Perspectives Day #4 Featuring Major Stephen Court

“Can DisCo Save The World?”
by Major Stephen Court

“There’s a party goin’ on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you.”
Kool and the Gang, 1980

The 70s were a little ahead of my time. The earliest Disco hit I remember was 1980 song CELEBRATION.

Disco had a massive impact on western culture.

With the monotony of routine church life, many Christians could use a splash of the party atmosphere Kool and the Gang celebrates.

When western Christianity escapes the temptations of spiritual consumerism and church buffet a different kind of DISCO can save the world.

Our DISCO stands for discipleship covenant.

These DISCO groups are sprouting in different spots in many cities around the salvosphere as soldiers and recruits join together to support each other in the salvation war. ‘So bring your good times, and your laughter here.’

Covenant is a serious thing. And we don’t want to tie people up unnecessarily. So DISCO participants commit for a short period of time – normally one to three months – to hold each other accountable for certain things. The novel wrinkle in this discipleship exercise is that each member of the groups determines the things for which s/he wants to be held accountable.

That is, there isn’t some uniform standard imposed on everyone. So a group can contain a brand new convert and a long-time follower of Jesus, as each person is vulnerable and accountable for certain activities and practices for the committed time. Everyone advances at your own pace, from your own status quo.

So, one person might want to be held accountable to fast two days/week and do a silent retreat once a month while another member might need help to do rations every day, exercise a few times/week, and read a good book during the DISCO.

And everyone benefits. Members pray for each other, support each other, and help each other. ‘We’re gonna celebrate your party with you.’

DISCO works best face-to-face. But it is also proven to work online. And it normally happens with the same gender.

The thing is, a good DISCO, though it may last only 90 days, will change the lives of its participants. It’s ‘a celebration to last throughout the years.’

And as those participants spin off DISCO after DISCO in corps after corps and city after city and territory after territory, we can legitimately ask, Can DISCO save the world?

And I think you know our answer.

Here’s a generic example:

DISCIPLESHIP COVENANT
To align ourselves with the heart and purposes of the Lord Jesus Christ, to prepare for the plans He has, and to optimize the opportunities He is presenting us, we are committing to the following disciplines over the next month:

On a daily basis to:
Seek His will in our decision-making and then be accountable to each other for the action based on that will;
Make myself available to help the other fulfill God’s will in his life;

On a weekly basis:
To witness/evangelise in a continuing manner as best as I can;
To intentionally seek evangelistic opportunities;
To intentionally encourage others at our Corps;
To pray for the burdens and trials each of us is experiencing in an extraordinary manner;
To participate in worship and discipleship;
To be able to encourage each other in a firm and loving manner, to grow in grace, and to extend our Kingdom impact;
To encourage and keep each other accountable in living holy lives;

Bobby’s specifics:
To disciple ______ (including rations; memory work; evangelism; sometimes worship).
To do ____ of rations daily.
To memorise _____ of Scripture each week.
To evangelise each week.
To exercise XX/week.
To go avoid porn sites / magazines.
To treat women like my kid sister.
To avoid being alone with a female.
To avoid being alone with someone who is still using.
To volunteer at the corps XX/week.

Signed: ___________ date: _____

Bart’s specifics:
To do daily family devotions.
To read XX chapters of the Bible daily.
To do daily chores.
To tithe my pay cheque to God on Sundays.
To read one Christian book this month (one we agree on).
To attend my brigade each week (and call the other members in between)
To prayerfully consider soldiership.

Signed: ___________ date: ______

November 20, 2014 0

Perspectives Day #3 Featuring Major Leti Crowell

Perspective on God’s Timing- Is He Slow or is He Patient?

Ingredients of the Soul

2 Peter 3:9 (New Living Translation)

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

Value Meal

John Wesley says this about God; “Therefore “he is long-suffering:” he gives us space for repentance, without any inconvenience to himself.” How wonderful to know that God always wants the best for us. So what is the best for us and how is repentance best for us? He wants all His children to enter the Kingdom. I look at it this way, when I make a mistake, big or small it changes me for the worse and I feel horrible and full of remorse, so when I ask God to forgive me I not only ask Him to forgive me, I ask Him to change me and not back to how I was before my mistake but to change me and make me even better. It’s simple, I want to practice living my life here on earth as I will live it in heaven. God wants that for all of us, to change us for the better to not be destroyed and wind up in eternal hell but to have an eternal life in the kingdom of His Heaven. We can never understand God’s timing in the moment of our petitions to Him but we do come to realize His timing when our petitions have been answered. How wonderful to know that he is not being slow but being patient on our behalf His promise will happen in His time and when it does we must be ready.

Prayer

Dear God, How amazing it is to me that you are patient for us. A thousand years is to one day for you. You give us chance after chance to get it right. Thank you for sending your Son our only way to you so that we can confess our sins to Him. Amen.

November 19, 2014 0

Dear Salvation Army Officer…

I wanted to talk with my fellow Officers for a moment today.

Just a simple dialogue.

Success:
Spoken or unspoken there is, within our officership, this need to prove ourselves worthy of more responsibilities and ministries to the point of unholy ambitions in our Army. I am not saying don’t work hard, don’t do your best but if our intention is to “outshine” other fellow officers…If our intention is to “look better” than everyone else…if our intention is aimed at solely pleasing our leaders regardless of how we do that…we will have aimed at the wrong goals.

Outcome Based Success…
Much of the time, our success seems to be based upon “goal oriented” outcomes. In a business world this is understandable because in the business world they deal with numbers and figures. Our primary purpose as an Army and as officers is for people and helping those people with the physical and the spiritual needs. We cannot simply use goal oriented outcomes. There is a danger of seeking success solely through these means of outcomes. The danger is that we can lose focus on the very people we are attempting to save and serve. It is often a fine line to walk.

What if we feel Unsuccessful in an Appointment?
What happens, dear officers, when all that we feel about the place that we have been appointed to is failure and defeat? What occurs in our hearts? Is our self-worth tied up completely in living and dying by some sort of “success” meter in Officership? If we do not have 100+ people coming to Holiness meetings on Sunday mornings then we are utter failures as officers? Is that how we are to view appointments? More than likely, on average, your Sunday services are a lot less than 100 people. But why do we play the numbers game and think this is our measure of self-worth? Were we misled to think this way?

I do remember coming out of Training College sort of living and breathing the song “We’re gonna fill, fill fill the world with glory! We’re gonna smile, smile smile and not frown…” But then the real world hit me square in the face. The world, where in order for some people to receive the glory, hard work and love needs to take place first. We serve in a mighty army but many that we serve are hurting, broken, spiritually wounded and stunted. Miracles do happen but we cannot expect this calling to be a cake walk either.

But Be Encouraged…
Although we face a lot of difficulties as Officers and often times we take the burdens of others home with us, we are not alone in this fight! We are soldiers and we serve, first and foremost, the Commander of this Army – Jesus Christ! He has commissioned those Christ-followers to make disciples…and in our Army, perhaps this translates to one or two people in our corps right now. Perhaps it’s not so much about absolute victory in our communities right now, but rather the healing and restoration of a few hurting souls that we already know.

Let earthly success worry about itself…take off that heavy burden that sometimes has been thrust upon us by misleading notions of heavenly success. Let’s do our best, but don’t forget to keep the main thing the main thing in the process. Losing sight of our principle relationship to the Lord ~~can~~ will cause us to lose sight of every other priority!

We are One Army…be encouraged dear Officer, we serve a mighty God who will provide us the means and direction for the future with and sometimes in spite of those who lead the way.

Something more to ponder today in our Army.
To God Be The Glory!

November 18, 2014 3

Perspectives Day #2 Featuring Captain Deb Thompson

“CREATION STORY”
By Captain Deb Thompson

“The Canvas And Paint Already Existed, But… The Painting Was Created”

I was raised in a home that taught that all Scripture was to be taken literally. It seems like a popular way of interpreting Scripture. It’s also an extremely dangerous way of interpreting, especially when a specific passage was intended by the author to be read differently. For example, one such passage that is often taken literally, in a desire to refute science, is the first chapter of Genesis. This chapter was never written to be taken literally, nor was it ever meant to argue Evolution in its original context.

Currently, I’m taking a college course in Pentateuch and it has challenged me to look at Creation in a completely new way, by looking at it through the eyes of the original readers.

The first thing to note is that creation stories involving deity/deities were not rare in the Ancient Near East. Mesopotamian, Akkadian, and Egyptian were cultures that had their own creation stories as well, just to name a few. The sole purpose of creation stories was to answer the big questions of life, “Do/does gods/God exist?”, “Why is there a human race?”, and “Do/does gods/God interact with humanity?” Genesis 1, in the form of the Creation Story, gives us the answers to these questions.

The first two verses of Genesis were extremely eye-opening for me. I grew up hearing that verse 2 is where we see the fall of Satan, although, there is no mention of Satan falling out of Heaven in this passage or anywhere else in The Bible, for that matter. One thing we want to take into account is that in the Ancient Near East, people weren’t interested in the structure of the Earth, as much as they were interested in the function of the Earth. Therefore, the original readers wouldn’t have read Genesis 1 to tell them how the Earth came into existence (as we read it in our culture today), but instead, they would have read Genesis 1 to tell them about what the Earth’s functions and roles were. Most importantly, the Earth’s function was to be God’s Temple where God’s people were to worship and serve Him. Later, in the Old Testament, we see this concept illustrated by the Tabernacle and then through the three Temples. This order, function, and role came out of chaos, or as the second verse states, had been “formless…empty… darkness… deep”.

Next, let’s move onto the word, “create”. “Create”, in the original Hebrew is “bara” which means to, “create, shape, form”. When we read the word, “create” we often confuse it with the word, “manufacture”. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch explains the difference between these two words with the example of art. We manufacture paints and canvases, but to paint a picture is to create a function and purpose for the paints and the canvases, and to create a painting is the role of an artist. Therefore, the manufactured item is the day and night, but the function of it is time, and the purpose of time is to fill it with worship and service to God. Therefore, to create time was the role of the Almighty God, and He is powerful enough to create time out of the pre-existing chaos. The original readers would not have read this as a structured 24 hour period being manufactured, but rather to answer what was the function and purpose God created for the 24 hour period.

Another intriguing phrase to look at in the Creation Story is, “and God saw that it was good.” Throughout the book of Genesis we read God “seeing” and in response “providing” for those He saw. One example is in Genesis 16 with the story of Hagar and the near death of Ishmael from thirst while in the desert. Hagar names Elohim as “the God who sees me” and she names the water well, which was provided for Ishmael, “Beer Lahai Roi” respectfully.

At first glance, having a God who sees may not seem too important; however, I think there is something extremely significant in it. I have a passion for Deaf Ministry, and something I have read in several places is that sometimes Deaf can feel like they cannot communicate with God because us hearing people like to use clichés such as, “hearing God’s voice”, “listening to God” and “taking time to speak to God”. However, to inform a Deaf person that God sees us, then communication is provided for everyone. There’s significance in knowing that God not only hears us, but sees us too!

The second half of the phrase tells us that what God saw was good. I had always thought this meant that it was good for God; however, that isn’t why it was good. This phrase isn’t listed after everything that was created, only things that were created good for mankind. For example, after the creation of light and after the creation of land, it is said to be good because it is beneficial for mankind.

God creates man and woman in His image. Man and woman have the roles of ruling over creation (fish, birds, animals, etc…) and to multiply. Humanity was also created to commune and have relationship with God. This is important because other creation stories (as discussed earlier) have other purposes for humanity, such as one saying that humanity are to be slaves to the gods, alone. To have a relationship with God was pretty unique to the Genesis 1 story.

Well, actually, there are a lot of things that are unique about the Creation Story of Genesis 1 that we don’t find in other creations stories. For example, our Creation Story is monotheistic, meaning “one God”. And since it’s monotheistic, it’s a peaceful, beautiful, and simple story. All other creation stories were polytheistic, meaning “many gods”. Their creation stories are complex and tell of wars and violence between the gods. Genesis 1 starts out with, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth…” There is no explanation of where God came from because He wouldn’t be confused with other gods, and more so, because He is eternal. Other cultures had to give an explanation of where their gods began.

In conclusion, the number one purpose of the Creation Story found in Genesis 1 was to be theological and to teach the Jews about the Hebrew God and the functions, purposes, and roles He gives to creation. Genesis 1 was not written to teach of the structure or the manufacturing of creation. If we take this passage literally, we miss out on theology and a deep understanding of God that sets the tone for the rest of Genesis, and consequently, the rest of The Bible.

In conclusion, I believe science explains the manufacturing of Earth, and Genesis gives Earth a purpose and function. I believe science answers how the Earth is structured, and Genesis tells me how it functions. I believe science tells me how it all began, but Genesis tells me what the purpose of it all is. I believe science cannot answer Genesis’ questions and Genesis’ question cannot answer science’s questions. I believe science and Genesis complement one another.

I am the heart, You are the heartbeat

I am the eyes, You are the sight

I see clearly I am just the body, You are the life

I move my feet I go through the motions, but You give purpose a chance

I am the dancer; You are the Lord of the Dance

–“Lord of the Dance”, Steven Curtis Chapman–

November 18, 2014 0

Perspectives Day #1 – Featuring Colonel Marlene Chase

Happy the Thankful Heart

By Marlene J. Chase

Thanksgiving was often a legalistic maneuver when I was growing up. One was to be grateful because it was the polite thing to do. Besides, you should be grateful because somewhere someone didn’t have what you had. If spinach was served for dinner, you were to be grateful because starving children in the developing world would do somersaults just to have a spoonful. If something bad happened, we were urged to be grateful because there was always someone worse off. Who has not been reminded of the man who complained that he had no shoes until he met a man who had no feet?

“Blow, north wind, blow,” my mother would quote with tiresome frequency, “thou art not half as cruel as ingratitude.” There were times when we thought nothing was quite as cruel as its positive counterpart.

A Faulty Focus

Perhaps these are the misconceptions of spoiled children. But lack of gratitude always comes from improper focus—looking at the gift rather than the giver. Thankless people covet the gifts God provides but seldom seek to know Him. If we were to fully grasp the truth of who He is in all his majesty, we would find a lifetime insufficient for expressing our gratitude.

We have all met people who appear to have nothing and yet are uncompromisingly grateful. Like Mattie who, after losing all her family and becoming ill herself, ended up in a sub-standard nursing facility. As corps officers in a small Kansas city, we took her to church every Sunday, for which she thanked us profusely to the point of becoming tiresome.

When someone complained about dandelions on the lawn, Mattie exulted in the lemony loveliness of their color and stooped to pick one as though it were an exotic orchid. When she became too ill to attend church and was confined to her bed, she praised God that she could glimpse the sunshine through her small, square window.

Alexandr Solzenhitsyn, Russian novelist, imprisoned for speaking out against an oppressive government, wrote, “Bless you, prison, for being in my life.” He looked beyond his circumstances to the One who charged his life with meaning. In embracing Christ, he found reason for lasting joy and gratitude.

A Natural Outcome

Gratitude is a natural outcome of living a life focused on the Provider of all good gifts.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created” (James 1:17-18).

If the nine ungrateful lepers who were cleansed had been focusing on the Giver of their health rather than on the gift itself, they would have experienced a thankful heart, blessing that would last forever. Their physical health came with no such guarantee. They didn’t bother to thank Jesus for healing because they were too absorbed with the gift and totally neglected the Giver. But the one who returned to give glory to God received a greater gift.

Paul sang hymns of praise in prison and joyfully thanked God from the bow of a shipwrecked vessel. “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances,” he wrote (Phil. 4:11). He had learned the secret of life—placing hope in the one true Constant in the midst of ungovernable and unceasing change.

A Constant Hope

Health, wealth, the love of family and friends can all be gone in an instant. In one day, Job lost his children, all his worldly possessions and his health. If his hope for life and living had been placed in these transient tangibles, he could not have said of God, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him” (Job 13:15).

“Blow, north wind, blow. Thou art not half so cruel as ingratitude.” Blow, wind of God through hearts focused on the Giver of every good gift. The radiant Presence that settles within will make us triumphant over every cruel circumstance and bring us at last to God who is our constant hope.
***Marlene Chase is a writer, editor, speaker and author, and retired Salvation Army Officer. Her works can be found online via Amazon Books and other online sources.***

November 17, 2014 0

Dear Salvation Army, The Shunned

I have written a little bit about this topic before:
Officership, A Calling for a lifetime?

But…
It’s an assumed notion.
Something that we do not generally speak of in our Army, and yet it dates back to our founders, William and Catherine Booth. What of the shunned?

What do I mean by ‘shunned’ you ask?
In Booth’s day some disagreements led to the departure of family members from The Salvation Army. William considered this to be abandoning the cause. Our founding general in a very real sense shunned these family members and no one was to have anything to do with them. It didn’t just end there, however, for when family members (not Ballington Booth he is buried in New York) did not please the family with their choice of ‘leaving the work’, were in essence even shunned in death and were not allowed to be buried with William and Catherine Booth at Abney Park cemetery in London. Some of these members are buried in the same cemetery but there was explicit instruction as to not allow them to be facing William and Catherine.

I seriously doubt (I hope) that our Army “shunning” doesn’t go that deep today, but it is still present. It is in the unspoken glances. The momentary intake of breath when a former officer is seen. The look of uncertainty as to what to say. “How have you been?” “What’s new with you?“…these pleasantries just don’t seem to cut it.

Perhaps there is a disconnect between commonalities now…sometimes.
The accepted methods for “dealing” with those who have left the work varies. Some soldiers and officers are very compassionate and display grace and love and sensitivity in such situations. Others do not.

The Hypocrisy:
It is rather easy to chalk all who have left “the work” as abandoners of the faith. But are they? Do you really know this? Or, do we sometimes make hypocritical judgement of situations and circumstances that we know nothing about. I would call that ignorance at the very least.

Others would simply say “well they knew what they were getting into when they signed their covenant as an officer…” Well, “yes” and “no”. I am sure many who have signed the covenant have done so with the best of intentions. Many who have committed to the cause at that time thinking this was all that they wanted to do in their lives. There were some who, I am convinced, didn’t truly know what they were getting into even after the rigors of Officer’s training. You see the real world begins following the service of appointment. The real world doesn’t look much like the bubble that is training college. It isn’t the college’s fault…they do their very best to prepare us, but some training has to take place in situations that have many variables and consequences other than a grade in a class.

I think we ought to be careful of hypocrisy in our Army when we rush to judge those who have decided to make difficult life decisions that do not include Officership anymore. It isn’t black and white, right and wrong. Life, unfortunately has more color schemes than these. The assumed notion that all officers who have left or are leaving are due to sin issues or terminations is also hypocritical and ignorant. Opportunities come to some former officers and they choose to leave to pursue something else. There is life after officership believe it or not. There are other ministries as well other than the Army ministry.

We partner with pastors in almost all the communities that The Salvation Army is in…what if that pastor is a former officer? Can we say “well they weren’t truly called?” Um…no we can’t. In fact how dare we say something like that. Who are we to judge the lives of others, especially if their decision had nothing to do with sin or moral failures.

Questions:
Do we actively shun people who have left the work today?
Do we shun people subconsciously in the way that we act around them?
Have we closed the doors on people because of their decision to leave the work?
Is it our place to cast judgement?
Is there life outside of officership?
Is officership a calling for life to all?

I do not presume to have all of these answers… but I do know how I feel when I hear these very sad stories of officers who have chosen to leave for many different reasons and the lack of support and/or negative responses they have received which has felt like public shunning. Does it happen to all who have left the work? Of course not. Should shunning happen at all? Absolutely not…so why is it still lingering? Why do we glance a precursory judgmental stare at former officers? Why the stigma?

Sometimes I wonder if we have missed the point as we attempt to reach those who are marginalized when from time to time we are marginalizing former comrades and fellow soldiers of the army.

All I know is that if we conduct ourselves with grace, love, compassion and understanding even if we do not completely understand we can stave off this “shunning” persona in our Army…but it’s going to take some time.

Just something more to ponder in our Army world.
To God be the glory!

November 17, 2014 4

Pastorsponderings Passes 100,000 views!!

I am constantly blown away by the interest and readership that Pastorsponderings.org is receiving! It is truly humbling and I am truly honored.

Friday night we surpassed 100,000 views. Seriously, WOW! I am honestly blown away at how quickly we have reached this benchmark.

Thank you for following and reading Pastorsponderings.org! Please continue to share our little blog as we will continue to bring you relevant, thought provoking content!

Sincerely,

Scott E. Strissel.

November 15, 2014 0

Dear Salvation Soldier…shhhhhhh

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

This is a call to deeper holiness, not a chastisement.
This is both personal and corporate.

How many times have I struggled with this problem?…I’m not telling…How about you?

In the Corps:
There is nothing that hinders corps growth more than loose lips and mindless gossip. Often it is also the hardest to remove as well. Why is gossip, slander and unkind talk such a difficulty? Why can we not control our tongues?

A number of years ago, we had a salty individual who came to our corps. This person would constantly say unkind things to us as well as behind our backs…and it got worse. New people began to come to our corps. Fresh faces, eager to learn more about Christ…then it happened. This individual looked back at the new couple and said, “who the hell is that“? Let me just tell you that there are no words that one can find to describe our shock and horror. We confronted this person. Asked them to apologize. This person refused and they couldn’t believe we had come to them asking for something that seemed outrageous in their opinion. Finally I called that person, they answered, I talked and told them it had to stop (there had been many more incidents), I was told in no uncertain terms where I could take my words and where to put them. This person has since left the corps altogether but not before driving away new members and potential members.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,
fellow Soldiers of our Army, the tongue is a mighty and dangerous weapon! We MUST be careful and aware of how sharply words can cut. Gossip, slander and biting attitudes can dissolve a corps fellowship faster than nearly anything else!

Remedies:
1) Don’t ignore it in your corps.
If we ignore this virus of words, it will not go away.
It will still remain and it will only increase because ignoring it actually gives it more power. Address it appropriately. Privately, if possible. Do so with other Local Officers and elders who are trustworthy and upright. (This is scriptural!)

2) Stinkin’ Thinkin’ or Edifying Thoughts?
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Do not even entertain stinkin’ thinkin’! Don’t allow it to be consumed into your life! Cut off the mindless gossip of others, or just walk away. Don’t let it gain even a small foothold in your thoughts and lifestyle. Whatever you consume in your thoughts becomes who you are!

If we are a body of Christ then we have to put to death these thoughts along with all of the other idolatrous, sinful things. (Colossians 3:5)

3) Accountability!
If you struggle with negative, unhealthy thoughts and speech, then talk to a trusted brother and sister in Christ! Talk to someone who will hold you to your promises and convictions, not someone who will placate you. Seek out someone who you can be challenged by and who will commit to holding you to your word.

4) Baby Steps…but don’t quit!
Sorry, Bill Murry’s performance in ‘What About Bob‘ just came to mind. “Baby steps, baby steps” We will not conquer this blight of negativity from our thoughts and tongues immediately. Certainly the Holy Spirit can alleviate this immediately, but more than likely we will have to work very hard at conquering this issue. We will have to take baby steps or small victories one at a time. Don’t get frustrated if you stumble now and then, but don’t use that as an excuse either! Remember we are called to this higher calling and if we are to be truly set apart then we have to submit everything to the will of Christ including our thought process and our tongues.

Dear Salvation Soldier,
Can we submit this sword (our tongues) completely for the cause of Christ?
We will face resistance.
We will face trials.
It will NOT be easy.
We will be tempted to share juicy gossip or respond with biting words.
But seriously, we need to just stop and SHHHHHHHHHH, when all we can think about saying will injure, cause harm and damage this vital fellowship of Christ.

Don’t overlook this dangerous foe!
Don’t underestimate it’s power on your corps either!
Something more for our Army to ponder today!
To God Be The Glory!

November 14, 2014 5

Dear Salvation Army, When Orders And Regulations Get In The Way…

Acts 151,2,7-11 “Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:“Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question…⁷After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

I am not sure who these “certain people” were…but today I wonder if our “certain people” wear uniforms and act the part of the pharisee from time to time. I don’t wish to sound judgmental…truth be told, we have all played this role a time or two…and we’re not proud of it (I hope).

The Early Church
There were certain fundamentalists within the early church; rule abiders, standard bearers, orders and regulation holders. When new comers (Gentiles) came to the faith proclaiming to be Christ-followers, these traditionalists demanded they be made practicing Jews in every way including circumcisions (yowza!). You see, in order for these new comers to be accepted as members of the faith in the eyes of these traditionalists, they had to change everything about themselves. The law had to be upheld, and these stiff regulations followed to the letter. It was practically impossible for these Gentile followers to obey the law completely. In essence these “certain people” were setting them up for failure.

Grace & Law
^{8 “}God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:8-9)

Peter tells it like it is to those gathered in Jerusalem.
We are given the Holy Spirit…He purifies our hearts. We do not need additional ritualistic practices or outward performances to meet regulations of salvation. We have been saved through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been purified through and through.

Do Orders And Regulations Get In The Way?
Yes. At times.
Sometimes, even in The Salvation Army, we can get so caught up in the law and the ritualistic practice of the law that we can lose sight of a grace that purifies and transcends common practice. Are new comers joining our Army? Do they understand this Army? Are we helping them to understand our forms of worship? Do we lose them because of lack of grace, compassion, judgement, appropriateness?

I am not advocating anarchy, in fact just the opposite.
Could it be that the grace of the Holy Spirit is all the law we need? I am not saying that we throw out our orders and regulations…but do we hold far too tightly to these? Have they become our “Jewish law”? In order for visitors to truly believe and worship as Salvationists, do they have to meet our requirements of dress and practice?

Sound Doctrine?…yes…Rigid Rules?…no.
Again we should be mindful, as Peter, Paul, Barnabas and James were in Acts 15 of the trappings of ridged Law abiding practices that strangles growth. The Apostles didn’t say that they were throwing out sound doctrines, but they did loosen the stiff regulations for Gentiles coming to the faith.

Questions:
Can new people & visitors truly come to your corps “as they are”?
Do we judge new comers based on their appearance and practice?
Have we lost potential soldiers and even officers because we rigidly follow our orders and regulations and “accepted” practices in worship (excluding foundational doctrinal beliefs)?
Do we really mean for new Christians or would be Christians to “come as they are” into our Holiness meetings and Salvation Meetings?
Are we exhibiting grace, love and compassion to the “whosoever”?
Have we ever discriminated (consciously or subconsciously) people because they didn’t fit OUR Salvationist mold?

Warning: Don’t Get In The Way!
Don’t be the “certain people” found in Acts 15.
Our world already contains enough judgement, condemnation and discrimination. If ~~the Church~~ The Salvation Army cannot be a beacon of hope, grace and holiness, then a I fear we will have lost our way and God help us if we turn away individuals because they aren’t “our kind of people“.

The Remedy:
If you have been a part of the “certain people“…I pray you can reconcile yourself once more to His grace and love. Ask Him once again to soften your heart. Ask the Lord to make you holy. True growth of our Army begins upon our knees in penitence as we seek to be inclusive of the whosoever regardless if they wear a uniform or look just like you and me.

Prayer: Lord make us holy. Set us apart for your missions here on earth. May we seek to love and to serve everyone regardless of their differences. Give us your eyes so that we may see others the way you see them. May we exude your grace, peace, love and acceptance of those who are so desperately in need of these qualities here on earth. May we be your people who will help usher in your kingdom here on earth today through our faith in action. In your name we pray. Amen.

-Something more for our Army world to ponder today.

Additional reading on this topic for your consideration:
Cookie Cutter Christians
Christians and Racism?
When Christians Get It Wrong

November 13, 2014 0

Life…emptying the ocean into a thimble…

I have this visual in my head.
It’s the image of me and the image of God…and they are so vastly different.
In this image, I am so very, very small.
I am barely a speck within this massive cosmic universe.

I am a thimble.

I cannot hold much.
What I can hold is quite limited.
What I can’t hold is very, very expansive.

It reminds me of a time when I stood on top of a large building in the city and looked down. Everyone was going about their day, unknowingly being watched from above. They looked so small from my vantage point. The cars and vehicles we plodding along and they almost looked like ants in a line. It never seemed to stop or slow down…it just…kept moving. The distant sounds of horns blaring and tires screeching could be heard, and it seemed suddenly quite silly.

Sometimes I wonder if this is how we look to God.
I wonder if He peers down at us…then again, where did we ever get this notion that He is looking down from somewhere? Could it be that He is right next to us…could it be that he is holding our thimbles in his hands? …(okay, now I’m silently humming “he’s got my thimble in his hands…”)

But in reality I wonder sometimes if we are so consumed in our lives with trying to cram every single thing into our tiny vessels.

We try to cram in success.
We try to cram in popularity.
We try to cram in things and money and cars and homes and happiness and love and acceptance and families and jobs and contentment and places and desires and dreams and politics and rights and wrongs and judgement and….you get it don’t you? That’s one long run-on sentence and yet, in a way, that’s what we’re doing to our lives.

Sometimes we do too much.
We pile our “stuff” too high.
We demand far more of ourselves than God does of us…

We think that doing “things” in some sort of right order is what honors God, and then pretty soon those things sometimes replace or unknowingly take the place of God because it all has to be in the right order and done in the right way and polished to a tee…and so we work really, really hard at something that should be about God but it becomes all about us…

And so….

I keep coming back to this image.

How many times am I attempting to pour the whole ocean into my thimble?

How many times am I attempting to do this insane, impossible thing?

How many times do I come away from this “work” feeling defeated and, in no way have I gone even a few inches from where I started?

News flash…
maybe we weren’t created to carry the entire ocean around in our thimbles.
Maybe that’s not how this whole thing works.

It’s like going to the beach.

My family and I went this past summer.
We live in the cold north and so going to the beach means traveling a long distance.
So we drove, and drove and drove…finally we got there only to have like three days to enjoy the beach…and so we soaked up the sun and the sounds and the sand for as much time as we could. We did all of the dumb touristy things. We collected shells and bought overpriced souvenirs and we attempted to take the beach back home with us by the bucket full and because it was also caked in the carpets of our van.

Question:
Do we attempt to fill our thimbles with the entire ocean because we feel it will suddenly disappear? Is this how we think about God?
I mean, if we don’t make this mad dash to overflow our thimbles with His infinite ocean do we fail at this holy life? Is that what being a Christian is all…about?

Are we like ants in a line as we go to church and carry our bibles and dress the part and look good “dressing the part”….

In a very real way have we lost the true meaning of what a “Christ-follower” is all about in this insane rat race of rituals and practices?

Are we attempting to empty the entire ocean into our thimbles when God doesn’t work that way? …and as we do these things are we becoming more and more frustrated, disillusioned and lost?

Matthew 10:10 says…
Can we just simply come to Him and experience life without trying to swallow it whole while pouring the entire ocean into these thimbles? Can we experience this abundant living by being content with what and who we are and what He is giving to us?

Jesus said that he had living water and if we drank from that water we would never be thirsty again…is that enough for us? Can we just sit by that well and realize that the ocean isn’t going anywhere?
Perhaps it’s time to stop the rat race.
Perhaps it’s time to stop attempting to fill our thimbles with the entirety of the ocean as we are never satisfied.

How’s your thimble?

Something more to ponder today.

November 12, 2014 0