Pruning

This picture is from our front yard in Myrtle Beach. It is a Crepe Myrtle. At the moment, it looks wonderful. That is, compared to what it looked like just 2 months ago!

When we retired into our home, this tree had been growing in our front yard for 10 years. In that time, apparently no one knew what to do with a Myrtle Tree. Therefore, it was covered in some kind of tree rot, did not look good at all and appeared to be dying. 

So we did some reading and called a local guy to come out and murder our tree. Yes, you read that right- it's called Crepe Murder!

I figured he would clean the junk off the bark and cut it back a bit. After a minute of bark cleaning, he started his chain saw and cut it down to almost nothing! I was horrified! Imagine this image with no leaves at all- just 3 sticks about 4 feet high and you've got the picture. We had 3 sticks in our front yard as our central tree! Aauugghh!

After a winter of "stick in our yard," all of a sudden it started to grow branches. I'm told this is normal for such a tree. Every few years we will do the same thing and it will grow again into a much larger, healthier tree.

Pruning. It's a common gardening practice. However, it's not so common in The Salvation Army. I think it should be.

We are currently in a tough place. COVID and (frankly) dealing poorly with our officers has left us in a state much like my old tree. Rotting and appearing to be near death in some places. We are stretching ourselves way too thin with way too few resources. Some of our locations are dead already and leadership refuses to see it.

I'm not going to go into a lot of explanation here, because I think you are smart enough to figure it out. We should get about pruning those dead locations and put the resources into ones that are still living and have actual potential for growth.

Yes, it would look bad for a time, but when the "Spring" comes, all of a sudden we would begin to see new growth that is much healthier. And that growth will supersede what we have now. But I don't think it's going to happen if we continue on our present course.

Corps Murder. There- I said it.

The War College 2008

My annual teaching trip to The War College in Vancouver, Canada for 2008 is now officially history. The history part is a sad thing as I am already missing the DTES with its many good friends, students, powerful ministry and cute little mice in the apartment. Well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad! Here are some thoughts about my trip:

This was a new season for me. Many things have changed since last year, including my roll in the 614 community. Oh sure, I taught a class, but I spent more time with leadership and past missioners than this year's batch of students.

I also spent quite a bit of prayer ministry time counseling as well as casting out demons. Yeah, I did do plenty casting with great results, but my prayer ministry time was regularly more than what it has been. I liked that.

The 614 community used me as a guinea pig in their latest innovation called "Community Hospitality." Basically different people fed me each meal and engaged me in hanging out! A smashing success, I'd say! I loved it!

I ended up with 2 new Battle Gear T-shirts! One is the new long sleeved "Saved to Save" design for officers. Yeah!

Computers were everywhere for me to use when I needed one. SL, JG, JS to name a few, but I offer special thanks to RB (who doesn't like to be called RB, but I'm just using initials!) who was exceptionally generous!

Here are a few of highlights from the prayer sessions:

One walked on water with Jesus! Steve Court: take note! Special Credit is due!

One had a Sword of the Spirit that was so big, it had to be handled with 2 hands! A Two-Handed Sword of the Spirit is awesome (and it does massive damage to the Enemy, trust me)!

More than a couple had false images of Jesus that were absolutely destroyed and replaced with an accurate image of The One who loves them like no other!

One had a wonderful banquet with Jesus and ate some very tasty stuff that dissolved the Enemy's influence!

One flew with Jesus over the countryside a la Peter Pan! There was powerful spiritual direction in their travel direction.

One did a deep sea dive underwater to find a sunken treasure chest. They were more valuable than any of the chest's jewels.

One took a high dive of a huge cliff with Jesus into crystal clear water!

I even got a session led by a wonderful team who were very helpful. Trust me, I needed some dusting off too!

Well, it seems my visit was all over before it started. Although the area may seem like a scary place for some, I've got to tell you, Vancouver DTES always feels like home to me. I love it- but most of all I love the people who are giving their lives in this place to help bring Jesus to the lost.

To all of you 614ites I offer my blessing for continued joy in service, successful ministry that changes lives and peace right in the middle of the Enemy's camp. Storm the forts of darkness- bring them down!

One More Walking in Holiness!

Debbie and I are just getting back from the New England ARC Men's Retreat at Camp Wonderland, Mass (ARC = Adult Rehabilitation Center). We were the Officer Guests. We weren't able to stay through SonDay, because we're specialing (TSA speak for being the special guests) in Newport tomorrow (can hardly wait!).

What a privilege! There's something real special about hanging out with a bunch of men who have taken themselves through life's wringer, but are now actively seeking God.

We're seeing a different side to the ARC lately. I believe it's because of the wonderful officers at the Providence ARC. Tom, Patty and Peggy are awesome officers who really love their people. It's a tough love, but necessary in getting them to recognize their need for God. We've become good friends quickly and are enjoying these three very much!

While at the weekend, I had the opportunity to chat specifically with a couple of men. Both were powerful conversations, but the last one led to some deep prayer. We prayed about a couple of things, but ended praying for holiness! I love it when God uses me to lead someone into a sanctification experience!

God is doing some wonderful work in the ARC. If you don't know much about them, look them up and get involved. You'll love it- I do!

It's Time . . .

I was searching for a picture of "bowing before God" on Google and guess what I found? The blog of one of my friends from The War College- Sarvesh Kumar (Joshua)! And it came up on the second page! Some people can't pay for that kind of advertising- wow!

I've added Sarvesh's new blog to my list on the right: It's Time to Put up or Shut up.

Sarvesh (who goes by Joshua in English) is a Christian from India and convert to our Army because he wants to win this world for Jesus and he actually believes we're going to accomplish it. I must admit, there are days I'm not so sure we are going to fulfill our divine commission. But on those days I must also admit if we don't do it, it's my own fault, not some nebulous "they" somewhere out there.

And then I remember Joshua. His spirit is contagious. His drive to spread the Good News grounded in reality. If anyone's going to do it, it's him. But, hey! Why should we let him have all the fun?

We can join him by working to win our own little world. If we each did that, combined in this Army of ours, we'd have arms wide enough to wrap around the whole earth and actually accomplish what we say we are doing while we do everything but.

Go ahead- read Joshua's blog. But if that's all you intend to do, don't bother. Rather, read and join the cause- win the world!

Guest Blogger Day

Today I have a guest blogger: Ashley Phillips. She's a Salvationist from the South, whom I met at The War College in Vancouver. Today she wrote the following on facebook and I was so impressed, I wanted to share it with you. Looks like our TSA future is in good hands, huh?


Blood and Fire Baby!
I got this new sense of pride today. But not pride in a sinful way. Pride like I have in my country. Almost like a patriotism. For The Salvation Army.

I don't know where it came from. But I am not complaining that it did come.

I was talking to Tammi last night about my preliminary testing this Thursday for training. And she asked me if i was nervous. And of course my first response was to say yeah, i hate tests . . . I have never been one of those people who can pass any test that is put in front of them. But i thought about her question...and i had this epiphany.

I am 100% sure in my heart that God wants me to be a Salvation Army Officer. So, why be nervous about some tests to become one? Sure, i may not be the most theologically smart person in the world...and I may not be psychiatrically sane all the time (who is really?) . . . and yeah, I get the doctrines confused sometimes (and I'm not the only one! . . . We believe that whosoever will may be saved!) But I love this army. I love the mission of this army. I love Jesus, and I know God has so much in store for this army that our generation will bring to life.

Guys . . . we are the future of this Army! That is some pretty exciting stuff! I mean . . . just think . . . We are going to see God do things in this army that will blow us away. All these things that burden us about this army, God wants to use us to change. And we are going to be his workers. His Servants. His Soldiers. God wants to use you! What an honor! If that doesn't excite you, then somethings wrong! The creator of this whole universe . . . the One who made every tree, mountain, river, ocean, and star beautiful and breathtaking . . . The guy who knitted you in your mothers womb to be exactly who you are today . . . He wants to use you! Will you let him? Will you let Him send you to places of darkness where the Love of God has never been preached? Whether that means in a far away country, or a few yards away to your neighbors door . . . will you go? Will you trust Him to guide you? We need to cast out this complacency that has hit this generation. This idea that as long as we are saved then that's all we need to do. Because that breaks God's heart. He wants to use us. Will you let Him?

In the words of our great founder: "We must wake ourselves up! Or somebody else will take our place, and bear our cross, and thereby rob us of our crown."

If I rise on the wings of the dawn
If I settle on the far side of the sea
Even there your hand will guide me
If I say, The darkness will hide me
And the light will become night around me
Even there your hand will guide me
Darkness will not be dark to you
It will shine like the day Darkness is as light to you
For even there your hand will guide me.
-Psalm 139:8-12

Friday Night at OOB Top 10 List

Friday night at Old Orchard Beach was awesome and there are many reasons I say so. Here's my Top 10 List:

10) It didn't rain!

9) I got to see "The Generals" coloring book made just for this year's meetings!

8) I was the first person to start off the 24/7 Prayer Room for the camp meetings (just like last year); 1 hour of POWER! The word I got was "It's all about Jesus."

7) It was (and always is) good to see many good friends and family!

6) It was great to be able to reconnect with a group of War College students who are all special to me!

5) I got to see and hug a few of my spiritual daughters (both official and unofficial ones)!

4) General Burrows spoke twice and was awesome (there were many seekers at the altar)!

3) I got to pray with a couple of people at the altar and General Burrows came down and prayed with us!

2) I got to spend some late hours praying with The War College Ministry Team for their week of Prophetic Evangelism at the OOB pier (praying with them is always fantastic)! God has some BIG plans for them this coming week!

1) The War College Team prayed for Debbie & I and gave us some awesome personal words from God about our specific situation in Rhode Island! One person who doesn't know our situation at all, spoke of the many children in our care and how God will be providing financially (as those of you who read my blog regularly know, we have a large Child Care Center in RI and we owe $2.5 million for its construction)!

Wow! More evidence God is working to get rid of that debt! Watch this space!

Defects in Other Christian Faiths

The other day on the front page of our newspaper was an article about the Pope and his latest document release which restates the position that the Roman Catholic Church is the "only" true church. It states that other Christian communities are "defective" or not true churches; Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation.

What a sad thing! So much for the Second Vatican Council and working together for Christian Unity.

Are you thinking I'm about to complain about the Catholic Church? I'm not (except to start there). What my thoughts lean toward today are the fact that it is not unusual to hear this kind of thinking from other churches either. Now maybe not so obviously, but the more this thought process is kept hidden, the more insidious it really is.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say things which inform me they think their church is the only right one. And frankly, I hear it in The Salvation Army too. I've heard Salvationists say because another professing Christian drinks, they can't be saved. And other things like this, etc.

Church! No congregation has it all together! No one has every tenet of Christian faith figured out. We need each other to be able to see the entire picture of God's revelation to humankind.

Have you ever heard the story of the 6 blind men who were led to an elephant and asked to verbally describe what the creature is like? The first was taken to the trunk, the second to the tusk, the third to an ear, the fourth to a foot, the fifth to the belly and the sixth to the tail. Naturally they all disagreed strenuously over what an elephant was like!

That's the way I see the Christian Church. We each know only a part of God. If we argue over what part we know, we will never reach Unity, because we're only arguing facets, not the whole. But if we trust each other and agree that each denomination has something unique to bring to the table, we can see a bigger picture of what God is trying to tell humankind.

Certainly there are defects in other Christian faiths, but we must include our own faith in this statement or we will find ourselves in the Pharisee camp. As I recall, that's not a place I want to be. Do you?

Released!

Today was our final SonDay in Bangor. Fully expecting an incredible day, I arrived shortly after 7 AM- even earlier than I usually do. I quickly got things set up and began to pray on my face (as is my custom).

After awhile, I sensed God wanted me to get under the waterfall of his grace again. He didn't need to tell me twice! I jumped right in and began to soak up all I could. After a time, he wanted me to roll over on my back. When I did, I soon sensed God sent angels to wash me with brushes. They were scrubbing me all over!

Then God had me go to my favorite spot in the corps building- under the Holiness Table. There the angels began to anoint me with oil. Soon the Holy Spirit opened a trap door in the back of my head and began to pour oil (Himself) in and it filled me up completely. When that was finished, he told me I was released from Bangor. I immediately felt a joyous freedom! Up until that time, I found it hard to think about and focus on Rhode Island. I kept coming back to Bangor as if something invisible kept restraining me.

From there out the day got progressively better (if you can believe that)! Study class was great; lots of people showed up to say farewell- some had never been to our church, some had been away for a long time. There was a great spirit (Spirit!) in the chapel; we were ready to worship! And that we did!

Stephanie has quickly become one of my favorite live worship leaders and she was seriously worshiping today! Tears welled in my eyes many times as we all lifted our hearts to Jesus. The whole room seemed to be worshiping with everything they had.

After my final message, our friends gathered around us and prayed for us. God spoke clearly through everyone who prayed. Some spoke words of comfort and challenge, others spoke words of prophetic power over us! These prayers reminded us that God has some powerful things in store for these people too. Their prayers were refreshing, challenging and encouraging. I will not soon forget the love spoken over us.

After singing "Nothing Compares to the Promise I have in You!," Debbie and I together offered our final benediction and blessing. I could barely keep my voice from cracking as emotion flowed over me and through me. Wow!

Many hugs, tears, good words and handshakes followed before we headed down for a fellowship luncheon together. Good food, pictures and a nice time of fun and memories before more hugs, tears, good words and handshakes! Whew! I was drained, but loving it. I could have done it all over again! We'll certainly miss the wonderful people of Bangor, Maine!

And the rest of the day got even better! I played my last game of Halo2 with Michael & Stephanie (they let me win!). We packed more (uh maybe this wasn't "better"), had a farewell dinner with Drew P and finished up with The Foundry (more cool worship and God's Word!). Then it was home again to pack more (ugh!) because the truck comes @ 7:30 tomorrow morning! And facebook and blogging before packing my computer (I hope I survive without it!).

Bangor family: Thank-you; it's been an awesome ride! You have blessed us and we will remember all of you with love. We are confident that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

Stay close to Jesus!

Thinking About Moving

Well with 8 days left in Bangor before we move, it's beginning to hit me. I mean, I'll be sitting somewhere, driving somewhere, working at my desk, talking with someone, etc and all of a sudden it hits me: I'm leaving. It's no longer an exercise of the mind.

It's actually happening. I'm moving to Rhode Island (why isn't "Rhode" in ANY electronic spelling dictionary?) and leaving my house, my friends, my life . . .

Yeah, that's what it's like. I'm heading somewhere I know nothing about (well, very little anyway). I don't know the people. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing. I don't even know the directions to my office from my new home. Come to think of it, I don't know the directions to my new home without a map in the first place!

And we'll have to "prove" ourselves all over again to a whole bunch of new people, including our new leaders. We've been established and trusted here, but we're just a name to all our (soon to be) new friends in Rhode Island.

You know moving isn't what it's cracked up to be. Maybe I've been in New England so long, it's rubbed off on me and I don't like change any more! (Bet you like that one, huh Mary?)

Bangor has been a hard appointment in many ways, but when it comes right down to it, I'm going to miss a whole lot about this place! Especially many of the people.

When we moved here, I was taking a class that included a study of the moving process. It was interesting because I was able to see what they labeled the things I was feeling! As I felt the separation and loss, and went through the grieving process, I was able to relate it to the natural part of the moving process. It helped a lot.

The more I think about it while writing, the more I realize it's a good thing to actually FEEL these things. We shouldn't try to ignore our feelings- we need to experience them so we can work through them and come out on the other side. Sure we'll miss people, but it's not like anyone is dying! This is The Army after all, we'll see people over and over again (OOB, congresses, meetings, etc)!

I do think there are quite a few people in Bangor who are NOT dealing with their feelings about us leaving. They've been a bit distant these last few weeks and haven't said very much at all to us about our moving. I think they are just repressing their feelings and that can only come back to hurt you later.

When people say "we'll miss you," I say "good!" It's supposed to be that way, if you've become good friends. Separation is hard and it really hurts when it means something to you. Many people here mean a lot to me and I'm certainly feeling it!

You know, I'm actually feeling better after working through these things and writing them down. I know I'll have another wave of sadness soon enough, but I can also rejoice that I know these people in the first place! I got to spend 7 whole years in Bangor!

And that too, is a good thing!

Con'grad'uations!

While everyone in The Salvation Army's Eastern Territory is heading to (or has already reached) Hershey, PA for the Congress, we remain home packing. Not because of our move- rather because our son, Chris, is graduating from High School on SonDay!

Whew! There were days we wondered is any of us would survive the High School years!

Wednesday night, we had a Graduate Celebration Party at the corps as we do every year. This year we had two graduates, Chris and Sam. We feasted on pot luck, had some cake, took a lot of pictures, watched a skit, then had a slide show of growing-up pictures. We presented them with Bibles (written in by some of us) and a little monetary gift to help with after school costs.

Both Sam and Chris are awesome young adults. They have each given their lives to Jesus and re-committed at Youth Councils a couple of weeks ago. We are proud of them and are committed to continuing to support them in the future as family of the Bangor Corps.

Here's to all of the graduates out there: may your future be successful and your lives a blessing to all those around you.

The Father's Love for us

I've got a lot to talk about lately. I'm not sure why I haven't been blogging about it all. Guess I'll have to make up for it in the next few days. However, my first priority is this morning's worship service in Bangor!

Wow!

I'll say it again. Wow!

I'll even say it backwards. Wow!

I can honestly say that was the best sermon I never preached!

Here's the deal: As we were praying in the chapel early this morning, God said his desire was to tell us he loved us with a Father's love. So we prayed and proclaimed that and spoke our willingness to receive that news deep in our hearts. During the meeting we spent some time praying for our corps vision and for George's healing from cancer. Then we worshiped.

As we started singing "How deep the Father's love for us," Holy Spirit began to move. So we repeated some of the song. Debbie led a time of prayer and God led us to prolong it a bit. As we were about to finish, Debbie felt she needed to say something. After she spoke, she asked anyone who needed to feel God's father-love for them to stand. Slowly at first, then people all over the room began to respond. She then asked someone near those people to give them a Father's hug. After a powerful time of God demonstrating his love to us, through us, we repeated "How deep . . ." There were not many dry eyes in the whole room!

At that point I realized I had nothing to add to God's word for us, so we sang another song and closed with a blessing to receive God's father-love and share it.

One of our teens was heard to say: "that was just like Youth Councils!"

Wow!

5 New Soldiers!

Tomorrow we swear-in 5 new Senior Soldiers! Their ages range from 15 to 20 and after working through the soldiership materials with them, I am convinced they are all going to make powerful, faithful soldiers. Of course, that's the only kind of soldier I will make. I require a solid testimony and active involvement in the corps.

You see, I used to be a Water Safety Instructor. I taught and certified lifeguards. I was told that I should only certify someone if I was sure they could handle the job of a lifeguard. If I had any doubts, I shouldn't give them their certification, because if anything ever happened on their watch, I could be called upon to stand with them and my own skills could be called into question.

Since then, I have taken the same tack with making Army Soldiers. I need to be confident in their commitment.

I spent the better part of today working through the program, PowerPoint, sermon, ceremony, music, etc for this important event. I don't know when I've been more excited about making soldiers! You may think it's because my son is taking this big step in his life, but that's only a part of it. I'm really proud of each one of them and confident in their commitment to Jesus, The Army and the Bangor Corps. I've seen their commitment up close in the last few years and I am not only confident, I am sure God has great plans for them and they will step up to be valiant warriors!

Congratulations, Chris, Sean, Meghan, Brandi and Emily (Emily may not make it tomorrow, because of a previous commitment, but we'll get her soon after)! Stand like the brave with your face to the foe!

We're on the Move

The word's out; it's now official. Debbie & I are moving at the end of June to be the State Coordinators in Rhode Island. What do we think about it? Good question.

Don't get me wrong- we're definitely excited about the opportunity and the possibilities- we just don't have any frame of reference to relate it to. If we were moving to another corps appointment or a headquarters, we'd know what to expect. We've done that before. But we've never even been stationed in an area command let alone led one.

Are we worried? Not at all. Intrigued is a good word! Bottom line- we're confident God orchestrated this move and has a plan for our good; that we will be blessed and a blessing. Based on a couple of phone calls and emails I've had today, there will be plenty to do and lots of good people to minister with.

Oh another good thing- I know where Rhode Island is and I can spell it!

There are people in Bangor we will miss! I won't even begin to list them here because I'm sure I'd miss many. We've got the shortest time we've ever had to prepare for this move, so we've got some packing to do! And farewelling. And saying goodbye. And wrapping up details. And . . .

I'm sure there will be more info to follow, so keep posted by checking back. I'll sincerely try to get back to blogging more often.

NNE Youth Councils Report

Sorry for the delay in reporting about our Divisional Youth Councils. A lot has been going on, so when that happens, my blogging usually takes a hit. I know, I know! I must be very busy lately!

(in)Visible was the theme; We are visible; we are seen, known and loved by God. That theme was very appropriate and well orchestrated throughout the weekend.

Like last year, I was assigned to get a prayer team together for the weekend. Last year, God gave me that assignment. This year, our DYCS asked me as well! Based on who I knew was going to be there, I conscripted Joyce Hartshorn and Shaun Bellanger to round out the team. There are other powerful prayer warriors in our division, but since they weren't going to be present, I decided to go with power over numbers. As it was, Joyce had to leave before the SonDay AM service.

At 7:45 AM SonDay, I arrived at Sebago Hall to begin praying. I was by myself for a few minutes, so I began praying the Bible throughout the room. I started with scripture praising God and his power, then he led me to a passage about his love. I was soon overwhelmed with the desire of God to make his love known to the delegates that morning (I hadn't put 2+2 together yet, figuring out that was the theme for the morning service).

Before long Shaun arrived and his first question was: "What is God telling you?" I told him God wants to make his love known and he jumped right in. God soon gave Shaun Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

For Yahweh your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song.

WOW! Incredible! Now things were getting exciting! We quickly got that verse up on the video screens and it stayed there well into the service (still a couple of hours away). We began to pray for freedom of worship and against quenching the Spirit.

We kept praying and a few people joined us here and there until the room was filled with excited kids, ready to hear from God. The service started but there seemed to be something blocking us from getting through to God or from God getting through to us. The war was on. We kept praying.

Worship was a little stifled. That block needed to be broken. Warfare was just beginning. We kept praying.

We got a word from Michelle (one of our delegates from Bangor) that the Spirit was hovering over everyone, but was unable to fully settle down on everyone in the room. We kept praying.

I talked with Everett, our DYCS, about the fire extinguishers I saw hanging on walls throughout the room. We agreed he (as the authority present) would take them all off the walls and put them on the floor as a prophetic act to signify our desire to not quench the Spirit. Soon after that, one of our Cadets got up to give her testimony. She started by singing "Jesus loves me . . ." and I knew immediately in my Spirit that was what we needed to begin breaking through. God began to move. Before long, kids were moving freely up to the altar and kneeling all around the room, seeking God with tears and sincerity. Yet there was still something keeping the Spirit from completely falling on us. We needed to press through.

At one point Meghan, another of our Bangor delegates, stood up on her seat in the front row, raised her arms and began praising God. Now Holy Spirit fell big time! Michelle got the word that as long Meghan kept her hands raised, the Spirit would keep moving freely. So Michelle suggested we follow the example of Aaron and Hur- help Meghan keep her hands raised. So for the next hour(?) or so, people kept sharing the task of keeping Meghan's hands high in the air. It was an awesome sight! And the Spirit kept moving!

Eventually, Holy Spirit waned and we had to slip quietly back into the "real" world. But many lives were touched by God that morning. I believe deeply touched and changed. Our Bangor delegates particularly, received very special blessings from God, praying for each other and re-committing their lives to God's will for them. At least one got saved for the first time!

Now our challenge is to be faithful- to keep walking out God's will for us on a moment by moment basis. Our task is to be obedient to what God tells us daily- to make the right choices each time. To live holy as God expects.

We can do it. We will do it, by his grace within!

Wesley's Quadrilateral and You

Here is a diagram of Wesley's Quadrilateral. For those of you who don't know it, we Salvationists are Wesleyan Arminianists, which means we follow the teachings of John Wesley and Jacobus Arminius. To make a long story short (and obviously very simplified), Arminius taught what we Salvos have termed "Whosoever Will." This is the other end of the spectrum that believes "Once Saved, Always Saved." But Arminius' thoughts are not the subject of my ramblings today. Wesley's are.

John Wesley did not ever use the word "Quadrilateral," but in reading his many writings, it is obvious that he believed in a four-fold method of knowing God. Followers have coined the term since. Basically, we believe there are four facets that must be used together to help us know God (and spiritual matters). While each facet in and of itself is good, none should be used without the others if we expect to get a complete and balanced picture of who God is and how he chooses to make himself know to his creation. Understandably, Scripture is the foundation of all the others, but even as important as it is, we still need the other three to keep from developing a one-dimensional or lopsided picture of God.

Scripture: "We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice" (TSA doctrine #1). God inspired the Scriptures. That in itself is reason enough for The Bible to hold the weight it does. Within its pages can be found all true doctrine of the Church, the true image of God, the way to salvation and how to live as a Christian. Everything we believe and experience should have its foundation in God's Word to humankind.

Reason: God's ways are certainly FAR above our ways, but once Holy Spirit is in your life (once you are saved), it is possible, through Spirit-inspired reason, to make sense of those ways. I don't recommend non-Christians trying to understand God's ways, because The Enemy is more in control of their understanding than they think! But with a redeemed mind, we can see truth more clearly and spiritual matters begin to make sense!

Tradition: Here, we are not referring to the traditions of any particular denomination (such as brass bands, penitent forms, "the way we have come to do things," et al), rather the tradition of the early Church; things that were established as foundational from the beginning. For example- when people begin talking about hell not existing (which in some circles is rearing it's ugly head again in TSA), we need only look to what the tradition of the Church is on the subject. From the beginning of the Christian Church the doctrine of hell has been foundational. Tradition keeps us from going astray on the path of Christian faith and practice.

Experience: I find this facet one of the most interesting- certainly the most controversial with those who are afraid of the Charismatic. It is true that some branches of the Pentecostal church put way too much emphasis on this one. But again, we must not throw the baby out with the bath water because there are those who over emphasize any particular facet of our quadrilateral. In fact, I believe our doctrine flows out of our experience (not the other way around as is often taught). For instance: If one does not believe in the gift of speaking in tongues, an experience of speaking in tongues will certainly make one at least re-evaluate their beliefs! God has allowed me to have a wide variety of experiences. I started out in one place, but with each new experience with God I have grown tremendously! As one with a gift of teaching, I have found that actually going through an experience helps me teach it more clearly to others.

I have quite a few thoughts on how Wesley's quadrilateral shows up in our TSA practices- and how many people ignore it as well. Based on response, perhaps I'll eventually write more on the topic.

The Foundry

April 1st, 2007 at 7:00 PM was the beginning of The Foundry in Bangor, Maine. Tonight was the continuation of that blessing.

What, you might ask, is "The Foundry?" It's a NEW contemporary worship service envisioned, organized, put together and run completely by the Young Adults of our corps.

For this first month (April), the decision was made to start meeting with those who worked on it's "founding" (heh, heh) and anyone who heard about it by word of mouth. The intention is to bathe the process in prayer and found a core of those committed to it's success.

We have not been disappointed! God has shown up, people have been touched and the core is being melted and formed (I'm thinking of the chorus 'Break me, Melt me, Mold me, Fill me').

Tonight was my first time (we were on vacation last week) and I was amazed at the spiritual openness and immediate presence of Holy Spirit. Things will be accomplished in this setting (in our Corps and Bangor) that cannot be done in our regular AM worship services (for a variety of reasons we won't go into here).

Suffice it to say we are excited! And anxious to see what God has planned.

We need to get the word out- May 6 is the public "opening." Pray with us that God will be honored and His Kingdom will be advanced through this new endeavor.

BTW, the picture above was a God-incidence (as opposed to a coincidence, which I don't believe in). The Foundry's Title slide was being projected on the screen at the end of the service, when someone retracted the screen before shutting down the projector. The image melted onto the back wall of our chapel to reveal an inkling of God's hand on things.

Isn't God awesome?!

BTW, check out Denise's blog for her thoughts (it's her picture) and The Foundry Blog (both linked on the lower right) for more info and future blessings.

It is Finished

While it may be an appropriate quote this time of year, it's not what you might think. Actually, our Corps new Prayer Room is finally finished! And it's already being used to good advantage.

Pictured from Left to Right you can see what it looked like just before we added books to the bookshelf, CDs to the music rack and started posting things on the bulletin board.

In this small room are 4 doors, so it was a bit difficult to arrange the space effectively (one door is a closet and another will be locked- so don't worry about the gold cloth hanging over it).

Highlights are as follows: The room is painted Royal Blue with Gold cloth accents depicting the royal atmosphere of where we will meet with our King.

Out theme is on the banner maroon banner- we'll never give up!

We have a serious current map of the world which will help us focus on specific areas at different times.

The picture depicting 2 Chronicles 7:14 will always keep our attention on humbling ourselves to seek God's face.

We have a wall calendar from The Salvation Army in Japan to remind us of the international mission of our Army.

The bulletin board will help us keep everyone on the same page with new items for prayer and things to meditate on.

On the desk is a notebook to keep track of what we are hearing from God and keep continuity from person to person spending time in the room.

Our goal is to eventually get to 24/7 prayer, but for now we start where we are with our intercessors practically DYING to get in there and spend some quality time with God!

This is an exciting venture for our corps. Please pray with us that we step up to the plate (as it were), take full advantage of this opportunity and pray the fire down from heaven to bring revival and change the world around us.

Here's to getting the whole world saved starting in Bangor, Maine!

Local Heroes

The next wave of radio ads for our publicity blitz campaign are hot off the press! Special thanx to Brett Slater of Slater's Garage for the awesome work he's doing for us! Click here to listen to one of the ads:

Local Heroes

Here's our plan. We started by telling people We are a Church. Now we're moving to the Army's "Hand to Man" mission- Service to Others. From there we will shift up to our "Win the World" mission- Salvation. After that, we will focus on our intercessory prayer ministry in and for our community. All the while keeping the fact that TSA is a church at the forefront.

We believe this series of ads will be most effective without music. The message is attention-getting enough to capture the listeners ear. Another one finished talks about our Soup Kitchen ministry.

What do you think? Let me know and I'll keep you posted about our success.

Back to Basics

When you find yourself doing something poorly, you might want to get back to basics. That's what I do when I find myself golfing poorly- I get back to basics- with a little help from my Dad who always welcomes the opportunity to tell me what I'm doing wrong! I would also assume that if I found myself driving poorly, the police would be only too willing to help me get back to basics! A costly lesson, to be sure.

When things got off track in Ephesus (Revelation 2), Jesus reminded that church they had forsaken their first love; their primary purpose. He reminded them to do what they did at first.

When we, as an Army of Salvation, find ourselves going off in a different direction than we started- it's time we stop right where we are and re-evaluate our mission. Who are we Salvos (I like the Australian term!)? What ARE we supposed to be doing? Why aren't we growing?

Maybe we need to get back to basics.

So what IS our purpose? What ARE the basics we need to get back to? Good questions (I'm glad you asked)!

The Primary Purpose of The Salvation Army is SALVATION! Duh! What's our name? What should we be doing? Salvation! Getting people saved!

Are we? Have we forsaken our first love? If you're a Salvo, ask yourself: "When was the last time you led someone to salvation?" The early Army grew like wildfire! Why? They got people saved. It's as simple as that. That's why we changed our name from The Christian Mission to The Salvation Army!

If there are Christians out there whose hearts aren't burning to get others saved, I'm sure they can find some wimpy church out there where they can sit and be comfortable. But that's not who WE are. We have a mission and we need our soldiers to get on board with our purpose. Salvation.

The Secondary Purpose of The Salvation Army is SANCTIFICATION! We are a holiness movement. Look at the altars at the center of most corps chapels- they don't read "Do this in Remembrance of me," they read "Holiness unto the Lord." Have we forsaken our first love?

What IS holiness? It's living without sinning. What is sin? "An offense against God." Technically, we can't "sin" against each other, but when we do things we shouldn't OR don't do things we should, that hurts God, we call that sin.

Holiness is a subsequent work of God's grace in our lives AFTER we're saved that puts Holy Spirit in control of our lives instead of just a "guest." When that happens, it becomes possible to live without sinning. We don't have to offend God. It's awesome!

Once we get people saved, it's our purpose to lead them into sanctification. But how can we do that if WE don't experience holiness? If we live no differently than the non-saved around us; if people can't SEE that we're God's children by our actions and lives, then we need to ask ourselves what's going on!

We have a mission and to accomplish it we need to get back to the basics of who we are. Sanctification.

The third Purpose of The Salvation Army is INTERCESSION (I know some might argue it should be service, but I disagree)! Yes, we pray for ourselves, but mostly we should be praying for others- that's intercession. Are we praying? Have we forsaken our first love?

I am often taken aback at the response in our services when we pray a little bit "longer" than usual; when we remain still and silent beyond the typical "fidget limit." It seems obvious, many (if not most) of us are uncomfortable praying beyond The Lord's Prayer.

As Christians, we pray. As Salvos, we pray. It's our purpose! How are we going to win the world for Jesus if we don't pray? News Flash: It can't be done if we don't pray much more- it won't be done.

We have a mission and to accomplish it we need to get back to the basics of who we are. Intercession.

If you're a Salvo, I challenge you to take stock of your life. Dump the junk that keeps you preoccupied and get back to basics.

Salvation. Sanctification. Intercession. That's who we Salvos are.

TSA NEWS FLASH!

Word just hit the Internet of an important Salvation Army personnel move. Here it is in a nutshell:

Captains Steve Court and Danielle Strickland are on the move to Australia's Southern Territory!

I just read this on the blog of Australia South's Territorial Commander, Jim Knaggs. There's not much to read- but here's my source (click on the link):

TC SPEAK

You may want to follow Steve and Danielle's blogs for any comments that may be showing up in the near future.

ArmyBarmy

ArmyBarmy REMIX

Congratulations Steve and Danielle! Sounds right up both your alleys! I love it when The Army puts people right where they are gifted!

God bless Steve and Danielle!
God bless the Australian South Territory!
God bless Jim Knaggs!
God bless The Salvation Army!
God bless the General!
God bless you!