Revival has come to Dartford!!!

Last Sunday Revival came to Dartford! However, this wasn't Revival in the Pentecostal sense. On this occasion Revival was the name of a Christian from Zimbabwe who had come to the meeting to be the witness at the dedication of a little baby girl - Vanessa (also from Zimbabwe).

In fact we had over 50 visitors all of whom heralded from that troubled country. It was a fantastic meeting and our African visitors certainly added to the occasion in a memorable and stirring way.

It was grteat to have Revival with us but not as great as it would have been if this blog entry had been about the arrival of that more familiar form of revival.

I've been thinking a lot about revival and it seems to me that there are three common denominators within the church which can be identified during times of revival.

The first is the fact that Christians during times of revival believed that salvation was important - they believed that the converts they made were actually being saved from a fate worse than death. They believed in heaven and hell and therefore as a consequence there was a compassion and urgency about their evangelism.

Secondly, believers during times of revival are obsessed with saving the lost! They didn't have any other interests apart from soul saving. They didn't go to the theatre or watch football or spend time at parties - all their time was given to the task of getting people saved. This obsession of course was directly linked to the first point above - if people died without knowing Christ then there was the possibility they had gone to hell. Believers in times of revival work with the same committment and sense of urgency that people would work to rescue someone from a burning building - the consequences (both for themselves and the lost) of apathy and laziness were unthinkable.

Finally, revivals seem to happen when the church appears to be on the brink of collapse. Healthy churches don't appear to be visited by revival (if you follow my drift). Because of this widespread apostasy revivals seem to start with just a few people for whom points 1 and 2 above are true.

Well the good news is that the third criteria we (in the West at least) seem to possess in abundance. I guess revival (not the one from Zimbabwe) will come to Dartford when a few of us have discovered the first two.

Plenty to think about....

Love and prayers

A

Cycle lanes, fading paint and self righteousness

On Thursday I was standing outside Macdonald’s selling The War Cry (as I do every week) and it crossed my mind that the white lines that marked out the cycle lane needed repainting.

The other week a cyclist nearly ran over a policeman who reprimanded him for cycling without care – the cyclist pointed out that the policeman was actually walking in a cycle lane. The policeman – a little embarrassed – apologised and waved the cyclist on his way.

As all of this was wandering through my mind (it took about a second) two workmen turned up and started repainting the lines!

It made me think how in contemporary society the moral markers which are supposed to be put down by the church have become faint and hard to distinguish. This has led to confusion within the church and encouraged some Christians to arbitrarily judge those in society they consider to be sinful. However, without clear markings how will sinners know that they are in the wrong?

Far too many times I have watched Christians acting in an unchristian way towards the lost – especially homosexuals, prostituted women, those with addictions, the performers (and recipients) of abortions etc. How can we be so quick to blame the world for wandering off the straight and narrow without clear markings?

As things stand we run the risk of looking as daft as the policeman wandering in the middle of the cycle lane – however, for us the potential consequence is much worse than public embarrassment.

Our self righteousness and apathy, all too often leads us to see the world as bad and ourselves as good. Yet the great commission has placed upon us the responsibility to preach the gospel in a way people can comprehend. In other words it is our job to make sure the white lines are visible.

The whole thing called to mind the following verses from Jeremiah 2:34-35

“On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, 'I am innocent; he is not angry with me.' But I will pass judgment on you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
I think we need to go and look for our paint!

The Salvation Soldier's Guide

The Salvation Soldier's Guide was a pocket sized collection of bible readings for the morning and evening of every day in the year.

Issued by William Booth the book was intended to ensure that Salvationists read from the whole bible and not just the New Testament. It was also meant to be small enough for a workman to take with him on his shift and read to his colleagues.

The Salvation Soldier's Guide was eventually replaced by the Soldier's Armoury and more recently by Words of life. However, the original Guide was probably the best of the lot. The readings that were chosen were particularly relevant to the Salvationist's lot.

Obviously the original readings were taken from the King James Version and very few copies of the original 'guide' are still around.

I have an original copy and it is my intention to post the selected readings on a newly created blog each day with the passages updated from the New International Version.

If you have no bible reading plan I would heartily recommend the The Salvation Soldier's Guide - if you already have a reading plan then the 'guide' is an excellent supplementary source of inspiration.

The Salvation Soldier's Guide can be found by following this link.

Happy reading, may God bless The Salvation Army - Hallelujah

Love and prayers A

A call to arms

Yesterday was St George’s day and the birthday of Shakespeare, so with apologies to the Bard I post my own (somewhat altered) speech from Henry V – may it stir your blood, bones and spirit!

“To the front, Comrades, once more; or bridge the gap twixt here and heaven with dead Salvationists. In God’s kingdom there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility:But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, dress gentle Jesus in righteous anger… Grit your teeth and stretch the nostril wide, hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit to his full height. On, on, Salvation Soldiers whose heritage is those who once were ‘more than conquerors.

Salvation soldiers that, like so many Booths and Railtons, have in these parts from morn till even fought and sheathed their swords for lack of argument: Dishonour not these pioneers; now attest that those whom you called primitives have led the way.

Be like them now to men of grosser blood, and teach them how to war. And you, good soldier, whose limbs were forged in ‘Blood and fire’, show us here the mettle of your pasture; let us swear that you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not; For there is none of you though once so mean and base, that hath not washed in Jesus’ blood.I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start. The game's afoot: Follow the spirit, and upon this chargeCry 'God for the General, the lost, and Saint George!"

St George of course being Railton!

Love and prayers

A

Careful it's catching!

So the ‘Bales’ are all in isolation…

Two weeks ago at the Divisional Children’s Camp one of the staff had to be sent home after he showed the symptoms of impetigo.

As far as I’m aware at least three other children within the Division have since contracted the condition including my daughter Charlotte who has subsequently infected our whole family. (By the way that's not her above - that's a stock photo!)

Impetigo is highly contagious (but fortunately is easily and quickly treated with antibiotics!).

As I sit here with my bell by my side, a red cross painted on the door, I can’t help thinking of all the people I’ve hugged and kissed in the last two weeks, not to mention the babies I’ve held and cuddled. Then there’s all the equipment and furniture I’ve touched. Collection boxes, computers, door handles, bundles of War Crys, cups etc.

I wonder if the disease will stop with us or make its way around the Corps - maybe even the whole of Dartford?

Imagine what it would be like if Christianity was as infectious as impetigo – we’d have the whole world saved in a matter of months!

Love and prayers (from a safe distance)

A

“Further up, and further in!”

I once went for a job interview where I was asked to list all my weaknesses and all my strengths. I filled up a whole page with weaknesses and my list of strengths contained just one – “ability to identify weaknesses”!

On reflection I was a bit hard on myself yesterday – completely honest – but probably not totally fair. My CSM said to me last night (he had read my blog) “Andrew if the Mercy Seat was lined every week with new converts you’d still not be satisfied” and he’s probably right :-)

What I was trying to say yesterday is that spiritual achievement is directly proportional to spiritual commitment and subsequent obedience and as Finney reminds us if we surrender 99.9% to God but knowingly hold back .9% that act of deliberate disobedience is sin.

It’s a good job we can bring grace into the equation or none of us would get to heaven!

I feel that something good and exciting is in the air, I feel that we as a movement (and Dartford as a Corps) are ready to enter the promised land, but our victory depends on surrendering to God ‘the devoted things’ and moving further along the path of holiness.

I recently re-read ‘The last battle’ (final book in the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis). As the characters make their way to heaven they are constantly urged to go “further up, and further in!” one of them encourages the others with the observation that “the further up and the further in you go, the bigger everything gets. The inside is larger than the outside.”

Our human perspective often leads us to be deceived! We act as if this is the real world, as if everything is down to us and our limited ability and resources when in fact reality is where God dwells and this is the ‘truth that sets us free’. On our own we can do nothing but with God we can do everything! Too often all we can see is the narrow doorway through which we are commanded to pass into greater achievement and effectiveness (and it is narrow), but we can’t see beyond to the wonderful possibilities opening up just beyond. What we need isn’t more discipline or greater self denial we just need more ‘faith’.

“Lord I believe help thou my unbelief!”

Love and prayers

A

Could do better!

Three quarters of a year at Dartford and things have gone well. However, there is a deep and disturbing dissatisfaction in my heart.

If I’d been appointed here in 1887 instead of 2007 then my nine months here would have been considered a failure – Railton would have sacked me for sure! Where are the new converts, recruits and soldiers? Whe re is the revival?

People have been saved, the Corps has grown, finances have been stabilised, property has been improved, the programme tweaked and good relationships with the lost established – But is my commitment and passion really worthy of Christ’s suffering and death?

It is too easy to judge our achievements by those around us, to measure our performance against the achievements of the contemporary church, but when we set the benchmark as Acts 2 or Whitechapel 1880 our efforts receive their proper score!

I’m quite sure that Dartford has not been disappointed with their new Officers and I’m also confident that the other church leaders in the town are pleased with the new Army incumbents, maybe even those on the edge of society might be prepared (in an odd sober moment) to express gratitude for our arrival. But beyond the expectations of others how do I personally assess my performance since last July?

I’d probably give myself 2 out of 10. Why such a miserly score? The reason is that God looks on the heart and not on the outer man. I’ve certainly worked hard and put in some long hours but my heart still backs away from the ultimate location that God is trying to take it.

Last week at our Divisional Children’s camp the kids were asked to put the following things in order of importance: TV, family, God, Church, bible, prayer, football, leisure time, friends and money. Now if I was going to look at the last nine months and do that exercise honestly then the outcome is shown below. I’ve worked this out on the basis of the time committed to them and the passion that they generate within me (I’m discounting the time I spend working as an Officer because that’s my job):

Football, Family, TV, Prayer, Bible, Friends, Leisure Time, Money, God.

Now some might say that I’m being a bit harsh on myself, but how can I really put God anywhere other than last if I consistently disobey him? God is leading me (or trying to lead me) further along the path of holiness but I am struggling to follow him. If I were happy with a compromised contemporary understanding of holiness and if I were happy to compare my achievements with those around me then perhaps I’d be comfortable putting God first.

I read the following this morning in my personal devotions:

“The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him. And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honour high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.” (Deuteronomy 26:16-19)

It’s all about covenant – if I keep my part of my covenant then God can do “abundantly more than all I could ever ask for or even imagine” if I don’t then things stay as they are.

I wish I’d been born 150 years ago because then I’d be getting this kind of message three times a week and my spiritual ambitions would be considered normal.

Is this not the personal holiness we need to reclaim if we are to be truly effective again?

Love and prayers

A

One of the blessings of blogging is that it provides us with an opportunity to make ourselves accountable. We say things in our blogs and our words go around the world! People create an impression of the writer based upon what they read and expect them to behave in a certain way.

In June 2006 I published what I called a ‘holiness manifesto’ – a series of resolutions concerning how I would live my life. The manifesto was a genuine response to spiritual conviction.

Sadly, I have fallen well short of my self imposed standards, however, as recently stated here, the conviction that created those resolutions has not gone away but intensified.

I have carefully and prayerfully reviewed my manifesto and publish the revised version here. I ask those who know me to make me accountable by challenging me if I appear to live outside of these parameters.

I believe that contemporary western Salvationists are generally guilty of Achan’s sin (Joshua 7) in that we have “taken some of the devoted things; we have stolen, we have lied, we have put them with our own possessions.” As a consequence of this we “cannot stand against our enemies; we turn our backs and run because we have been made liable to destruction.” As we seek and pray for revival I believe that God’s response is very clear to those who are willing to hear – “I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”

Historically, holiness was the source of our phenomenal success and in the future it will be so.

Thanks to those challenges and words of encouragement that followed my last posting - thank you for your prayers and your love. Let us constantly pray for each other that God might give us the ability to see and hear him, the discernment and knowledge to decipher what he is saying and the courage to obey – Amen!

My Personal Holiness Manifesto

• Starting each day with God, I will confess my sins, thank him, intercede for others, seek his will and absorb his grace.
• I will adopt a simple diet and drink only water.
• I will not waste my words or abuse my freedom in Christ.
• I will not neglect my family.
• I will remember that rest is a command and obey it.
• I will use the minimum of natural resources.
• I will fight for social justice.
• I will shop ethically.
• I will hate sin but adamantly refuse to hate the sinner.
• I will review each day in prayer and record my thoughts in a journal.

These resolutions are not a legalistic attempt to win God’s favour or earn salvation but reflect a heartfelt compulsion to ensure that my lifestyle reflects my faith.

Love and prayers

A

Seriously under conviction!

I feel under conviction – I don’t think I can remember feeling under as much conviction since my conversion. I feel compelled to repeatedly turn to those parts of the bible that seem to have become unfashionable (or perhaps unpalatable). I mean the sections that deal with things like worldliness, judgement, hell, lifestyle, social justice, true fasting, hypocrisy, practical compassion and self sacrifice. At the same time I am becoming more and more familiar with the lifestyles and practical self sacrifice of the Army’s founders (those who joined the battle prior to 1880)

A copy of O&R’s for Field Officers (1908) recently came into my possession and I was wondering if it would be possible to live my life as I would have done if I had been an Officer serving then. I also recently read the life story of Captain Ted Irons (converted at the age of 20 in 1876 and died in a drowning accident in 1878) it is almost impossible to comprehend just how much God did in this man’s life in just two years! I’m also re-reading Watson’s ‘Soldier Saint’ which (after the bible) is the most challenging read that I can find.

There is an irresistible pull towards actually trying to make the sacrifice that the early SA Pioneers made and an irrepressible conviction that their absolute single vision and un-distracted passion was the primary reason for their miraculous success.

All of this, repeatedly, leads me to the inescapable conclusion that these old and almost forgotten ways (I’m talking about spirit not necessarily methodology) are the conditions we must meet if we are to experience revival.

I remain under conviction, back firmly against the wall and in a corner that seems to become tighter by the day – God is pushing for an answer and as yet I am still slightly confused. I have prayed and prayed and asked for someone that I could talk to but the answer I get is “all you need is your knowledge of the past, the evidence of your conversion, scriptural truth and one wild and totally ludicrous leap of faith!’

I think I’m close to capitulation if for no other reason than I can’t see any other way out of this dilemma.

Love and prayers

A

Climbing up the golden stair to glory in a uniform!

So uniforms and old style SA worship pose a serious barrier to making friends and winning the lost – at least that seems to be what everyone is telling me at the moment.

This morning I had a half an hour conversation with Neil the station supervisor (I sell the War Cry every Tuesday at the station between 6 and 9). Later in the same day I had an in depth conversation with Tony who owns the sandwich bar at the end of our road and last week I chatted for an hour with Jim who runs a clothes stall opposite my War Cry pitch at the market. I wouldn’t have had any of these conversations without the introduction provided by my uniform. All three of these working class men wanted to know about the Army, what we do and why we do it. They asked about Christ and our motivation.

Just before Christmas a family of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka were referred to us by a local charity – we did the Army thing and gave them a food parcel and toys for the children. They started to come to the meetings. We haven’t seen them for a couple of weeks because they’ve moved house – some distance from the hall. On Sunday they turned up at 10:30 for the holiness meeting – they’d left home at 8:45 and walked with a baby and a toddler for an hour and forty five minutes just to get to the meeting! We sang ‘I’m climbing up the golden stair to glory’ and I preached on ‘living in the light’ – I’m certain they understood very little (if anything) but when we all marched around the hall behind the flag to the strains of ‘We are living in the light of God’ they joined in, smiled and clapped along with everyone else! Next week we’ve arranged to pick them up :-)

What attracts people to the Army is the love that God the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in our hearts. Our problems aren’t external (structure / administration / methodology / tradition) they’re internal. Inconsistencies in doctrine, moral compromise, laziness, apathy, self reliance (or worse still reliance on the latest money spinning church growth model to seep out of Wesley Owen) it is this that makes us ineffective. God’s love transcends tradition and methodology and continues (where we allow it) to make the incomprehensible comprehensible just as it did at Pentecost.

Mad Kev went to heaven before me?

'Mad Kev' was part and parcel of Dartford, to the casual onlooker he appeared homeless but he actually had his own flat. His bearded demeanour and matted hair gave the impression that he had no family but he actually has a couple of nieces. To say he liked a drink was an understatement, he lived his life in a constant state of inebriation. You could have a conversation with Kev but no a very coherent one. The last time I saw him was Thursday last week, I was selling The War Cry outside McDonalds and he donated 11p. He told me (as he had done before) that when he was in prison he 'got religion' and that the 'blood of Jesus flowed through his body' . He took a paper and said 'Maybe if I read this it'll spark something off in my mind'. On Saturday morning Kev died in the back of a police car on his way to hospital, apparently he'd been beaten up - by whom and why is a mystery - he had nothing and offended no one.

Where is 'Mad Kev' now - has Jesus judged him to be a victim of the evil one and welcomed him into heaven, was the 'religion' Kev got in prison sufficient to carry him through to the kingdom. Perhaps his faith, though not strong enough to free him from drink, was enough to save him.

As I prayed for Kev and others like him (we have a few in Dartford) I remembered the words of Jesus "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did." I hope that in spite of his bondage to drink that Kev believed and consequently is now enjoying a sober and blessed eternity.

Of pigeons and people...

Yesterday morning, as I left the hall, I noticed a rather ragged looking pigeon who had obviously (either temporarily or permanently) lost the ability to fly. It was nervously trotting around the edges of the road with an almost resigned look on its face. Two passing women showed a momentary interest in the bird, mumbled some sympathetic comments and walked on.

An hour later upon my return sure enough the pigeon had become (like the parrot in the famous Monty Python sketch) an ex-pigeon. All that was left was a scarlet feathery patch deeply impregnated into the tarmac.

I immediately though of the following scripture verse:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.” (Matthew 10:29)

If God winces when a vermin ridden pigeon bites the dust how does he feel about the many residents of Dartford who live in darkness and misery day by day, how does he feel about the elderly, homeless and lonely who struggle on isolation from the rest of society?

Finally, I thought, how does he feel about me and my efforts to win such people? Sure I help those who come to the hall but the sad fact is that most of those who need God’s help don’t come to the hall – but like the pigeon they wander around, helpless and resigned to their fate.

I’m at Officer’s retreat – I don’t do retreat very well but I am finding the time extremely valuable – lots of quality time alone with God. My prayer is that when I return to Dartford tomorrow God will lead me to the ‘flightless pigeons’ of this world, the marginalised and alone and that he will give me the words, the compassion and the skill to bring them into his kingdom. For his name’s sake – Amen!

Commitment 2008

Yesterday was 'Committment Sunday' in the UK Territory and at Dartford we had an excellent meeting with a wonderful and comprehensive response. Numbers were low due to a few people being away and the imminent arrival of a baby!

Used the rich young ruler as a model of failed commitment. Here was a man who 'only lacked one thing'. Pointed out that when we think about commitment we tend to ask the question "what must I do" whereas God wants to talk about ownership - "who owns you?" It's not about 'doing' it's about being' (nothing original here). As my CSM mentioned later 'we're human beings not human doings'

We used the following songs:

• 'Come now is the time to worship',
• 'Oh thou God of every nation',
• 'There is a message',
• 'I surrender all'
• 'Lord I make a full surrender'.

Also played Keith Green's 'You love the world and you're avoiding me' half way through the sermon.

During the appeal, pointed out that anything less than 100% leaves us 'going away sad' (even when we've managed to keep all the commandments from our youth up!) Kept in with the theme of 'Hope 08' by pointing out that 100% commitment (i.e. holiness) is our only 'hope' and the only 'hope' for Dartford - 'if we want to see revival in Dartford it will cost us everything!'

Meeting over ran by half an hour but out of a congregation of 36 including (ten under the age of 15) 34 came and knelt at the Mercy Seat in an act of rededication. That's 94.4% - the two that didn't come forward were my 11 year old daughter who was manning the 'toddlers corner' at the back of the hall and a 93 year old soldier who didn't kneel at the Mercy Seat but did take a pack of 'Hope 08' commitment cards with her.

A great encouragement and bodes well for the future!

Love and prayers

A

Al change... again

We had a Corps Council meeting last night, mainly to discuss dates for this years Corps calendar. At first the meeting was a bit fragmented as everyone competed with diaries waved like scimitars! However, eventually we settle down and moved on to discuss other topics such as prayer and outreach.

Then the strangest thing happened….

It quickly became apparent that if we were to become an evangelical Corps there was no way one meeting on a Sunday morning was going to provide sufficient capacity for everything we wanted to do!

What we needed was street outreach (open-airs) and then we needed dedicated meetings (gatherings) to bring people back to. In short we were probably going to have to consider the reintroduction of a Sunday night (or maybe a Saturday night) salvation meeting, a mid-week holiness meeting, a custom designed ‘Alpha’ type initiative (one dedicated to discipling within an SA concept with the aim of making ‘Soldiers’)

I couldn’t help thinking about meetings taking place in the same hall, years earlier where (with the best will in the world) SA infrastructure (Corps Cadets, Open Airs, Directory, Praise Meetings etc) was carefully dismantled brick by brick and here we were in the same hall contemplating putting the whole thing back together again.

Why did we change? Was it to accommodate the needs of the world? Was it to become more family orientated? Was it to become more seeker friendly? Or was it simply because we lost our heart for mission, became lazy and apathetic and to quote Keith Green ‘loved the light of our TV’ more than we loved God?

I don’t blame soldiery, I hold Officers accountable, at the end of the day the CO is the manager and the motivator and the buck must stop there.

Love and prayers

A

Getting old...

I went to bed early last night as I was tired. However, tiredness isn’t always enough to send me to sleep! So I decided to watch a documentary on TV (always has a soporific effect on me!).

The programme was about the history of ‘light entertainment’ and covered the period from ‘Billy Cotton’s Bandstand’ right through to the current day. As I watched the section that dealt with the 1970’s I suddenly realised how old I was! This year I shall be 47 and if I retire at 65 (which I won’t!) then I only have 18 years working life left.

Where has the time gone? We have been at Dartford now nearly 6 months and it seems to have gone by in a flash. This year my son Ben gets married (I can remember the day he was born as if it was yesterday!)

I struggle with growing old – not from a vanity point of view – I’ve no desire to hang on to my fading youth! I struggle because of the time I have wasted. I sometimes think that is why I am such a driven man – I have so much lost time to make up for.

As I enter my 47th Year the promise below is the one that I am going to cling to, it comes from Joel Chapter 2 and is just prior to the promise of Pentecost.

“23 Be glad, O people of Zion,

rejoice in the LORD your God,

for he has given you

the autumn rains in righteousness.

He sends you abundant showers,

both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;

the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm

my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,

and you will praise the name of the LORD your God,

who has worked wonders for you;

never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,

that I am the LORD your God,

and that there is no other;

never again will my people be shamed."

I have a feeling that the church is about to enter a time of reaping, I think today’s Christians are called to ‘bring in the sheaves!’ May God bless us and make us fruitful and may we see the ‘years the locusts have wasted’ restored.

Hallelujah!

Love and prayers

A

Brengle on men of fire!

I came across the following quote from Brengle's 'Ressurection, Life and Power' - I think that in 2008 I'd like to a 'man of fire'.

"Men of fire are men of faith. They believe God, and they burn because they believe. They believe God is, ‘and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him’ (Hebrews 11:6), therefore they seek him diligently day by day, and he rewards them by sweet assurances and intimations of his love and favour. They seek his face that they may behold his beauty and catch its reflection (Psalm 27: 4 & 90:17); they seek his will that they may do it (Matthew 7: 21); they listen for his voice that they may open the door of their hearts to him and entertain him as their guest (Revelation 3:20); and hearing, they follow where he leads (John 10: 3-5 & 16); and they seek his commandments, his promises and his precepts, that they may live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4: 4).

Men of fire have seasons of solitude for secret prayer. They get alone with God as Jesus did in his all – nights of prayer, as John did in the wilderness, as Moses did on Sinai, as Elijah did on Horeb and there in deep meditation and fellowship with him they see how small and transient is the world with its prizes and its pomp. They count it but refuse for Christ, that they may know him. Men of fire are men of prayer. They pray in secret and they seek out kindred spirits to pray with them.

Men of fire love God. They love his people, his house, his service. They love righteousness and holiness, and they hate sin and every evil way. They turn away their ears from that which they should not hear. They stand on guard at the gateway of eye and ear and every sense, lest sin get into their hearts through unguarded ways.

Men of fire are self sacrificing and self denying. They do not entangle themselves with the affairs of this life anymore than does the good soldier who goes forth to war. They do not mix with the men of the world except to do them good and, if possible, win them to Christ. They guard the fire in their hearts as their soul protection upon earth and their passport to heaven.

Oh my comrades, let us be burning and shining lights, and then great shall be our reward, and great shall be our peace and joy, and good success shall surely accompany all our labours, and the Saviours words, ‘well done’ shall greet us as we are welcomed through the gates of pearl to heaven, our eternal home."

Hallelujah!

Love and prayers

A

So much for resolutions!

This year I made three resolutions.

To completely eradicate caffeine from my diet.

To try and approach life at a slightly more measured pace.

To blog every day!

Today's the 4th January and the first of these resolutions is the only one that is still intact. On reflection I suppose that the third one was never going to happen if I kept the second one and let's face it the second one was never going to happen!

So... my resolutions are down to one - no caffeine!

Now that's sorted I am free to dive into whatever wonderful and demanding adventures God has planned for 2008. Bring it on Lord - bring it on!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Dartford Dispatches

It’s a long time since I’ve had the time to blog.
If there is another vocation out there that crams as much into one month as Salvation Army Officership crams into December I’ll eat my cap!

Incredible things have been happening at Dartford – God has been picking off individuals like a sniper. We have seen no conversions to date but God is definitely preparing the ground. We have seen the power of holiness transform lives and it is indeed an amazing thing to behold.

On a practical front we‘ve got building works starting on Friday – all funded from within the Corps. We also have a new sound system and AV rig going in before our carol service at the end of the month. We’ve also got a quote coming in for a new fitted kitchen. We haven’t applied for any external grants or funding - this is all being paid for out of existing funds and money generated by new fund-raising started up in the last 3 months.

Our sale of work this year raised £2481 (our Corps budget anticipated £400) this incredible total included one single cash donation of £1000 – this came not from a Salvationist but from a lady who simply ‘admires the work of the Army in Dartford’ (an admiration that began long before we arrived!)

Last week our band played in the High Street for the first time in 16 years! Later on the same day we carolled at Bluewater shopping centre – unable to get any help from surrounding Corps - we followed the lead of Gideon and went in the strength we had! Nobody at the Corps could believe that Dartford band had carolled – let alone at Bluewater!

We took our Corps flag to the High Street and also to Bluewater – I noticed it’s got a few moth holes in it – should we get another one or should we let the old one enjoy a new season of outreach and open-airs before we promote it to glory? Booth Tucker visited Dartford (where his daughter was the CO) back in 1920’s – it’s quite possible he marched behind the moth-eaten flag – I think we’ll give it another season of warfare first!

On Sunday a family of political asylum seekers from Sri Lanka who we had given a food parcel to earlier in the week came to the meetings. They didn’t understand a word that was said or sung but they understood (and responded to) the love that was shown to them.

God’s hand of blessing is quite clearly upon us and I am certain that 2008 will bring even greater blessings including the onset of revival!

Watch this space.

A brilliant soul-saving idea!

The contemporised words of GSR (see previous blogs) have set my mind racing.

The other day I was prayerfully considering the plight of the unsaved and their obvious discomfort (at least until they’ve been converted) in ordinary Corps meetings.

Then I had this brilliant idea!

Why not have a special meeting dedicated to the unsaved, somewhere they would feel comfortable, somewhere where they could hear the gospel in a way they understood, maybe free coffee and doughnuts – who knows? Whatever works best!

Then I thought but how would I get the unsaved to come in? I’d have to go outside and find them, I’d have to round them up, chase them down, invite them to come back to the hall!

Brilliant – I could see the whole thing taking shape in my imagination.

Then a little voice inside my head (or maybe my heart) said – “So you’re going to have a salvation meeting preceded by an open-air?”

There truly is nothing new under the sun!

Love and prayers

A

PS The picture is an early SA open air meeting in Dartford! (about 1908)

More modernised Railton...

More from 'Heathen England in modern English - remember this is a report from 130 years go yet it could be a contemporary report looking into the reason why evangelism fails!

"Imagine what would happen if Christians really did care enough to get those outside their churches inside (not just for a week or two once a year but all the time), what would their chances of success be?

Look at the average church, the building, the way the people dress, the way people behave, the way things happen (should I stand or sit?), the language used, the songs sung – one might think the whole thing had been deliberately designed to keep ordinary people out. Even if you could get them to come along once the likelihood of a return visit would be slim indeed.

And then think about the service itself, — to those who have attended all their lives it might be described as beautiful, carefully designed to teach, refresh and encourage those who have developed an appetite for the acquired taste of such heavenly food, yet this same service is probably completely indigestible to non church goers. Outsiders might enjoy the music yet not have the confidence to join in, they might listen to the prayers, but again not join in — maybe not even realise the prayers were being prayed on their behalf. As for the sermon (assuming they could understand it) — because it had been written with believers in mind it would probably fall on deaf ears. The whole experience, despite the kindness shown by the genuine warm welcome and many handshakes, would suggest to the newcomer that this kind of thing was probably for others but not for them.

Let me put a question to those who have organised special evangelical services and outreach programmes where they have invited preachers to come along who are killed in preaching salvation – even if you have succeeded in bringing people in – how many have come back?

The truth is that most ordinary people cannot be encouraged to attend ordinary church services and ordinary places of worship, no matter how sincerely they are invited to do so. This fact is proven by the constant stream of conferences and seminars held throughout the church to address this very situation."

Love and prayers

A

Heathen England today!

I've been updating the language in GSR's 'Heathen England' (An eye witness account of the the birth of TSA was first published in 1877). I'm hoping that the ammended text might be suitable for publication.

It is amazing just how much of what GSR reports is relevant to today - people say that the world has changed but in truth it hasn't. I was walking down Dartford High Street on Market day and the scene would have been one GSR would have recognised. Perhaps the Gin Palaces have been replaced with 'greasy spoon' cafes and amusement arcades but the place is essentially as it was 100 years ago (right down to the modern equivalent of the Pawn Shop!)

Below is a taster from the updated 'Heathen England' taken from the opening of chapter 2.

"WHY AREN’T PEOPLE INTERESTED IN CHRISTIANITY?

Why is it that while so many churches are putting up new buildings, collecting more money, holding more services and social events (including special youth services) and thinking seriously about evangelism that the noticeable gap between Christians and ordinary people is still so great?

Part of the reason is that many Christians won’t admit (or can’t see) that there is a problem. Just stand and watch a large congregation leaving a popular Church on a Sunday evening. Watch the well dressed, comfortable, happy people. Look at their smiles as they say "Good evening" to each other. Their cheerful chatter sounds as happy as the whistling of the birds in the woods. They’ve had a great time — an inspiring sermon, a good crowd, powerful praise, perhaps they’ve even had a prayer meeting with seekers at the Mercy Seat.

Now look at the gang of youngsters who are walking by. Just a quick glance tells you they have had nothing to do with Jesus today. They are as smart as the others; but they are not the slightest bit interested in Christianity. Neither is that man with the cigarette[1] in his mouth, who guides his wife and child through the crowd of ex worshippers. He prefers to take his wife out somewhere else on a Sunday rather than go to church. The big rough men who follow him, angry at the people in their way, show their hatred of both Christians and the church in the way they swear and curse as they push their way through.

The pastor and his congregation, indeed everyone who has been in that church feels no discomfort at the thought of those who stayed outside. The simple truth is that such a thought never even crossed their mind.

[1] The original word here was ‘meerschaum’ which was a soft white mineral used for making pipes or cigarette holders."

love and prayers

A

Holiness testimonies please!

I recently bumped into an Officer who was a delegate at 'Brengle' (here in the UK) some time ago but was disappointed when the teachings of Brengle were dismissed early on in the proceedings due to the fact that 'no one today testified to holiness' (as understood by Brengle).

Once again biblical standards are brought down to our miserable levels of moral ineptitude and poor performance rather than held up as an attainable goal – so let me put my neck on the line and throw out a challenge at the same time!

I am fully saved by the blood and grace of Jesus. I am saved from sin and also from sinning. I can testify that everything I have and am is fully consecrated to God. I have (in line with God’s revelation) renounced all that is sinful in my life (and doubtful) and by God’s grace I do not deliberately break any known laws of God. By God’s grace I do not sin!

I still make mistakes, I still act impulsively and I am still sometimes a little immature (especially when I play with my two little girls!) I still have to go to Christ and seek his forgiveness when these human traits make my ministry less effective than it might be but by the grace of God I do not sin.

I am not under law but under grace, I am no longer a slave to sin but I am a ‘living sacrifice’ constantly and consistently set apart for God.

I believe that the rediscovery of personal holiness and its power to deliver us from sinning (as well as from sin) will prove to be the salvation of the Salvation Army.

What about you? – do you enjoy the blessing of a clean heart? Do you walk each moment by the saviour’s side? If so then please fulfil that last condition of holiness and testify (here in the 'comments' section of this blog) to God’s power to save completely!

“Lord, give me more soul-saving love,

Send a revival from above,

Thy mighty Spirit pour.

The Army of salvation bless

With righteousness and holiness,

Pressed down and running o'er.”

Hallelujah!

A

The wonder of it all

Although only back in Officership for a few months I am consistently amazed at how tasks, which in my previous incarnation, I would have seen as a duty or even a right are now seen as an immense privilege.

Yesterday I went to LSE Youth Councils and at the end of the day was asked by the DC to go forward and pray for some of those kneeling at the Mercy Seat. 25 years ago I would have approached such a request in the same way I would have approached any request associated with my ‘job’. However, yesterday I felt tremendously privileged and at the same time humbled by the enormity of what I was about to do. I prayed for Jason and Gordon (who they are and where they come from I’ll probably never know) but I do know that God moved in their hearts yesterday enough to motivate them to make it to the Mercy Seat. I also know that God will have heard theirs and my prayers and the dear, ever present Holy Spirit would have touched them.

It was also good to take 5 young people from Dartford who'd never been to such an event before (although I did feel a little bit sorry for John the only boy among the 5!)

What a wonderful honour and to think I get paid for this!

Hallelujah!

A

Promoted to Glory!

Colonel Bo Brekke.

Not murdered but

Promoted to Glory.

I think all death for a Salvationist, however it happens, is a 'promotion to glory' that is not to say that Bo's death was not a terrible sin but it is to say that for the Christian 'all things work together for good.' Whatever happens, no matter how deep the grief, no matter how wide the scars - in spite of everything - the Colonel, even in his death remained 'more than conqueror'.

However the Colonel's life ended he has gone straight to heaven!

The Colonel was martyred for the stand he took against corruption, Bo stood up against 'sin in the camp' when he suspended his alleged murderer and for that he was killed - I think that 'Promoted to Glory' is definitely a fitting comendation for a martyr.

A quote from an article 'We are the Poor' written by the Colonel, follows:

"The Salvation Army’s mission is to ‘event’ the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our mission is to make the message of Jesus real to people. That has to happen in the context in which people live their lives. Jesus always met people where they were. He never said to anyone, ‘Please change the circumstances of your life and then I will come and have fellowship with you.’"

What better place to 'event the gospel' other than the communities in which we live and where our halls are? (see my previous blog entry).

Peace, perfect peace, when at last death shall o'ertake me;
Peace, perfect peace, shall surround my lowly grave;
Peace, perfect peace, when the songs of angels wake me;
Peace, perfect peace! Peace, perfect peace!

May God bless and comfort those who mourn

A

Holiness enjoyed

Oh what a wonderful, wonderful day!

Yesterday I arrived in the High Street to sell The War Cry; I went to a café in the town centre. The café is frequented by those people who Booth and Railton would have called ‘working men’. However, these men and women don’t work but survive on an assortment of benefits. I thought it would be good ‘presence evangelism’ to sit with them in full uniform (model C, cap and all).

As I ate my ‘special breakfast’ I overheard a conversation between two of the staff and it became apparent that one of them was a victim of quite terrible domestic violence. Before leaving I introduced myself and offered to do everything we possibly could to help. One of the things that came out of the conversation, was the fact that this lady who probably gets paid ‘cash in hand’ and earns no more than about £400 per month had no phone and had spent the previous night, alone, awake, surrounded by broken glass, terrified and unable to call anyone for help. Later in the day Tracey returned and gave the lady a phone with credit loaded onto it and telephone numbers for local and national support groups. With the phone was a postcard with all our activities listed and our contact details.

Later in the day, whilst collecting, a family of 7 approached me and asked ‘when’s your place open, when can we come and ask questions?” Yesterday was our ‘Pantry’ when we open our hall to the public and sell meals, drinks, snacks and cakes. I arranged to meet the family at 12:30 at the ‘Pantry’. It turned out that the matriarch who was registered disabled and the only child still living at home (a son aged 25 – also disabled) had received 56 days notice the day before, by their landlord, to vacate their home. Two vulnerable people, scared, confused and facing homelessness with no one to turn to but The Salvation Army - all it took was a quick call to the relevant Council department and all fears were allayed, accommodation was offered and an interview at the ‘housing’ was arranged.

Back on the streets a young ‘Goth’ decked out in black with numerous piercings had been eying me for some time with suspicion. I remembered Commissioner Hunter’s advice to ‘collect eyes as well as money’ and smiled at him every time he looked my way. Eventually he came and made a donation and walked off reading The War Cry. Two smart grammar school boys and a businessman also took War Crys – all because the ‘special one’ (Jose Mourinho not Jesus!) stared menacingly from the front cover. What a great evangelical tool the War Cry is.

Whilst I was out with The War Cry, Tracey at the ‘Pantry’ (along with an amazing band of hard working and tireless volunteers) had fed 5 homeless men, spoken to another about a more permanent solution to his predicament and distributed sleeping bags. There are a lot of homeless men in Dartford, most of them with drink or drug problems. Comfort, succour and advice was given and of course the gospel was shared in a very matter of fact way.

On my way home I popped into our local ‘Turning Point’ office, introduced myself and expounded the benefits of working together. In spite of the fact that I was very up front about our evangelical objectives the staff seemed very keen and the idea of a mutually beneficial partnership seemed positive to all.

As I trudged back up ‘West Hill’ towards he quarters I felt elated, nothing really special had happened on that Thursday but it had been a truly wonderful day. I felt so fulfilled, so complete, I was so happy and content I wanted to cry. As I walked and praised God so a tingle began to move across my body, a warm glow from the soles of my feet up to the crown of my head. It was a truly spiritual experience, as real as if someone had laid hands on me and prayed. A little voice deep within stole a phrase from the old song book and said, ‘Andrew this is holiness enjoyed!’

Birthdays, bands, and reconcilliation...

On Saturday evening I attended a festival to celebrate the 85th Birthday of Ray Steadman Allen.

In 1982 Rosemary (Ray’s daughter) and I got married at The Salvation Army’s Training College in Denmark Hill in London (UK).

Sadly, as with so many things in my life at the time, the marriage ended in failure and we divorced in 1991. However, Rosemary and I have remained good friends. We had two children Ben (23) and Caitlin (20).

On Saturday I took our children to their Grandpa’s birthday bash and sat with the grand old man, his wife Joy and their other daughter the Reverend Barbara Steadman Allen (an Anglican minister) in a box at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon.

I wore my Captain’s uniform, the badge of my calling, while my ex-wife sang in the International Staff Songsters. There was a moving and humbling sense of both reconciliation and forgiveness accompanying the proceedings. There was a definite nailing of the past, a restoration of the years the locusts have eaten and a warm feeling of love, forgiveness and mutual respect in the air (the sort that sometimes only seems to come with age).

The highlight for me was the playing of Ray’s masterpiece – Romans 8. Featuring the tune associated with the words

“In the cross of Christ I glory,Towering o’er the wrecks of time;All the light of sacred storyGathers round its head sublime.”

After an excellent and inspiring evening I went home to my new life with Tracey and marvelled at the wonderful grace of God that can draw life out of death and make all things work together for good.

Then to top off a truly wonderful weekend 5 people knelt at the mercy seat at Dartford in an act of faith in the future and in a spirit of re-consecration.

Sometimes God takes the most promising things in life and subjects them “to frustration…” in the hope that “they will be ‘liberated from bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” God has certainly done this with my life and I give him all the glory.

I cannot think of a time in my entire life when I felt more content or more at the centre of God’s will than I do now.

Love and prayers

A

The joy of collecting

I love collecting – dare I say I find it almost as fulfilling as leading somone to Christ!

The following points aren’t all applicable to Annual Appeal but they are all applicable to local collecting, street stands, pubs etc (which is what I’m really talking about). The points are not in any order of importance.

• Collecting allows me to exercise my responsibility to make my Corps financially self-sufficient. Being on mission support is a little bit like owing your Mother money – if you ring her up and say we’ve bought some new curtains she wants to know why she’s not been paid back first. Financial self-sufficiency gives freedom.


• Also, if my Corps becomes financially self-sufficient I am releasing funds to help other Corps in need of money.


• Collecting takes me into the real world – where I should be. When I collect I am vulnerable, often the subject of abuse (and sometimes praise and thanks). Either way it keeps me on my toes.


• Collecting is evangelism (sometimes verbal evangelism – always presence evangelism). The uniform declares that ‘Mr/Mrs Salvation Army’ is around. (I learnt this from my great friend Alan, who at Ripon, and then North Allerton (and now undoubtedly at Pill) was instantly recognisable to so many in his community as the Salvation Army Officer.


• Collecting gives me a chance to pray – it’s a bit like standing still prayer-walking. I can target certain places and individuals with my prayers. I can pray generally for the Corps and its mission.


• Collecting gives me chance to pay back both God and The Salvation Army for the undeserved generosity they have shown me.


• As a Corps Officer I have some considerable control over how the money I collect is spent and therefore I don’t need to feel guilty that I am collecting under false pretences.

Sometimes I think that if we returned to the principle that we don’t get paid if we don’t raise enough money I think we might prosper more.

The ‘burden’ of fund raising doesn’t distract me from mission it is an integral part of it – hallelujah!

Love and prayers

Andrew

"We are an Army mobilised by God!"

I recently read a really exciting account of churches working together, people getting saved, wonderful scenes of divine refreshing. However, this comment, posted by a Salvation Army Officer, had a sting in the tail. The last sentence contained the following comment "uniform is almost a thing of the past" .

On Thursday, whilst collecting in the High Street in Dartford, I had conversations with 5 drunks (all positive - though one began quite aggressively). One lady with mental health problems (who I had helped previously in the week) stood with me for 5 minutes and sang the praises of The Salvation Army. My uniform makes me visible, vulnerable and always available. I also had a conversation with a fellow minister from 'Churches together' who was out shopping; I doubt he was accosted by any drunks?

I love wearing my uniform and I am hardly ever out of it (even on those rare occasions when I limit it to a t-shirt with a red shield on it.) When I am out and about in my parish I want everyone to know who I am and what I stand for. When I pick my daughter up from school parents approach me for advice and help. The other day a man collecting trolleys in a supermarket asked me about TSA and we ended up talking about Jesus and Salvation.

People who would quickly forget me walking past their shop remember the uniform. Some people may mistake me for a traffic warden or a security guard but at least I look different and stand out. Whatever people associate the uniform with anywhere else in the country - in Dartford it is associated with practical love, evangelism and social justice. I sometimes wonder why we as an Army are so quick to surrender what other churches would quickly take up if given the chance – we have a traditional right to carry out loud and intrusive street evangelism, we are welcome in pubs and clubs with Christian tracts, we are free from the restraints of rites and ceremonies, we have a recognisable uniform.

I am all for ecumenism and I would be equally happy to be the Officer at a Salvation Army Church as I am to be an Officer at a Salvation Army Corps but please, please, please let’s not lose The Salvation Army bit. I’m happy to be a Christian, I’m blessed to belong to the body of Christ, I'm overwheled by the generosity of salvation, but I am so glad that God called to me to serve as a covenanted Officer in The Salvation Army rather than a pastor in 'Pioneer', ‘Icthus’ or the ‘New Frontiers’ (great though those churches are). Being a Salvationist for me is the icing on the cake!

We don’t need another 'Pioneer', ‘New Frontiers’ or ‘Icthus’ because we already have those effective and growing community churches within the body - but we do need a Salvation Army! We have a denominational witness to deliver to the rest of the body, we have a prophetic role to play. Let's give all we possibly can to the body and take all we need but not at the cost of diluting our own God ordained brand. Let's not forget our accountability.

Yours set apart, by Christ for the lost, in the Army

A

Collecting ditty :-)

This week I have been collecting and collecting and collecting…
To ease the burden I made up the following ditty (to be sung under my breath as I collect)

By the way, the tune is Rachie…

In the name of Jesus I now bind up greed
In the name of Jesus selfish hearts are freed.
In the name of Jesus think less of your self
And in gen-er-os-it-y please share your wealth!
In the name of Jesus pause upon your way,
Put some money in my box today I pray.

Yet much more than money I am hoping for
In the name of Jesus there is much in store.
I can share salvation if you dare believe
Health and hope and hap-pin-ess you can receive.
In the name of Jesus pause along your way
Seek and take salvation – oh be saved today!

Love and prayers

A

What's wrong with being a Rotarian?

What's wrong with being a Rotarian?

According to their web page “Rotary International is a global network of service volunteers. It is the world's largest service organisation for business and professional people, with some 1,210,905 members operating in 168 countries world-wide. There are some 58,000 Rotarians in Great Britain and Ireland in 1,845 clubs, helping those in need and working towards world understanding and peace. It’s a fulfilling role, and Rotarians can get involved as much or as little as their time will allow.”

But ‘Salvo Cadet on a mission…” asks “I was just interested in your reasons for declining the Rotary invitation... I know several officers who are part of their local Rotary and find the relationships built there are invaluable... what's your thoughts?”

The following quote is taken from an article I had published in JAC last year:

“Rotarians instead of radicals

“Our Officers will make broad their phylacteries and hob-nob with mayors and councilmen and be greeted in the market-place, but God will not be among us” (Brengle)

Now I have no problem with The Rotary Club whatsoever; it is a noble organisation and one deserving of praise. However it is a humanitarian organisation and not a Christian organisation. My concern is that it has over the years become incredibly popular with Salvation Army Officers. I have even known some Officers who have accepted positions within the organisation such as ‘president’ or ‘secretary’. Now if ‘all my days and all my hours, all my will and all my powers’ belong to God and The Salvation Army what time do I have to spare for The Rotary Club? No matter how noble the project is to which I am lending my time how can it be more pressing than one that has God at its heart? Attending a lunch once a month with well-to-do business men may seem like a good way of securing financial support for the Army – but is it the best use of my time? If I am totally honest with myself is my attendance really motivated by fund raising or by the promotion and well being of my own self importance? Indeed if I find myself willing to wear the ‘Inner Wheel’ on my lapel but shrink from displaying a Crest or a Cross is that not evidence of serious inner betrayal?

My purpose is not to knock Rotarians (be they Salvationists or otherwise), nor I am saying that to be a Rotarian is a sin – far from it! My purpose is simply to ask whether there is any risk to our commitment if we give in to the temptation to divide our loyalties. In addition, is association with such groups likely to lead us into materialism? Are we more likely to judge ourselves according to the world’s standard rather than God’s?

There is however a much more serious threat posed to Officers through links with humanitarian groups such as Rotary. Over familiarity with the world can lead us into deeper and more dangerous associations. Like a man who smokes ‘pot’ for recreational use it is easy to slip into ‘hard drugs’, just so, these innocent memberships can lead us into the clutches of secretive and more devious societies. History – albeit largely unwritten history – shows that The Salvation army has always struggled to maintain its independence and its impartiality when courting commerce.”

Incidentally O&R’s for Officers seems to recognise the need for care when joining secular clubs etc when it says in Volume 2 – Procedures, Part 9 - External Relations Chapter 1 - Governments, Public Authorities and other Agencies. Paragraph 7:

“Membership of service clubs (Rotary etc) is governed by approval from the territorial commander.”

Each to his own!

Love and prayers

A

Stuck record...

I don't want to sound like a stuck record but...

It’s the end of week one and I can honestly say that I cannot think of anything else I would have rather do or anywhere else I would rather be than the Corps Officer of Dartford Corps.

To say I have thoroughly enjoyed my first at Dartford would be an enormous understatement!
The excitement, variety, challenge and optimism that covenanted Officership delivers cannot be equalled anywhere in the world. This week...

• I met a confused elderly lady who wants a fridge


• a recovering alcoholic who wants more than just food (hallelujah!)


• delivered a business plan to DHQ for much needed hall improvements (not just aesthetics but improvements that will increase our mission capabilities)


• came up with a strategy to make the Corps financially self sufficient by Spring 2008


• led a two hour roller coaster Corps Council meeting,


• did two much needed pastoral visits,


• chased up THQ about IT,


• collected for an hour at ASDA (Wal-Mart for those over the pond!)


• Spoke to a lady whose husband wants to trace his lost Father,


• shredded about a ton of obsolete filing


• and introduced myself (via email) to the other ministers in the area.

I am so happy, so certain that I am in the right place and that God is here and I am only just starting to warm up.

We are going to have revival at Dartford (not just the SA but all the churches), I know it, and I feel it in every fibre of my body and every pulse of my soul. Am I making myself a hostage to fortune by saying that? No! I’m simply expecting God to deliver – and he will!

Watch this space.

Yours set apart by Christ, for the lost, in the Army.

For blessings which he gives me now!

My body is recovering quite well following my recent surgery. My external wound has healed exceptionally well but the internal ones will take a few more months. I go to see my surgeon a week today and hopefully he will permit me to return to light duties.

In the meantime, yesterday was a Bank Holiday and somehow it just didn’t seem right to do no work today and so I dealt with the Corps’s outstanding administration.

• A letter to Reliance Bank Ltd
• An email to THQ
• 4 emails to DHQ
• A polite letter to the Rotary Club declining their invitation to join
• The processing of two soldier transfers
• Asking payroll to sort out an error in my pay (I got paid £-20 – i.e. according to my payslip I owe them £20!)
• Calculating telephone refunds

Nothing amazing here, no one got saved, no one received the blessing of holiness, the naked weren’t clothed nor the hungry fed but it felt so good.

I am actually an Officer again and the joy I feel is genuinely beyond words!

These little tasks were completed with real care and devotion and a sense of excitement and anticipation.

Can there be a better or more fulfilling occupation other than Salvation Army Officership?

Yours set apart by Christ, for the lost, in the Army – Forever!

A

TSA and the origins of Alpha.

Check out the comment from Steve Court's non-Salvo mate here

Sorry to disagree with your non salvo mate Steve but TSA did come up with Alpha and most of the over modern evangelical tools used by the church today.

We were using the ward system long before cell church poked its head out of the womb! As for Alpha our system for making and following down recruits (welcome sergeants, recruiting sergeants, rolls, visititation sergeants, recruits classes, Soldiership classes) as used prior to 1950 surpasses anything Alpha has to offer! Add to that that directory and Corps Cadets, open-airs, pub booming, slum and gutter brigades etc and there is very little the contemporary church has ‘discovered’ that wasn’t used by or even initiated by TSA. We were doing ‘Café church’ and offering a sandwich alongside Salvation before cafes had been invented – Railton mentions salvation tea-parties in ‘Heathen England’ in 1877! As for the ‘4 spiritual laws’ how many tracts beginning with ‘How to…. Get saved… find holiness… win souls’ etc did the early SA publish? Our problem is not that Salvos spend “too much time asking why they didn't come up with good stuff rather than using that time to actually come up with the good stuff”. Our problem is that we stopped using the good stuff we’d already come up with and even today continue to discard that good stuff because we think it is past its sell by date.

When TSA has the guts to be TSA and stop trying to imitate other churches we might actually notice that other churches have been imitating us and borrowing our ideas for years!

"Salvationism is a clear and well-defined quality that represents distinctive features of doctrine and service which distinguish it from all other organizations and makes of it an entity entirely apart, incapable of being blended with any other people. Any attempt to harmonize it with methods employed by other religious bodies destroys its effectiveness and renders it incapable of achieving its purpose or continuing to develop its special characteristics." (Edward Higgins - When Chief of the Staff 1n 1928)

Love and prayers

A

Corps Officers - essential requirements

If there was a job description for Salvation Army Corps Officers I’d like to think the following would be listed under ‘essential requirements’

• Leadership skills (how to make awkward decisions)
  
• Administrative skills (how to organise your time rather than allowing it to organise you!)
  
• Soul winning (how to close the deal)


• Practical holiness (how to experience daily victory over the world, the flesh and the devil)


• Spiritual gifts (how to acquire and use them)
  
• Spiritual warfare (How to attack and defend!)

Corps Officers today have immense autonomy and are largely unmonitored – this lack of accountability and increased independence is a dangerous mix which can result in incompetent leadership.

When it comes to Officers shouldn’t quality matter more than quantity because quantity without quality equals decay whereas quality will always reproduce itself.

Love and prayers

A

Lessons from hospital (2)

The second week of my stay in hospital I just wanted to get home and as a result was terrified of getting any kind of infection. So… when the elderly man in the bed next to me began to throw up (obviously in some distress) I turned up ‘The Singing Company’ on my Ipod and tried hard to ignore his retching.

Suddenly I thought of Railton travelling steerage on one of his many evangelistic voyages. I thought of him surrounded by the poor and hungry, no proper sanitation, very little food, no fresh air. He would have been surrounded by illness and vomiting and constantly exposed to the risk of personal infection.

As quickly as I could, I unplugged my headphones, called for he nurse and did my best to comfort and assist ‘Bob’ until she arrived. Consequently, Bob began to open up and share with me and that simple act of kindness enabled me to share Christ not only in action but also by way of testimony too.

Later, in the quietness of the ward I asked God to forgive me for my selfishness, thanked him for the humbling that followed and professed my willingness to suffer whatever came my way as a result of showing kindness to others.

Another lesson learnt.

Love and prayers

A

Lessons from the knife!

Well I’m back from hospital…

Made some good contacts and learnt some powerful lessons.

The period from Tuesday 31st July (pm) to Friday 3rd August was hell! That is not hyperbole but a simple fact. I have a wound from my sternum to two inches below my navel. Part of my oesophagus and intestine has been removed, my bile duct repositioned and my stomach has been opened. No food or fluids until Saturday 4th August.
Week one has kind of been wiped from my memory, but I learnt the first two of several powerful lessons (which would come my way during my stay in hospital) in this week.

Lesson 1:
Hell is torment, endless untreatable torment from which there is no relief – that’s why Jesus died to save us! These few days were torment. Not just the thirst and the pain but the horrible (deeply horrible) dreams induced by the morphine. I don’t like hell. I don’t want to go there and neither do I want anyone else to go there! I must evangelise more and my evangelism must be effective.

Lesson 2:
It’s ok to pray for yourself! Not just the ‘Lord have mercy on me a miserable sinner’ prayers or the ‘Lord be glorified through me’ prayers but the ‘please help me’ prayers as well.

In the midst of my torment all I could do was throw myself into the arms of Jesus and ask him to heal me quickly – I’ve never been comfortable asking God for things for myself but Jesus answered my payer and told me it’s OK to ask for things!

Sunday 5th August onwards I began to make a rapid recovery – one so fast even the Dr’s were amazed. I was meant to be discharged next Tuesday but here I am back in blogland and fit enough to type – Hallelujah!

Thank you all for your prayers… more lessons to share over the next few days.

Love and prayers

A