-Thoughts on Prayer-
Prayer is vitally important.
Prayer is also a spiritual discipline that should be spoken of frequently and taught to our children. It is a constant conversation that takes place with Creator and we the creation.
I remember when I was a young boy. We had a small dining table located in the kitchen. We didn’t have much. My parents were missionaries and so we lived off of what was provided to us. We were happy though, and the simple pleasures of life often occupied our small household. At that breakfast table in the kitchen we had our humble meals. Many times we ate fish at least five times a week. But one thing was constant in that small room in which we gathered for our meals. On that breakfast table sat a clear plastic stand with cards in it. The cards were nestled in their place, they were small, sometimes multi-colored. These cards looked like playing cards of one kind or another, but in fact they were scripture readings and a devotional thought for the day. Most days my father or mother would select one of these multicolored cards, sometimes my sister and I would help pull them from their place. Usually my father would read the card selected for the day. My sister and I would listen,though admittedly as children tend to be, I was often fidgety and sometimes would not hear what was being said. But those devotional cards directed our day. After the reading was finished we would pray. Right there in that little kitchen, my sister and I first encountered this discipline of prayer, which was being modeled for us by our parents.
When I was a College Student.
Later in my life, I recall visiting relatives. 
We stayed in their home and talked into the late hours of the night.
There was laughter and tears only found and formed in the deep bonds of family.
In the morning, when we were ready to set off on our long journey home, I remember sitting at their breakfast table. And much like our breakfast table long ago, there before us were those little multicolored cards resting in that clear plastic stand . A card was selected from the stand on that morning, and as a part of a now much larger family, we read and prayed together. It felt strangely familiar and yet almost alien to me then. I had been attending a Christian college, but if truth be told, I was further away from God than I have ever been in my life. But sitting at that breakfast table, I was once again transformed into a child. I was once more caught up in a glimpse of simpler days. Sitting at that table early in the morning something fantastic happened to me. I was reminded, I was renewed, I was plugged back in – because of family, because of the bonds of prayer, fellowship and relationship.
I recalled all of those times when I sat at that little breakfast table as a child, how I would fidget, how I would often dread having to sit and listen. How, sometimes I loathed those little cards…and here I was, at another kitchen table, and hearing the same kind of card being read once more. How I wished I could stop time and sit here for a little while longer. How I wished I could go back to that little kitchen as a child and soak it all up again. Perhaps this time I would listen. Perhaps this time I would understand its importance. Perhaps I would finally get it. There, within my heart was this deep longing to reach out and touch the Master’s hand. The intent of creation itself – to fellowship with God. And how many times have we ignored, been too busy or too distracted to even stop and experience such an encounter?
This brief pause in the day wasn’t a ritual. This breakfast table reading wasn’t devoid of meaning. This little moment in a big day meant something far beyond my grasp at the time. But as I have grown older, and have children of my own, I now look back and can finally see how it shaped me. I see how it molded me into who I am today.
“Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Parents, don’t underestimate this time that you have with your children!
Take the time, even if you don’t always feel up to it.
I must confess that I haven’t always done this, but I now see how vital it truly is, and a part of me wishes I could go back for a moment and sit at that breakfast table once more and to encounter our times a family prayer again.
Something to ponder today.
At the other end of the spectrum is the ignoring and tolerance of sin issues in your corps. Be mindful that we are not the judge of our world, but we do hold a high standard for our fellow brothers and sister in Christ who wear this uniform. This almost seems to be in complete conflict with the first point, but it is not. Galatians 6:1 clearly reminds us as it did in Paul’s day – “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”
Officer(s). Yes, they have had training, yes they are leaders, but they cannot lead properly without the core leaders to help them. A shared vision and delegated group will be better equipped to handle opportunities and threats that come to your corps and community. If you don’t currently have core leaders, begin by praying and asking God to reveal potential leaders to you. Prayer is never a last resort, but a constant conversation. Don’t limit your search to just the older members, the younger generations will eventually replace us at some point, so begin to invest in them. Begin to disciple them, and display for them what leadership is all about! Gather one or two influential people with common sense to help you in your corps. Remember, that we are an egalitarian movement – both men and women are equal, so do not limit your leadership search to just men or just women. Without a core group of leaders, the vision and movement will be limited.
and what we do as a corps, that we begin to have no need for the “outside world”. We stop looking out into our community and we become self-reliant and self-focused. In this danger, what happens when our congregation gets old and dies? Will there be youth to raise up and take our place? Will be just be a group of inbred soldiers? I don’t mean to sound crass, but the reality is, we need to stop being afraid of our communities. We need to stop treating the people outside our buildings as “those people” with a sense of superiority. We must squelch the desire to just remain in our buildings and selfishly focus on “us”. What about the great commission? What are we fighting for if we only fight for ourselves and our traditions and self-interests? If we are all-in and inwardly focused, we will slowly die away…and no one will care when we’re gone.
This is probably a rare thing, but perhaps not. Perhaps there are some corps that have so many services to the community that worship and all things “Spiritual” are an after thought, and then you come to Sunday and it just becomes a “thing we do”. We focus all of our energies on the outside, on meeting human needs but we seldom meet those needs “in HIS name” anymore. We might as well be just another social service agency or a humanitarian group, because we will have forgotten our first love and the “body” will be just bits and pieces pulled and stretched so thin that it doesn’t resemble Christ any longer.
vision and goal because “they have been set, and we don’t alter these goals”. Goals should never be so rigid that there is no looking back and re-evaluating what works and what does not work, whether it be in evangelism, discipleship, or corps fellowship growth strategies. Remember what worked 100 years ago, might not necessarily be the best method to use in an ever evolving culture. Not to say we adopt our culture, but we ought to consider what works and what does not work any longer and not be so rigid that we refuse to ever change how we plan and how we enact a strategy in our corps. Rigidity can kill your corps, and stifle any potential growth you might see.
If you corps does not understand Holiness, and or it is never preached on spoken of, perhaps this might be an indicator of a terminal issue. I am not saying that holiness is the end-all be-all of the corps, but what do you do with Salvation after receiving it? Where does one go after initial sanctification? Does the Holy Spirit still desire to transform us through and through? Does He not want us to be the very reflection of Christ? Yes. There needs to be continual conversation about our surrendered life and how that looks in the real world.
emulating elders we respect, this is becoming more than who we are now. Walking in the footsteps of saints and in so doing, we too become saints within this great army. If your corps does not have this vital element, closely connected to holiness, you could be facing extinction. Recognize this need, and do something!!
to be in the bygone days. We can rest comfortably on financial resources and riches we have been given from various places, and never take another risk again…and if we do this, we. will. die. I cannot stress it enough, in order for God to change our Army, we have to become uncomfortable again. We have to take risks and forget what the rules and regulations say. We have to close dead corps, move to places of need without bureaucratic red tape hamstringing us along the way. We have to get out of our pews and put feet to our professed faith. It’s either put up or shut-up. Seriously, we can talk a good game, but if we can’t back it up, then hung it up and quit already. We don’t need fans in the stands not doing the work. We don’t need complainers and criticizers telling it us it can’t be done – because the risk is too great. If we don’t do something, we might as well put our corps on life-support right now. There is a sad trend that is taking place in our corps around the USA, and our corps are not statistically growing anymore. We are not busting out of our corps buildings anymore. Yes, perhaps it’s across the board in all denominations, but could it be that we are so comfortable now that we have stopped ACTUALLY trying to reach our communities? Could this be an entire systemic issue of spiritual laziness? Forgive me if I offend you today, I can’t help but feel alarmed at how swiftly our corps are dying. And I can’t help but wonder what the next 50 years will hold for this movement? If we do nothing, we will not be here in 50 years…not like we have been, not like we should be…and then perhaps, Lord forbid, God raises up someone else to do what we should have been doing.
comers into our midst? Don’t be too quick to dismiss this assertion. Don’t rush to say, “well we are always friend”…those kinds of generalities do not always paint an accurate picture. It is true, even in the The Salvation Army, that change is not always easy to embrace. Change can be big stresses like moving corps buildings, but it can also be lesser stresses, yet still considered “change” such as inviting new members into you fold.
One of the dangers of wearing the uniform and serving the corps can be “power”. We might not do this consciously but perceived power while in uniform can bring us from humble to prideful in a heartbeat. It is very easy to complain that the dirty, disheveled person coming into our Holiness meeting is just looking for a box of food and anything we will give them. We then hold the power, we then, whether we see it or not can assume a place of superiority of that “wretch” in need. Even the disciples had moments of superiority – sometimes attempting to run of children who wanted to hang out with Jesus because they didn’t want to disturb their teacher. We can fall into this “I’m better than them” mentality if we are not careful. One of the chief dangers in becoming a close knit family in our corps is that if new people come, they are outsider and not truly welcome. Special concerted effort must be given to avoid this trap.
#10 “My Heart Is Fixed” (#507) 
#8 “O Jesus Thou Art Standing” (#614) 
#6 “I Stand All Bewildered with wonder” (#849) 
or maybe maybe this:
These iconic images of prayer are okay, but are they really what prayer looks like and should be for us today? Don’t get me wrong, I am not discounting some of us might fold our hands like this when we pray, but by and large our prayer life probably looks more like this:
up from the comfortable sofa and putting on their shoes and attempting to run a marathon without any training. Sure, some might actually finish, but by and large most would fall flat on their faces in utter exhaustion.
Pastor's Ponderings 