder:
Has God called you to serve in this Army?
Are you responding to His calling every day?
Will you go if He tells you to go?
What can you do for Him?

May it never be about how flashy or how good we look in a uniform, but may it always be about responding to God’s calling in faithfulness, humility and love.  When everything is stripped away, may our Army of Salvation be genuine…may our Army be true…may our Army be forever compassionate to the hurting and the lost wheresoever they may live in our world.

Will you be there?
Will we provide aid, love, hope, compassion, joy, light?
Something more for our Army to ponder today!

Please keep Nepal in your prayers, and seek out ways that you can support these vital efforts!
To God be the glory!

For more links and ways to help please visit the sites below:
https://secure20.salvationarmy.org/donation.jsp
http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/nepalearthquake;jsessionid=BC2A283C79B7CC9AB73273B5C55AA3AD
https://secure20.salvationarmy.org/donation.jsp?projectId=IHQ-NepalEarthquake

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“Finding Refuge”

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  “Selah” -Psalm 46:1-3

How are you today?
Do you feel beat up, crushed, broken and worn out?
How is your spirit?
Are you running on empty today?

There is much in the world that never seems to turn out right.
There is so much pain and suffering in our world!
Sometimes I feel as if this world is hopeless and that evil has won.
Sometimes I turn on the tv and hear news stories or genocides, terror, natural disasters, political tensions and it all just seems to inundate our lives.  Is this all that we are?  With all of our progressive science and medicines and technologies we still see death, famine, disease and death.

Some would say that this is just life, they way it has always been.
I’m not happy with that simplistic answer.   It seems too apathetic to me, too jaded.
Innocent die every day in every corner of the world, and we could compartmentalize this and say, “well at least it’s OVER THERE, and not here…”  Really?  Are we not all human?  Are we not all connected to the very fabric of what makes us live on this earth?  I don’t presume to have the answers to the sickness of our world, but I do know that there is refuge.  I do know that there is hope.  I do know that we can must rise above this existence!

Finding the Strength to overcome? 
It comes from God – “God is our refuge AND strength...” (Psalm 46:1)
Is God something evident in our lives today?
Are we relying on His strength?
Is He accessible to you?
Do you call out to Him in your desire to find refuge from your problems, sickness and fears?

He is our ever-present help in times of trouble! (Psalm 46:1)
When we recognize Him for who He is, we can find the strength and courage to overcome.
When we seek out His refuge in our lives, it makes all the difference in the world.
In fact the writer of this particular Psalm states that even if the earth gives way and everything crumbles before us we don’t have to fear.  Why?  Because God is near.  God will be our strength.  God will be our refuges. The creator of the very earth that is crumbling before our feet is there to offer His help to us.

I don’t know what is going on in your life today, but I do know that there is a mighty God who wants to be included in it!  He wants to be your guide, your refuge, and your strength!  If you’re seeking refuge the deluge of life today, look no further…because God is there!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help me in my day to day, moment by moment.  Help me with the problems that I am facing today.  You know my situations and I am seeking refuge in your loving arms!  Grant me peace, allow me to feel your strength and guidance just now.  In your Holy name I pray these things.  -Amen.

Something more to ponder today, He can and will be your refuge in your times of trouble…do you trust Him?
God bless!

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Dear Salvation Army, Beware of Mines!

soldier

“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” -1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Danger minesThis is a difficult pondering today.
Dear Soldier, have we purified our hearts AND our lives?
Are we living as we should?
OR
Are there still “stones” left to be overturned?
Are there still those “private” sins that we still indulge in?
I don’t mean to meddle today, but I feel compelled to write on this sensitive topic.
Sexual images are literally EVERYWHERE!
Temptation abounds in many places, not only on the internet but in our every day lives.
Our body, in our out of uniform, is the very temple of God.
How is your temple?
How are you doing with the every day temptations of life?

Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that we are no longer susceptible from the lures of temptation.
Don’t be foolish!!
When we make that conscious decision to act on temptation, let us call it for what it is – SIN.
Be careful, dear Soldier.
Beware of the mines!
Be alert and awake!
You are called by God.
When you became a Soldier of this Salvation Army, you signed the articles of war…and if you became an Officer you signed a covenant with God.  We are to be set apart for Him…in every way!  How is your testimony today?

This is NOT easy!
Soldiership and Officership is NOT easy.
Living for Christ is NOT easy.

Questions: 
Do you sometimes stumble?
Do you sometimes give into temptation (no matter what “it” is)?
Have you asked for forgiveness?
Have you prayed about specific situations and areas of temptation in your life?
mines2
You are never alone!
God is with you!
He will sustain you.
He is willing to come to our aid!

If we are to be a stronger Army…
If we are to be an Army on fire for God…
If we truly desire to change the world around us for Him…
Then 
-we ought to desire His holiness in our lives!
-we ought to long to take hold of this new life for all it’s worth!
-we ought to desire to be like Christ in every way!

Dear Salvation Army, beware of the mines!
Dear Soldier of this Army, beware of the mines!
For they will devastate us if we entertain its lures.
They will ravage us and leave us broken and defeated.
Beware and tread carefully…steer clear of those places and areas of greatest vulnerability.
Allow His Holy Spirit to guide you! mines1

“Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.” -Proverbs 4:23

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

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“Pressing on or Drop it like it’s hot”

We are adding a new addition to Pastorsponderings, podcasts!
Today, we’re going to add our first podcast offering – “Pressing on or drop it like it’s hot”.

Click on the link below to listen to today’s podcast –
http://scottstrissel.podomatic.com/entry/2015-04-22T09_49_30-07_00

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phillippians 3:7-14

Questions to consider: 
Do we do that in our service to others?
Do we do that in our service to God?
Do we go through the motions, but inside it’s just real work without passion?
Do we sometimes struggle with this commission God has given to us?

Prayer:
Dear Lord, help me to serve you with everything that I’ve got!
I don’t want to grudgingly serve you.
I don’t want to throw my services on the floor because I have to.
I want to serve you because I love you.
I want to serve others because of your love!
Teach me.
Fill me.
Renew me.
Give me your eyes for those around me.
Help me see where your love abounds and where I must go to share that love with others today.
In your name I pray.
-Amen.

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Dear Salvation Army, Does Racism Still Exist Within Us?

I am a Caucasian man.
I am a pastor.
I love culture.
I love diversity.
I love people.
I am a father.
I am a husband.
There are many other attributes that can describe me, but I hope that racism is never one of them!

saI grew up as a missionary kid.
We lived on a small Island where a little pale blonde headed kid was not the norm.
We also lived in South Africa during Apartheid, where racism was very, very real.
In my parent’s appointment in Cape Town, they served at a  beautiful corps (Athlone) where I learned the intricacies of rich harmonies in worship.  The sounds of singing and worshiping have always had an impact in my life because of the Athlone corps.  One other thing, our corps, at this time was considered a “colored” corps. I still consider the Athlone corps members to be as close as family to me.  At the same time of meeting each week at the Athlone corps, my sister and I attended an all white school.  Remember, this was Apartheid South Africa, much of the racism still existed in government, police as well as restaurants  and shopping centers.  I have seen racism at its worst, even though I was only a child then.

Thankfully those days have changed…and they are still changing.
Do you know what I also remember of those years in South Africa?
I remember The Salvation Army taking a stand against racial discrimination which was contrary to the government at that time.

Did racism still exist within the ranks of soldiers and even officers?
Yes.  But leadership began to slowly change that dynamic.

I am not here to debate racism today.
It is certainly deplorable in every shape or form, but I am pondering today whether or not racism still exists within The Salvation Army.

Like other organizations and churches, do we still encounter this issue?
I would be more than willing to go out on a limb today and say, yes, unfortunately racism still happens.

Here’s what I don’t want to come from such a pondering today –
I don’t want to cause more divisions among our ranks.
I don’t want to single out people and specific issue.
I don’t wish to meddle or to pry back hurt feelings from the past.
But…
what I do wish to ponder today is how can we progress forward as an Army?
How can we heal old wounds?
How do we respond to ignorance and racial divides within ourselves?
Photo Aug 22, 6 40 02 PM
Questions to ponder and think about: 
Are appointments still made today because of ethnic backgrounds and the color of skin?
Is this considered “racism” or just attempts to meet certain ethnic groups?
Do we or others in our corps still struggle with people of a different racial groups joining our fellowship?
How do you address specific people when ignorant and/or racial comments are made?

There are still some small town corps as well as large city corps that still struggle with ignorance and racism.
It still exists.
Can we love without divisions of ethnicity?
Do we have the capacity to be color blind, or better yet to celebrate how greatly diverse this Army truly is?   God loves us beyond the tone of our skin.
Christ died for every racial group in our world.
Jesus broke all social norms and spent time with people from other cultures despite the racial and cultural tensions in His day.
Will we ever get to this point as an Army?
Yes, great strides have already been made.
Godly people within our ranks have already been raised up and have paved the way.
What we do NOW as an Army matters!
There ought not be divisions among racial groups and ethnic groups in our corps and in our territories.
If we wish to reflect a Christ without barriers such as these, then we must end racism of every kind.
But it must first begin in our hearts, in our homes, and then in our corps families.

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

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