Herbert Booth on The Salvation

The following quote comes from a very rare biography of HB written by F.C. Ottman.

Herbert Booth's definition of The Salvation Army:

"What is the Salvation Army, if it's one aim, and its one glory, is not the salvation of the souls of men? Take the redemption of sinners from the standard of this organization, and you have at once reduced her to a huge Benefit Society, or a mere Friendly Association for temporal advantage. But, true to her original purpose, she is the quickest, most effective and far-reaching fluency for the things of eternity to be found in time. All and each of her varied ramifications are for the one great purpose of rescuing men and women from the grip of the Devil. Just as in military warfare everything about the soldier, from his musket to his canteen, is for fighting the foe, and everything about the army, from the great gun to the nail that fastens the shoe upon the horseman's steed, is for victory over opposing forces—so everything undertaken by the Salvation Army must have as its end the emancipation of mankind.

The Salvation Army then, being interpreted, is the salvation of souls. From her thousands of platforms she tells the terms of peace between God and man. From her countless rings she thunders the judgements of Jehovah to the passing crowds. Her institutions are outlets from the sea of shame and inlets into the harbour of bliss. Her Homes are houses of prayer and personal entreaty. Her shelters are fortresses of refuge from open and fierce temptation, which put their inmates to sleep with their song and awaken them with a message of peace. Her Officers are the Knights of a Crusade against an unbelief which has laid siege to the citadel of the heart."

Grace and peace

A

The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ - Our Distinctives

Part two of my postings from the recently published statement "The Salvation Army in the Body of Chirst" - Issued under the authority of the General and written in full consultation with The Doctrine Council and The International Management Council as 'an eccelsiological statement'...

"5. WE BELIEVE that God raised up The Salvation Army according to his purposes for his glory and for the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel.

WE DO NOT BELIEVE that The Salvation Army's existence as an independent and distinctive Christian church, having no formal, structural ties with other Christian churches, is an affront to the gospel of Jesus Christ or self evidently contrary to God's will for the whole of his Body on earth.

6. WE BELIEVE that the practices of The Salvation Army have much in common with the practices of other churches, but that being raised up by God for a distinctive work, the Army has been led of God to adopt the following combination of characteristics:

a) its emphasis upon personal religion and individual spiritual regeneration through faith in Christ leading in turn to a commitment in mission to seek to win others to Christ;

b) its commitment to the unceasing proclamation of the gospel and its insistence that this gospel is for the whosoever;

c) its teaching concerning sanctification and holy living;

d) its teaching that the receiving of inward spiritual grace is not dependent upon any particular outward observance;

e) its worldwide tradition of service (arising out of the compassionate love of Christ for all persons) without discrimination or preconditions, to the distressed, needy and marginalised, together with appropriate advocacy in the public domain on matters of social justice;

f) its willingness to obey the 'great commission' of Jesus Christ, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, by ongoing expansion of Salvationist witness and service into new countries, with a consequential celebration, with thanksgiving to God, of its internationalism;

g) its preference for non-liturgical and flexible forms of worship, seeking to encourage spontaneity, for example in prayer and in spoken personal witness and testimony;

h) its tradition of inviting public response to the presentation of the gospel message, and its use of the mercy seat for this and other spiritual purposes;

i) its focus, in self-expression, on the biblical military metaphor of living in the world and of serving God as soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3; Ephesians 6: 11-17);

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j) its requirement that adults and children wishing to become full members (soldiers and junior soldiers), and thereby wishing to make a commitment to formal membership of the Body of Christ on earth, should publicly confess their faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, the children making a simple statement of faith with promises as to lifestyle and the primary spiritual disciplines (see page 19), and the adults entering into formal doctrinal and ethical commitments, the latter focusing on the sacredness of human relationships, but including also the personal disciplines of abstention from alcohol, tobacco, and non-medical use of addictive drugs (see page 21);

k) its wearing of distinctive uniforms as a witness to belonging to Christ and as a signal of availability to others;

1) its encouragement into Salvation Army fellowship of those who do not wish to enter into the full commitment of soldiership (see j above), but are willing to become adherent members as a step in the journey of faith;

m) its recognition of the equal place within the Body of Christ of men and women in all aspects of Christian service, ministry and leadership including the holding of ecclesiological authority;

n) its readiness to use all forms of musical expression in worship and evangelism, and its encouragement in many cultures of the indigenisation of worship expressions and styles."

End of quote: Love and prayers - A

The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ- Part 1

The recently published statement "The Salvation Army in the Body of Chirst" makes excellent reading. Issued under the authority of the General and written in full consultation with The Doctrine Council and The International Management Council this is 'an eccelsiological statement' and makes some interesting, valid (and from my perspective) very encouraging statements. The document (which only costs £1.99) is too long to discuss in one sitting so I'm going to break it up into manageable sections and post quotes here.

I hope it leads to some good debate. The first section deals with TSA's definition of the word 'church' - as we debate, let's remember that this is an official TSA statement and reflects the Army's most up to date official line.

"WE BELIEVE that the Church, the Body of Christ on earth, often referred to in the New Testament as 'the saints' … includes all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, confessing him as Saviour and Lord, and witnessing to that sacred commitment through loving mutual submission and sacrificial service...

WE DO NOT BELIEVE that the Church universal depends for its existence or validity upon any particular ecclesiastical structure, any particular form of worship, or any particular observance of ritual…

WE DO NOT BELIEVE that an adequate definition of the Body of Christ on earth, the Church universal, can be confined in terms of ecclesiastical structure, but must rather be stated in terms of a spiritual relationship of grace that must find expression in all ecclesiastical structures. Members of the Body are those who are incorporate in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1: 1) and therefore reconciled to God through his Son. All such are in a spiritual relationship one with the other, which begins and continues regardless of externals, according to the prayer of Jesus that those who are his may be one (John 17:23). These words of Jesus ask for a oneness as is found in the oneness of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This oneness IS spiritual, not organizational.

End of quote - Love and prayers A