Dear Salvation Army – 5 Truths About Sacrificial Living…

We are an army that is non-sacramental – I believe this, but we must actually embrace and preach/teach the necessity for real, authentic sacrificial living its soldiership. Without this crucial component of sacrificial living, we will have not only rejected ritual observations of the Church by way of communion and other such practices, we will have neglected the true essence of Christ himself (who was without sin, yet suffered and died for us). If we are to be Holy as He is Holy, we must become like Him in every way – which includes sacrificial living. The season of Lent is upon us, and although we do not practice much of the traditional Church practices within Lent, we would be remiss if we did not explore this extremely important topic of Sacrificial Living.

But First let us clarify what Sacrificial Living is not:
It is NOT:
-A great display and sanctimonious actions for others to see you and know your piousness and holiness.
-A ploy for promotion or power play for position or status.
-A means to compete with other soldiers and prove who is “holiest”
-A means to fool the world – but you can’t fool God.

If any of the above mentioned motives for Sacrificial living exist within us, we must eliminate them from our hearts and reconsecrate ourselves before God!

5 Truths About Sacrificial Living:
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

Sacrificial Living Requires Consistency
“But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” 1 Samuel 15:22

We cannot simply declare that everything we do in the corps will be the place of my sacrificial living – NO! It is all or nothing. God doesn’t want our sacrifices in one area while other areas of our lives are still not surrendered. That’s like saying to your spouse, “I will be faithful to you in this city, but I can’t promise anything when I leave this city.” How can we love the Lord with all of our hearts when we compartmentalize our relationship to Him? If we are to be soldiers of the faith who are daily living sacrificial lives, we have to subject ALL of our lives under the sovereign, perfect rule of Christ. Consistency is not easy, and there will be constant struggles to bring these areas of our lives under control. But rest assured we have One who is with us – The Holy Spirit!
Sacrificial Living Takes Work
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” –Romans 12:1.

If we are to be consistent in our declaration of sacrificial living – we have to mean what we declare – and this takes work! We have to roll up our sleeves, so to speak, and intentionally, moment by moment surrender our wants and desires to God. We have to declare Thy Will be done, instead of my will. The work done on our knees in prayer before the Almighty will set the momentum going forward. If we neglect this spiritual discipline of prayer, we will jeopardize our entire sacrificial existence. This is a merging of our identities with that of Christ’s. When we do this, we are essentially saying “I want to be Imago Dei” I am not just imitating Him, I want to be Him in every way. There will be moments of stumbling. We will experience great stress in temptation, because surely the Father of Lies will begin to see how dangerous His people will become to his devious plans on earth. We will experience adversity, days of defeat, weakness – but these are only symptoms of us dying to our old-self.
Sacrificial Living Is An Outpouring of Holiness

“And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.” -Acts 2:44-45

When we declare our desire to be ~~like~~ Christ in every way, our crosses will be carried, and our path will be set. It sounds paradoxical, but while we experience great sacrifice and discomfort, we will at the same time experience great peace too. Sacrificial living is not the end result, no this is the outpouring of our longing for holiness in all that we are as Children of God. This is more than just words uttered. This is something on a molecular level – changing us from the inside out. I believe something metaphysical happens when we make it our goal to be Christ in our hearts, minds and soul. You know that when you have been married for a long time – you and your partner take on the mannerisms of each other…sometimes you even begin to resemble one another. Holiness lived-out with the greatest of intentions and devotion will produce men and women of God who deeply resemble Christ in every way. -This is what Sacrificial Living looks like and is the evidence of a commitment to Holiness on the deepest of levels. Dare I say, but we as an Army have yet to even scratch the surface of real, tangible Holiness amongst its ranks. We talk a good game, but I fear we are no where near it yet.
Sacrificial Living Has No Room For Ego

“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.” -Acts 4:32

There’s an old phrase that perhaps you know, it goes like this: “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”…even in the Army there is a hunger for power, whether it be in our corps and local officer positions or the Corps Officer, Divisional Officer, Territorial Officer…and so on. Power is a dangerous vice. Authority is necessary in any Church, Movement or Mission, but the hunger for power and man’s authority can corrupt all of the above. In fact, this is what Satan hopes will happen to any adversary of his: that they become bogged down by their own egos and blinded by their own ambitions and thirst for imagined power. You might say, “but we are The Salvation Army – we have no power.” – every organization, movement or Church has many places of authority and assumed places of power. What we do with those roles, how we conduct ourselves if we become stewards of such positions determines not only the course of our Army, but the depth of our sacrificial living. There is no room for ego in sacrificial living! “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” -Psalm 51:17.
Sacrificial Living Must Be Evidenced In Our Soldiers & Officers!
“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ…” -Philippians 3:8

If we are truly a Holiness movement – then we must act like it! We must eliminate every element of back-biting, gossip, slander, ego, power-plays, Church politics that elevates one over another, personal vendettas and all other kinds of selfishness! Somewhere along the way we left the call for holiness in a pulpit sermon and lost our way. We will not move or correct any kind of mission drift that is egocentric if we are not really actively engaged in sacrificial living. Let’s stop talking a big game, and putting on a big show as we tout our Holiness Movement member’s cards (I’m being facetious)…let’s drop the pretenses. If we want to see an Army on the move and if we long to save souls, then we first have to start with our own. I am not questioning our salvation, I am questioning our depth of Holiness and Sacrificial Living. Let’s practice what we preach…and perhaps for some of us, we need to fall in love with God all over again in reconsecration. I love this army, but without soldiers, officers and adherents who are living sacrificially, and committed to the great commission of saving souls and making disciples, we could face extinction a generation from now.

Something more for our Army world to Ponder today.

*Disclaimer: the thoughts and opinions expressed here are the writer’s thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of The Salvation Army. Reader discretion is advised.*

March 2, 2017 0

Day 38 – “The Landmarks of Everest”

“…So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.” Joshua 4:8-9

I recently read with great interest an article about Mount Everest. In this fascinating

bodies — Bodies still remain on the mountain and are used as landmarks.

article, the writer described how Mount Everest is a grave to over 200 climbers who didn’t make it down from the mountain. Some froze to death, others fell, while still others simply ran out of oxygen. The thing about these large mountainous grave sites – once on the mountain it is near impossible to recover the bodies, and so to this day, these bodies remain frozen in time and visible to those who climb. These fallen climbers not only commemorate the dangers of climbing this daunting mountain, but they now also serve as landmarks to other climbers. Out of these tragic deaths has come life and in some way, these once living landmarks are making the climb easier for others to carefully mark out their steps as the ascend the mountain.

This brought to mind the story of Joshua in the bible. (Read Joshua 4:8-9) He had become the new leader of the people of Israel. He had replaced Moses and was attempting to finally see the promised land. As they prepare to cross the Jordan and into this new land, Joshua instructs the twelve tribes to place a stone into the river. Imagine these large rocks (12 in all) being placed one on top of another. This was to be a landmark. A reminder of God’s promise-fulfilled . This was to help generations after this one to see and to remember God’s faithfulness to those who love and serve Him. This would be a memorial place that grandparents could point to and tell their grandchildren about how God had provided when their generation was homeless and wandering.

There are many other places in scripture where people have left their landmarks so that others who came after them would know of this great God. Some landmarks commemorated great grief and loss, while others commemorated great victory and joy. All of these served to provide a means of safer passage to the next generation. This makes me wonder what sort of landmarks we are constructing in our own lives. How are we paving the way for our children and our grandchildren? What sort of legacy are we leaving behind for others to follow? Will they commemorate an honorable holy disciple of Christ through the testimony of our lives, or will they use our story us as a warning? I pray that we desire to pave the way through a life of godly living and in so doing, leave legacy that others wish to follow as they ascend this path of holiness.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to mark out my days with care and prayer. Light this path before me. May my testimony be more than words, but fully realized in my love for you and those around me. Lead me today on this path of righteousness. -Amen.

*Notes Source: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-are-over-200-bodies-on-mount-everest-and-theyre-used-as-landmarks-146904416/*

February 7, 2017 0

Dear Salvation Army: Is The Holiness Movement Dying? Then Perhaps This is Why…

“I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God’s creational intentions.” John Wesley

Dear beloved Army,
This holiness movement used to be so much grander than it is today.
Are we a dying breed?
Is this movement more of a nod to a bygone era?

More and more, we find that Holiness is being preached less and less, and even more troubling is that holiness is not being lived out or made into something real and tangible for the world to see. The notion of being set-apart is both vital and necessary for the purpose of entire sanctification. Being set-apart means that we wash the feet of those who have only experienced religion with strings attached. For we are not a religion, we are a movement that preaches about this holy relationship we can have with the Almighty! We are a movement (or at least we used to be) that lived out holiness and preached it from our pulpits. If this is missing in our corps and in our witness then perhaps we have lost a step and are no longer a moving, passionate movement…but instead could it be that we are static and floundering about trying to define our identity apart from Holiness?

Have We Forgotten The Power Prayer?
General Frederick Coutts once said: “To pray together is to be shielded from evil, not only from the perils which beset the body, but also the dangers that assail the soul”
Coupled with this near extinction of the Holiness movement, have we lost sight of the power of prayer? Has prayer, and prayer meetings become a thing of the past in our corps? I am sure that some will write me and proclaim that their corps still holds prayer meetings, this is wonderful news to hear, but for every one corps that proclaims this, there are most likely three or four more that will admit to its vacancy. Have we stopped praying for one another? Have we relinquished this vital weapon of spiritual warfare? An Army no longer on its knees in prayer is an army who ill-equipped for the battles ahead. How can we march out into the streets and boldly proclaim “the world for God” when we have not been earnestly praying for each other in our corps buildings as we individually engage in spiritual battles no one is willing to talk about let alone confront?

I believe that if that we are to experience a revival again as a movement, it will only come when we begin to take our prayer lives more seriously. This spiritual discipline is vital to both the corporate worship setting as well as the personal one done in those private moments. Let me ask you this, how often to you pray for your fellow soldiers and officers? How often do we lift up our concerns before the Almighty and continue to wait on Him? In our fast paced lifestyles we have grown impatient and we lack attention to prayer. We need more prayer warriors in our Army and less prayer worriers. We need authentic, vulnerable moments in our pews as much as we need real, genuine times of solitude in our homes devoted to prayer.

The disciples, post ascension, waited on God…only when they waited and prayed and longed for His presence were they able receive His holy presence and go out and proclaim the resurrected and transformational Christ!

Somewhere along the line did we get ahead of Christ?
Did we leave Him in our upper rooms? Did we rush out to do good works and forget to bring Him with us? We can certainly fix the brokenness of physical needs through charity and social work, but we cannot bring the cure to sin-sick habitual living if we ourselves have forgotten about the need for entire sanctification in our corps and in our lives. The uniform means nothing if we do not first have this yearning to become the very image of Christ in our living and in our breathing. Apart from Him we can do nothing.

So let me ask you this: Is the Holiness movement dead?
Is it on life support in our army?
Or is it thriving in your “neck of the woods”?
If it is indeed thriving, please tell us about your experiences!
I would never presume anything about your corps, and I am not saying anything other than what the Lord is convicting me of in my own life right now.
It is my belief that if we are not continually laying our all on the altar in full-surrender to Christ, and if we are not giving ourselves continually to the discipline of prayer – we will in affect have sounded the death-knell of this Holiness movement.

Dear Salvation Army, if we have been asleep to these disciplines, I pray we wake up and shake off the polarizing agendas and the distractions and get on with being Holy…from this act we can then do this holiness through the mission of our movement.

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

*Disclaimer: These thoughts and opinions are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Salvation Army. Reader discretion is advised.*

February 3, 2017 3

Dear Salvation Army – 3 Leaders You Can Trust…

“Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”- John Maxwell

There are many leaders in our Army.
Leaders can be found in our corps, in our social service departments, in our thrift stores, in our headquarters…all the way up to IHQ and the office of the General.
But, like most things, not all leaders are the same.

Today I would like to delve into the qualifications and characteristics that make a good leader trustworthy. What are these qualifications? What sort of characteristics would you expect from such a person? I’m so glad you asked.

Perhaps you have heard the phrase “trust is earned”.
Sometimes though in our Army, and in any organization for that matter, we are expected to trust those who lead, but can this be done consistently? Have you ever had experiences that left you second guessing that trust? I am certainly not advocating a spirit of paranoia and doubt, but I would caution that not everyone who is placed in a leadership position has the same motivations and agendas.

3 Leaders You Can Trust:

1. Leaders Who Have Integrity
The Salvation Army needs more leaders to be men and women of integrity. I say this for all areas of leadership. From the local officer position all the way up to the General. We need people who will do what they say they will do while being men and women of Holiness. Without the characteristic of holiness, a leader’s integrity cannot be completely fulfilled. Thus, leadership must begin on our knees before our heavenly Father. Because we will be held to account for what we do on earth. Leaders who operate with ulterior motivations and do not have holy integrity, will falter and perhaps inflict casualties within our body of soldiers. We are very good at pointing out the bad in others, but this godly principle of living must begin with us! Without holiness and integrity our sphere of responsibility and leadership will crumble and find a limited impact for the Kingdom.

2. Leaders Who Are Authentic
Not only is it crucial to have trusted leaders who possess integrity, but those who also have a level of genuine authenticity. Do you know leaders who act one way while in the pulpit or place of leadership and conduct themselves contrary to that place of authority? What we say and what we do should line up, and with it our REAL responses to the world around us. There is no time to be a phony leader or a phony Christian. We cannot have leaders of any level merely giving lip service to God, but their motives and conduct are completely contrary to their bravado. This Army needs more authentic leaders! We need people who are real, people who know what it means to struggle with life, people who get it. This army is in need of leadership that has empathy not apathy. We need more candid conversations and less brow beatings and starchy high pulpit speak. We have to have a spirit of trust and an understanding that our Army is made up of people who are fallible and require compassion and grace. We need more leaders who will go to the gates of hell for people and soldiers in need instead of delegating or sending others to do their jobs. The leader that can be trusted will come to your level and spend time talking with you about the things that matter. Can you be a trusted leader? Do you have a heart to serve? Are you moved with compassion for those you lead? Then be authentic, and leader with authenticity, this Kingdom of God doesn’t have a place for two-faced leadership.

3. Leaders Who Are Accountable
Leaders who pass the buck are not leaders of accountability.
If we as leaders do not possess a spirit of accountability in us, then we cannot be trusted.
James 3:1 tells us that the higher our area of responsibility goes, so does our level of accountability to God. “… let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1 NKJV)

They say that power corrupts absolutely. This does not end at places of political power and in government, this is true of the Church and of The Salvation Army as well. Be aware of the power that is entrusted to you. Know that final authority is not you – but rather God. Even if you do not have someone who is currently over you in authority, your actions and motivations will be judged in accordance to Godly principles when we stand before Him. I do not say this to sound threatening or vindictive, I say this because I believe there are those in numerous places of authority who are power hungry and motivated not by a spirit of service but to be served. This is a very real danger in all levels of leadership. If we are to be leader who can be trusted, we must possess a level of accountability towards those we serve in leadership both above and below us (for lack of a better term). Is it still Thy Kingdom come, or has it come “My Kingdom come”?

Questions to Ponder Today:
Can we be trusted leaders?
Who are we accountable to?
Do I struggle with authenticity in my ministry and place of authority right now?
Is integrity and holy living a part of my identity as a leader?
Am I currently giving lip service to God, but my spiritual life is a wreck?
IF I struggle with these areas of my leadership, how can I correct that?

These are just three qualities of Godly leadership…I know that there are more and that this is just a primer. What do you think? What list would you suggest? We look forward to reading your comments, thoughts and concerns!

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

**Disclaimer: The thoughts written here are not necessarily the thoughts and expressions of the Army (But I hope they are), but are the thoughts and expression of the author. Reader discretion is advised.**

January 17, 2017 0

Day 8: The Full Court Press…

“Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:12

Let’s face it, none of us are perfect, and we all struggle from time to time.
But there ought to be some reassurance in knowing the Father – who sent His one and only Son for us. Although we fail from time to time, we have a Savior who doesn’t fail us. In fact He picks us up when we fall flat on our faces and helps us back on our feet, that is our faith on this spiritual journey.
Here’s a caution for all of us though, just because we are not perfect does not mean that we cannot be made Holy by God’s divine presence. The Holy Spirit longs for us to become what we were always created to be – Christ’s very image here on earth. And so He prods us, reminds us, convicts us of the things we have yet to surrender to Him. Sometimes we might have deep dark places in our hearts that we think aren’t forgiveable or redeemable, and so we hide them away and never talk about them. We think God will just forget about them, but the truth is if we never confront them, we will never full realize the image of Christ in us – it will always remain blurred and seemingly far away.

Press On!
So we have to put on the full court press in our lives.
We have strive to be disciplined in our personal conduct and in our thought processes.
We are made for something so much more than this and we ought not settle for being “just okay”…we can live Christ in every facet of our lives. Paul reminds us that he isn’t even there yet, but that doesn’t get him down, he just presses onward. This is what we are to do as well. Admittedly, we aren’t there yet…we still have a ways to go, so don’t quit, become frustrated or exhausted – keep going!

How is your spiritual journey going so far?
Has your journey been wrought with set backs, failures, heartbreaks and hurts?
If not perhaps you aren’t trying hard enough…and if it has, don’t quit and don’t surrender – keep pressing onward! Without this forward progress within us, we will wither, become stale and ultimately fail. Ask important questions. Challenge spiritual concepts. Tackle the rough things in your life, and with the Holy Spirit’s help we will overcome! Do you believe it? I mean do you REALLY believe it?

Prayer:
Dear Lord, I confess that I am not there yet.
I am often imperfect and I struggle in my spiritual disciplines.
Help me to overcome. Grant me your strength to press onward.
Make me holy Lord, so that my thoughts are your thoughts; my heart your heart.
I long to finish this race with strength and power, and not simply end by the skin of my teeth. Help me to thrive along the way! In Your name I pray all of these things. -Amen!

January 8, 2017 1

Dear Salvation Army, Is Policy Killing Our Mission?

“There’s no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.”
― E.B. White.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
― Confucius

Today I would like us to ponder policy and if we have become so policy heavy that as a movement, are we at risk of killing our forward momentum and even our mission?

Like any organization, church, or movement, as they grow they develop more investments to protect and preserve…is that where we as The Salvation Army are today? Could it be possible that we are more concerned with the progress that we have already made as an Army? Are we afraid to push ever forward because of past investments, government monies and grants that have tied our hands and now prevent us from serving God to the fullest? Are we to the point that we must protect dying programs because they have always existed instead of risking it all and doing what the Lord is calling us to do?

And what of policies, regulations? Have we internally bound our hands so tightly within rules and regulations that we can no longer effectively be “Saved to Serve”? Now, before you write me a nasty note (again) and chastise me for this question, please know that I am in no way seeking anarchy within our ranks. I know we have rules and orders that we must abide by, but sometimes I wonder if we have made our organization SO complicated with regulations and rules that we have become like the ancient Greek Senate that could never make a rapid decision as their kingdom fell around them by outside forces.

I don’t believe we are there yet, but could this path that we are on currently be killing our movement? Has policy become the passion killer in our Army…and just like a stringent weed-killer, has it killed the fruit-bearing plants along with the weeds?

There was a time that William Booth would pull up its corps/outposts because it wasn’t working in that community…today it would take over a year (at least) to close a dying or dead corps and plant a new one elsewhere. I understand that there are many variables to consider, I know we have so many more hoops to jump through, and the right forms must be submitted, and the right studies have to be done…and the list goes on…and it is far too complicated, perhaps more complicated than it ever should’ve been. I wonder if this is why we aren’t growing anymore? Because our hands are bound by massive amounts of red tape and far too many hands have to touch the paperwork as it passes over many desks at various levels of responsibility. Is it no wonder that some just given up? Is it no wonder that some grow frustrated at the snail’s pace? Granted we ought never make rash, uninformed decisions, but are there times when the amount of red tape becomes utterly ridiculous?

Could this be why younger evangelistic churches seem to be having more success in growing their church plants – because they have far fewer restraints and hoops to jump through? The building process doesn’t take 3-5 years, instead they work a church plant that tithes and contributes to the building campaign? I understand we are not just a church (we are so much more – we are a movement)…but are we a stalled movement in this regard? Or is this the proverbial story of the tortoise and the hare, where wisdom and time win out?

Policy Keepers & Creative Challengers
Sometimes I feel that we as an Army have become so policy heavy that we strangle creativity and the potential for real, sustainable growth. The problem is like this scale, too heavy a balance of policy keepers will lead to a diminished level of creative challengers. On the other side of the scale, too many creative challengers will lead to a diminished level of policy keepers and lack of order and policy.
We need both!! Without a healthy level (and balance) of both types of people in our Army, we face a lopsided army and a potentially failed mission.

I hope I am not painting a dismal picture within this pondering today, because that is never my intent. I am simply curious if we will reach a turning point where we think smarter instead of working harder within our structure of this movement. This Army of Salvation should be a powerful tool for Christ in this world, but I fear there is a tipping point of balance happening. The kind of imbalance that places restraints we that prevent us from reaching our full potential. Have we presently become an army too afraid of upsetting our investments and our previous accomplishments? There must come a point in which we admire the past and our rich heritage, but also press forward as a movement and focus on generations still in need of help, hope and salvation! A healthy balance of both the policy keepers and the creative challengers must be present.

Perhaps we have taken our focus off of the mission and exchanged it for regulations and rules.
Perhaps, in some places, we have exchanged mission for overly creative risks that have created a polarizing mission and have completely missed the mark.
Could it be that we are not fully relaying on the Holy Spirit for our guidance?
Perhaps we must reevaluate why we do what we do within our mission and purpose.
I hope this makes sense to you. I hope this finds its mark.

If we are not serving suffering humanity in the name of Christ through the things we do then we must shift our priorities and refocus it. Perhaps it’s time to uncomplicate things.

Tell us what YOU think? Do you identify as a Policy Keeper or a Creative Challenger…or Both?
How can we uncomplicate things? In your opinion, does policy sometimes overrule and supersede mission, or do you find that the opposite true? Let us know what you think, we value your comments!

Something more for our Army to ponder today.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are not necessarily the opinions and views of The Salvation Army’s but the writer’s own opinions…reader discretion is advised.

November 15, 2016 4

4 Dangers Of Autocratic Leadership In The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is modeled after the British Armed Forces…its model from uniform to leadership is very similar. Officers, when under orders, must move to new appointments based on need and abilities. When orders are passed down, by and large they are expected to be followed. This is understood entering a college for officer’s training to become an officer. Cadets and Officers are expected to submit to authority…but what happens when that authority is abused or misused? Does that happen in The Salvation Army? Like any organization or movement, we openly acknowledge that people, even leaders are fallible and are still vulnerable to making mistakes. But what happens when mistakes go unchecked or unaddressed? Who holds leadership accountable?

This style of leadership can be useful, especially when decisions must be made and the movement is at risk. It is most effective when it is used to empower, encourage, validate and serve those that leadership leads… Autocratic or Authoritative leadership can provide a clear, concise direction and vision. This style is evident not only in a Divisional or Territorial, National or International setting, but it is also evident to some degree in individual corps, harbor lights, ARC’s and other appointments. Each of these locations autocratic leadership is usually found – and with it at times, abuse of that model can take place. Please note that I don’t say “will” but I merely leave it open to the possibility.

“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”
― John Steinbeck

Ponder This:
But what happens when autocratic leadership does fail and/or is abused?

4 Dangers Of Autocratic Leadership In The Salvation Army:

1. Disagreement Leads To Punishment
“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

In an absolute authoritative leadership model, if followers or those subservient to the leader disagree and are outspoken about it they are punished. Even in The Salvation Army, this can happen. New appointments are given or created to mute or limit those voices of dissent. It must be noted here that our army has many instances in our brief history of dissension among the ranks from the very beginning. Historically, even in the founder’s day Ballington and Maud Booth were practically excommunicated from the army when they refused to take another appointment away from the U.S. Thus they left The Salvation Army and began their work as the Volunteers of America. Understandably there is more to this story, but even then family couldn’t disagree with the authority of the Army without fear of reprisal or punishment. Does this still happen today if one were to disagree with the current vision or a decision made by leadership?

In the autocratic model of leadership, a chief danger of such a model is the fear of ever having a dissenting opinion because it could be construed to mean one is insubordinate or perhaps lacking submission altogether. But perhaps there are times when disagreement proves commitment to mission over authority. By that I mean there are times when boots on the ground understand situations of community needs and the furtherance of the movement far better than those in leadership because they have a front row seat and they have their hands directly in those community pots and engage daily with direct services.

The abuse of the autocratic leadership model begins with a zero tolerance for disagreement and the repaying of such engagement with punishments or reassignment or appointment.

2. Talent Flees and Mediocrity Remains
When this abuse is allowed to continue, and it does from time to time, there is inevitably a loss of talent. By that I mean some within the ranks of soldiers and officers alike might leave. Why would they stick around when abusive leadership would seem to go unpunished or addressed and instead is rewarded and only those who are completely complicit to that leadership style are given appointments of authority themselves? In essence an abusive autocratic style will promote the “yes” people, while those with talent (and who had the passion and zeal) but did not always agree might never be rewarded or acknowledged. What could remain would be a hollowed out version of an organization. It wouldn’t be the vision that failed but rather the internal issues of the organization that cannibalized itself.

3. Buy-In Is Limited
“Growth inside fuels growth outside.” – John Maxwell

When abused, autocratic leadership limits the buy-in for the follower or subordinate. In our Army the buy-in for a soldier at a corps who is not invested in but instead ignored would be grossly limited. Why would they want to participate or engage in the vision if they were not included in the initial vision casting in the first place, but instead the authoritative officer controlled everything? The buy-in on such a model is a malnourished form of commitment to those in the corps council and anyone else wishing to make a difference in this movement.

This example is true from the soldier in the corps all the way up to IHQ.
If corps members, office staffs, corps officers, divisional officers, territorial officers aren’t allowed some investment and ownership within the movement and have some say in how it can continue to be relevant and innovative then disillusionment and abandonment could soon follow. Why waste their time when the decision will be made for them? Why invest of themselves when they will inevitably be told what to do anyway?

An abusive autocratic system will leave constituent left behind and or abandoned altogether.

4. Generational Losses
“Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” — General George Patton

Dictators of militant nations who rule by fear, will eventually have a younger generation growing up in anger and frustration and eventually revolt will ensue. This is an extreme example, but the iron-fisted autocratic leadership model might bring along a generation or two, but eventually a younger generation will rise up and consider this model to be antiquated and disconnected with reality. They might become disenfranchised and disillusioned and seek out other ways to serve and be useful in society. In The Salvation Army, perhaps the style of leadership that was once useful to us as a movement in its infancy is not longer what is needed today. Some might say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but what if it is in some ways broken and in need of fixing (or modifying) but we’re just ignoring the systemic issue because it seems a titanic, daunting challenge? Could it be that the younger generation is leaving the Church (big C) in general because of disillusionment and inconsistency in leadership and vision? Is society just the scapegoat?

Could abuses of the autocratic or authoritative leadership model be affecting our movement today? This is a very big question, I know that, but isn’t there a part of you that wonders if we shouldn’t even ask the question in the first place? Why is that? Do we fear that if we ask it we might face punishment or be considered “rebels”? I believe a healthy movement is one who has innovative, creative and outspoken members. A movement is just that, something that continues moves forward, not backward. A healthy movement should be one that accepts constructive criticism and takes corrective steps when needed. A healthy movement is propelled not by unhealthy models of leadership and fear, but by the Holy Spirit prompting and leading His followers onward into the fray.

Can abuses happen in our Army? Yes, and I believe they still do! From the lowly corps ministry all the way up, but I do not believe it is the norm and I am hopeful that such trappings can be avoided with prayerful consideration, holy living and servant leadership always at the forefront.

“If we are growing we are always going to be outside our comfort zone.” – John Maxwell

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

Disclaimer:
The thoughts and opinions expressed here are the writer’s own thoughts and opinions and do not necessarily reflect that of The Salvation Army as an organization and movement…reader discretion is advised.

October 18, 2016 13

Dear Salvation Army, What’s The Reason For The Holiness Table?

Why do we have this large table in the front of our sanctuaries? What is it for? Is it for decoration? Is it to accompany the old modesty rails? What purpose does it serve?

Have you ever wondered these questions? -So have I!
So I pondered on this, I did a little digging…and here’s what I know:

Phoebe Palmer’s “Altar Theology”

Sometimes we see the term “theology” and automatically stop paying attention because some theologies are either so convoluted and dry or they are way too complicated. Palmer’s Altar Theology is neither. In fact, it is the very life-blood which gave birth to The Salvation Army’s Holiness theology. Much of who we are, theologically, can be traced to the turn of the century Holiness/Higher Life Movements. These evangelists, Palmer being a major contributor, incorporated a major focal point in their service: a call to take a stand, come forward to the Holiness Altar and receive the second blessing, i.e. Entire Sanctification. This was less a place of kneeling (like our modern day Altar) and more a place to literally take a stand and receive this second blessing.

A lot has changed since the days of Palmer, yet this Holiness table still remains, but predominantly in the United States and England.

Is The Holiness Table Just A Relic Now?
Few understand its significance anymore.
Very little is taught on it. Is it still important to the Army, or is it just a relic of a bygone era?
This table has now become a place to put flowers, where the offering plates most likely reside, and perhaps a very large Bible with illustrated pictures. Have we lost some of our understanding of Holiness because we no longer understand what a Holiness Table is for?

Major Phil Davisson, author of Revelation: A non-scary approach Volume 1 put it this way when I asked him about the Holiness Table;
“We should teach about holiness but emphasize Coutts (General Frederick Coutts) more…The table itself has had little resonance because it has become a display table, and because no one–neither soldiers nor officers–have a very deep experiential knowledge of holiness living, and have been put off by second-blessing / second work of grace confusions…” Could it be that our lack of teaching is to blame for its near extinction?

Major Jim Garrington recently told me that he himself has given little to no thought of the Holiness Table itself and stresses the education of our soldiers as a must have in worship. If we are to use it, our soldiers ought to know what is going on. He went on to say that he is more interested in the outcomes and less the methodology of getting there. I would tend to agree with Major Garrington, as well as the thoughts of Major Davisson.

Am I making too much of this modern day center piece?
I requested more information from other scholars and historians of The Salvation Army and very few responded to my requests, which makes me wonder even more as to its perceived relevance in our modern worship and/or even historian’s understanding of such an item. Perhaps it is understood that the Altar (mercy seat) has, in some way, taken the place of the Holiness table as the site of repentance and commitment (or re-commitment to Christ)…but what of the Holiness table then? Has it become a sacred cow of sorts? A glorified decoration table?

Steve Simms, author of Beyond Church: The Lost Word Of The Bible – Ekklesia, is also a faithful Soldier with the rank of Sargent (Envoy) in the Nashville Tennessee area; I asked Steve his take on the Holiness Table, its significance in our Army today. Here’s what he said; “Personally I believe the holiness table was “sacramental” for the early Salvationists (in the best sense of the word). It was a physical object (location) that they could approach to help them release their faith beyond their physical environment and circumstances and touch the supernatural presence of the living, resurrected Jesus…Thus, the table itself is not the goal. The goal is to go beyond the table, encounter, and surrender to the living Jesus…Although the early Salvationists set aside the official sacraments of church, they (unintentionally, I believe) raised other things to the level of sacraments. Truth is, sacramental objects and/or actions are not supposed to be the center of attention. Their purpose is merely to lift our attention beyond our natural surroundings and focus it on the real presence of the living Christ. Once we are enthralled in the presence of Jesus, those things fade into the background. (examples of things treated like sacraments in TSA are the holiness table, the uniform, the soldier’s covenant, and various ceremonies we conduct.”

Steve raises an excellent point here as well!
Perhaps in exploring and even maintaining the Holiness Table we have inadvertently made it a sacramental item – and something it was never intended to be. Also, Garrington’s point is further solidified by Simms, in that it was never about the object, or in this case, the furniture in our worship halls – it is, and always should be, about the very presence of God living amongst His people. The outcome of worship, and every element within, should point to a glorified Christ preparing us to be like Him in every way!

Steve Bussey, who wrote an extensive article on the History of the Holiness Table entitled Discovering The Origin of the Holiness Table , and with whom I hope to interview next time, writes this at the end of his article that I believe summarizes where I believe we stand currently, “General Paul Radar is quoted Nigel Bovey in The Mercy Seat Revisited (2010) as saying, “The presence of the Holiness Table is a constant reminder of the central importance of the holiness of heart in the life of our Movement – a reminder that we are and must be a holiness movement. Ours is a gospel of Blood and Fire!” (p.90)

Army Ponderings Continued…
I do not believe we have finished this discussion, I believe we have only just begun.
Next time, I will have some additional contributors as we delve further into this topic.
But for now here are somethings to ponder:
* Is the Holiness Table still significant in modern worship?
* Do we inadvertently make certain objects and practices into our own sacraments – even though we perceive ourselves to be non-sacramentalists?
* Should we educate our soldiers and officers more about the Holiness Table and perhaps even reconsider our Holiness Approach and make more of an effort to circulate more of General Coutt’s ‘take’ on holiness?
* Where do we go from here? Do we remove the Holiness Tables from our halls if they have become decorating tables? Or do we overlook this so that our outcomes and focal point is always Christ?

Something more for our Army world to ponder today!
For more reading on this subject, please check out these sources:
Discovering the Origin of The Holiness Table – By Steve Bussey
Called to be God’s People – by Robert Street
Articles & Blog – by Steve Simms
Phoebe Palmer’s Altar Theology – by Lampstand Restoration
Phoebe Palmer History – by Barbara A. Howie

October 11, 2016 5

5 Indicators of a Rotting Church

“The Church right now has more fashion than passion, is more pathetic than prophetic, is more superficial than supernatural.”
― Leonard Ravenhill, Revival God’s Way

I believe that the Church is truly in trouble in the Western world.
It is not one organization or singular church but Christianity as a whole.
I do not want to sound like another alarmist or crackpot spewing lists to indicate an end of days, but I do want to cast some light into what many would deem the foundational crumbling of the Church. What are some indicators? What would some of the symptoms be of a dying and decaying church?

Here are a five indicators of a rotting church:

5. Professional Preachers
“You can have all the doctrines right, yet still not have the presence of God” -Leonard Ravenhill
We see the flashy, eloquent preacher on television and we demand that our churchs hire preachers like that…or we long to change how our “performance” at the pulpit is executed. I wonder if Jesus encountered flashy pharisees in His day? If He did Jesus certainly didn’t have many nice things to say about them. Rather, Jesus called those religious people who prayed outloud in the streets “actors” and “hyprocites”. We can have the most professional preachers in our pulpits, but if there is no substastantive message of conviction, salvation and holiness, it is all meaningless.

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3

Preachers, this is no excuse to go to the pulpit unprepared and unstudied, no! Instead, we must prepare harder, study more intently and lead with self-conviction and prayer! We dont’ need any more prosperity preachers. No more fluff and phoney messages with very little substance of the spiritual journey that we are all called to walk.

A Strong indicator of rot comes directly from those we have in our pulpits and those we choose to listen to on a weekly basis.

4. No Hunger For Scripture
With professional preachers, also comes a lack of hunger. Mind you, these are not always connected. I believe this is a stand-alone problem for many within our western world. If one were to journey to some of the poorest countries in the world, you would find a see hunger for scriptural truths and churches memorizes whole chapters of scripture…where is this hunger in the more prominent and prosperous countries? I believe there is a direct correlation between comfort and security and the shallowness of scriptural knowledge! Why rely on the scripture if every want, and all of life’s comforts are met (roughly speaking)?

This may sound negative, but I fear our western culture has become so soft of faith and scriptural knowledge that we are bound to enter another dark age – this time devoid of any of the truths and life lessons found in Scripture.

Is your church rotting? Ask yourself how much time is devoting throughout your week to the study and interpretation of scripture?

3. A Church That Is Prayerless & Building Bound
“A true church lives and moves and has its being in prayer” -Leonard Ravenhill
With the comforts of a western culture comes prayerlessness.
A church that prays together stays together – or so I’ve been told. How much emphasis is placed on prayer anymore? I am sure there are still some deeply prayerful places in this world. I know that I have experienced some of these moments, but I wonder if prayer has become an after thought in our services, in our weekly schedules, in our lives as congregants? Do you remember the old prayer meetings? Many of those have disappeared in our churches. They’ve been distilled down to just a five minute inclusion in our services or bible study…but should they be more prominent, more substantive? Do we still have worries and fears, sick and dying? Do we still have things that require corporate prayer?

Secondly, another indicator (a twofer for my Minnesotan friends) of a rotting church:
We become building bound – meaning that we expect our communities to come to us. We put up amazingly designed billboards, posters, flags and we wave them at the community…it’s like we are scattering bird seed in a trail hoping that people will follow it right up to our front doors. We have this grandeous idea that everything we do must be done in our buildings – what happened to evangelism? What happened to getting out into the streets? Do we still have a concern for the drunk down the street who is caught in a habitual addiction of stumbling out of the bar that they frequent? Do we still feel compassion for the family down the street that is dirt poor and cannot find a meal to eat in their cupboards? A Church who remains stuck in their building (no matter how beautiful it may be) is a dying church with little mission or outreach into the community they were birthed from.

2. A Loveless Congregation
Dare I say that perhaps this is cog in the chain reaction of not being community driven and lacking mission & compassion for others. Obviously no church ever desires to become loveless…but it can happen over time. I honestly hope that this evidence of a rotting church is the dying gasp before the doors are closed for good, and all I hope to accomplish by saying that is – we (the Church) needs to love each other more! This should be a siren call to the church to offer more compassion and selflessness amongst its congregants and its community.

If we lose the love of others, we have also lost the love of God – these two are inseparable! “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” 1 John 4:20
If this happens – we will have a rotting church on our hands!

1. Comfort & Apathy
Signs of a rotting church can be born out of the comforts that have become common place in the western world. We have no need of want. Our church buildings, many of them, are being built larger and larger. The church, and its congregants, become apathetic to the needs of the community (again because all things “ministry” take place inside not outside of the church walls). Apathy is a death knell to the church. If/when we reach this point of not caring for people – we might has well lock the doors and burn the scriptures because it is useless to a dead church.

These are strong words – because I feel at times we are deaf to the warnings such as this!
We cannot allow apathy to take root in our hearts. We cannot pretend all is well when suffering is taking place in our communities. We cannot rest until mercy and compassion becomes our life blood again! Sometimes our churches get so big that we start to treat it as a big corporate business and in so doing we unintentionally leave Christ out of our missional planning.

Ponder This:
Are we striving to be or have professional preachers in our churches?
Is there still a deep hunger for Scripture in you and in your church?
What of Prayer? Do we consider supplication to be vital and intrinsic in who we are?
Have you prayed for God to give you His vision for people around you? If not begin to pray this prayer every day! When you do, may your love increase for others and any residue of apathy – may it flee from you!

Something more for the Church to ponder today – to God be the glory!

September 27, 2016 3

An Overwhelming Victory?

“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

No matter what the world throws at us, we can discover true victory in Christ Jesus, because this temporary realm in which we now live will one day pass away and the eternal will be everlasting! This means that despite Satan’s best efforts, and the sufferings of the flesh, if we can overcome – He can not touch our souls, for that belongs to God!

Do you feel discouraged today?
Are you, or have you experienced physical or emotional defeat? Sometimes we face these battles in life, and the Christian experience was never guaranteed to be easy (in fact just the opposite). Yet through all of this, we have promises like the passage listed above. We will NOT be separated from God…He will never separate us from His love! We will have overwhelming victory because of Christ!

So no matter what you are going through today…
No matter what kinds of persecution or sufferings you may face…
Regardless of ridicule, scorn, malice, hate, violence, jealousy and rage – we can experience this overwhelming victory TODAY!!!

We do not have to wait until we see eternity and we are with the Lord, no – His presence, His love, His encouragement is available to us NOW! Begin to see that despite the battle waging here within the world and upon our flesh, God already stands beside us with the victory over life and death! Know that regardless of the physical outcome – we will overcome and have this overwhelming victory! This is why we must share this fantastic news to all the world. This is why God’s grace must be evident in our living. This is why we must make His ministry Our ministry everyday, because God wants all people, from all walks of life to experience this overwhelming victory!

In Focus
Perhaps, if we cannot see this overwhelming victory today it is because we are focusing on the wrong kinds of things. Yes, life is often unfair. Yes, the world is often unjust and evil seems to permeate and seep into every facet of life. We see these, we know this to be true, and we cry foul and lament all of these atrocities and injustices – and rightly we should. But, despite this fallen world and all of its sins, we need to refocus our vision. We must begin to change our perspective (which doesn’t mean we simply accept that this world is beyond saving). Our perspective begins to change when we ask God to give us His vision for the people we meet. What I mean is, we must ask Him to allow us to see those around us the way God sees them.

Secondly, our perspective must change in the way we view the temporal. Yes we live through it, but there must be a way for us to live this overwhelming victory in the here and now…and we do that by understanding it. In our understanding of what this life is all about – Whose we are and embracing the eternal here and now, we flip the script on what “living”is all about! When we change our perspective, we change the narrative of our souls. What I mean by that is – we no longer simply live for ourselves, we begin to live for Christ. Many times this is a gradual denial of self as we surrender to the will of God. It begins with the little things of life. Soon, as we allow these little spiritual victories to occur, we will be more inclined to seek out the larger “denial of self” moments.

Is anyone there yet?
Some of may be.
I know that I am on this road…although I am not as far along as I would like to be…but again, this is gradual. Admittedly, I still get sucked into life’s many troubles. It is like a swift moving current at times which sweeps out my feet from right under me. I recognize that I too must still change more of my perspective in order to experience this daily dose of overwhelming victory in my life.

How about you?
Do you feel defeated right now?
Are you struggling to see any measure of victory at the moment?
Ask God to help you flip this script.
Ask Him to provide you with an added measure of His strength.
Also, ask Him to grant you His vision for those you encounter…I guarantee your perspective will change, and with it overwhelming victory!

Something more to ponder today!

September 20, 2016 5

Category: Holiness