Change is a constant

by Commissioner John Matear, Territorial Commander

HOW are we to be an effective Salvation Army in today’s rapidly changing world? I hope that such a question is not asked just by me but by every officer, cadet, soldier, adherent member, recruit and employee. The question is most effectively answered honestly – free from any arrogance, subjectivity, individualism or negativity. It is a question that I ask myself daily.

We must serve the present age. I value the past; indeed I have more past behind me than future before me! It is important for us to understand our past, its significance, influence and lasting value and to be secure enough to explore our strengths and weaknesses.

It is arrogant to think that all is certain and defined and not to be critiqued. If we have a faith worth sharing and are a church worth joining we have to stand up to probing, otherwise we will lose effectiveness.

We must learn from our past and build on our past to become a cutting-edge Army that holds out the message of Jesus – a message of salvation that is worth dying for.

To be an effective Salvation Army we must have the Spirit of Jesus and be able to see today’s world through his eyes. We are, for the most part, very ordinary people but we have met with Jesus who has entrusted us with the commission to go to the world and take the gospel to all people.

We must also be a holy people. It is important to understand why we are a ‘salvation’ Army for it will impact on our preaching and teaching – we must ensure the message of Jesus is central. It will impact our work and witness – this is the gospel that is personal, embodied and contextual. We have to be assured of the salvation that we have in Jesus and be secure to share that with others. We fail if we merely present a moral framework.

As disciples of Jesus Christ we have to be witnesses to his death and resurrection and we do this by loving and reconciling individuals and communities. The love of Jesus is always effective and always contemporary – this is central to our effectiveness and relevance.

So much of the framework for this age is completely opposite to what we would describe as our core beliefs. We need to be a Salvation Army that is biblically literate and theologically confident. We cannot be absorbed by internal issues; we have to be an outward-looking people who can articulate what Jesus means for today and how our faith is relevant.

Our theology matters. Never believe that The Salvation Army doesn’t ‘do doctrine’ or see it as an anachronistic irrelevance. This can never be the case. I strongly believe we have to ensure we are all better equipped to know what we believe and how to apply it where we are – relevant to our own experience and the experience of others. We must apply ourselves to this in the production of our discipleship material, but it is not just for the ‘professionals’ or for the dedicated and keen – it is for every one of us. It is not enough to provide resources or rack up presentations and roadshows, or pray for revival. We must work to live the mission and enable the conversations that explore questions and doubts. Often I speak of ‘possibility thinking’ and I have the deepest ambition to make God and faith possible for those of no faith or little faith.

I believe that there are great possibilities and potential in sharing and telling our story – our personal faith journey and our corporate faith journey. As we speak and listen we must be able to think through what it means for us to be Christians in The Salvation Army in 2011. In character and behaviour we must be a holy people marked by compassion for all – inclusive, committed to good works and social justice and concerned with the values of God’s Kingdom and his divine justice.

It is our privilege and responsibility to rise to the challenges of this age. Nothing is static, yet what is anchored in our soul is the grace of Jesus, unshakeable in a dark, stark, failing and fallible world. The message that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16 NIV) is the unchanging message that can change and direct lives today.