“We deny that we are in any proper sense a sect. We refuse to settle down into places of worship such as might be agreeable to our people and their families but insist upon the open air stand and the place of amusement where there may be little comfort, but where the most good may be done. We refuse to allow evangelists to stay very long in any one place, lest they or the people should sink into the relationship of pastor and flock, and look to their mutual enjoyment and advantage of others… We are a corps of volunteers for Christ, organised as perfectly as we have been able to accomplish, seeking no church status, avoiding as we would the plague every denominational rut, in order to reach more and more of those who lie outside every church boundary.” (George Scott Railton, Heathen England and what to do about it 1877)
Railton says in this paragraph that we would avoid like ‘the plague every denominational rut’. Friends what are we today? Are we simply just another denomination? If so what kind of denomination are we? What special skill do we bring to the ecumenical pot? Is it still accurate to refer to our Officers collectively as ‘evangelists’?
“I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. ... He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (St John, Revelation 1: 1-6)
Is not the letter addressed to Sardis addressed to us? Do we not have a reputation for doing good yet (in the western territories) aren’t we on the whole ‘dead’? Rejoice fellow revivalists for these verses do offer hope.
There are four positive things in this message
- The command ‘wake up!’ suggests a deep sleep rather than death.
- God's work in The Salvation Army is not complete.
- The reference to those ‘have not soiled their clothes’ suggests a ‘remnant’.
- The statement ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ suggests the possibility of a change.
Are you true to the spirit of Railton’s mission? Do you seek the lost or the comfort and enjoyment of yourself and your flock? Are you constantly on the look out for new opportunities? Have you ‘soiled your clothes’ with the consumerism and materialism of contemporary western society? Do you love ‘the light of your TV’ in preference to the ‘light’ of God’s word? Do you belong to the remnant of Sardis? If you do then it is time to start waking the dead! This is our command as a good friend of mine put it recently it is time to ‘jump’.
In summary:
- The Salvation Army is not dead but in a deep sleep.
- God has not finished with The Salvation Army.
- The remnant of Sardis must sound a call to arms.
- Those who have ears and are responsive to the message will repent!
Comrades if we are faithful and courageous then we will once again ‘reach more and more of those who lie outside every church boundary.”
Hallelujah!
1 comment:
the S.A. in my city is in a coma. . makes me weep. . i don't go there any more - it wasn't waking up, no matter which 'alarm clock' God would and did send. I didn't want to become that way, i jumped all right. . i jumped a sinking ship.
Post a Comment