Recently
theRubicon sent out a general call to officers on our mailing list asking them
to tell us why they are Salvation Army clergy. The responses were pithy,
profound, provocative and, in some cases, troubling. But most of all they were
genuine and honest reflections on a career and calling that can both uplift and
crush. This is the second of two parts.
Major, male, Australia: I have been an Officer for over 50 years and have spent almost
10 years in post-retirement service. The reason I became and am an officer is
related to a personal calling, but before accepting that calling I rejected it
and left my homeland - Australia - running from that calling. It was similar to
Jonah. I was later asked by a very close friend of mine, a retired
commissioner, what I was doing in England. I tried to answer but he stopped me
with one word: Officership.
So I returned and commenced all over again to
fulfill that calling. Over the years came marriage, 3 sons and almost 12 years
in third-world settings. These have all enriched my life in so many ways that
are very hard to describe. To share with a family in the death of a new-born
infant, to enjoy the sharing of wedding vows, and to stand by the casket of a
faithful Soldier being laid to rest are all part of that calling.
There were other things I could have done with
my life, but they could not compare to the joy brought to me in His Service.
The old question of “would I do it again?” is answered by a resounding YES.
Why? Because of the calling of His Spirit. He has blessed, used and given me so
many opportunities for service that they are too many to count.
My prayer is in the words of John Gowans, “May
others see Jesus in me.”
Captain, male, Canada: I feel called to a full-time ministry role. To say it’s a
“calling” is somewhat elitist; all Christians are called to serve and are
called to ministry. Not all Christians will enter Salvation Army officership.
That’s not an evaluative statement, just a fact. We need teachers and bus
drivers; doctors and janitors; pilots and city employees; day-care
professionals and lawyers (actually… do we need lawyers?).
I guess I still haven’t answered the question,
though. I grew up in The Salvation Army my whole life, so that plays a role. I
like The Salvation Army, so that plays a role. I love our focus on spiritual
needs and practical needs. We have church buildings and worship meetings; we
have food banks and shelters; we have thrift stores and a Bible college.
Captain, female, USA: Right now that seems like a question as dangerous as asking a
married couple in a “valley” if they’re happy … I can’t really say that I
became an officer to be a faceless bureaucrat stuck in middle management
offering virtually no resources, guidance or structure to corps officers and
flailing against a micro-managing THQ that is culturally clueless…. I’d like to
think that being in a corps or social work ministry would give enough reality
to deal with bureaucracy, just didn’t want to have to be bureaucracy -
especially without power or resources to make decisions or deal with
consequences… but not a reason to give up on officership.
Captain, male, Canada: No matter how cliché it might sound, I would love to answer
this question by simply saying: “Because I am called!” While I believe this is
true, it would not create an accurate portrait of why I entered this
occupation, vocation, and/or ministry.
1. It’s what I know! My parents are officers; I
grew up observing them every single day of my life. I witnessed the stress of
church conflict, unapproved budgets, and dealing with death and tragedy, but I
also took part in the joys of new converts, new building projects, and the
wonderful gift of new life. I guess you can say Officership has been engrained
in my life and is part of who I am.
2. The Confirmation! Another reason is the
number of doors that opened since my saying “yes” to ministry. When I began
this journey I was a single lumber salesman who gave little thought to active
service. Now I am a married father, who is actively engaged in the fight of my
life - the fight against sin.
3. The Rewards! There are many days that bring
about stressful and negative situations, but when I look back at each year of
ministry, the benefits, rewards, and blessings far outweigh the days that seem
like too much!
Major, female, UK: During my training with CAPE, the supervisor asked me why I was
a Salvation Army officer. Wow, much food for thought.
I answered that when I was 6 years old I
committed my life to serve God in full-time work. I said that if I had been
raised a Catholic then I would have been a nun. I did not necessarily have to
serve God in The Salvation Army, but I knew that I was born to serve and it did
not occur to me to serve in any other denomination. The Salvation Army was all
that I knew. No other denomination could have given me the same opportunities
that I have experienced. I have never appreciated the control that another
officer can have over my life decisions, but God has worked me through the times
when I felt I was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
My officership has
been a career with a calling to ministry and service. That is what God called
me to do.
Lt-Colonel, male, Canada: I have been a Salvation Army officer for fifty-seven years
(commissioned in l952) - forty-three years as an active officer, and fourteen
years as a retired officer. Margaret, my wife, served with me as a partner in
ministry for fifty-three years.
I am an officer in The Salvation Army for three
good reasons:
First, I had two very good parents who believed
so intensely in the ministry of the Salvation Army that they prayed and pleaded
with God that their children would follow in their footsteps. When I was very
young, I often woke early in the morning to hear my father crying out to God
for the salvation of his children. What I have become in life, I owe in a large
measure to the influence and passion of my parents.
Secondly, when I was twelve years old, during
the visit of a specialling officer to our home, I heard God calling me to be an
officer. It buzzed around in my mind for almost ten years, without anyone
knowing my hidden secret, and then at the age of twenty, one month before my
twenty-first birthday, I rose from my seat in a youth council and said: “Yes,
whatever you are asking me to do, I will do it.” I took the leap, not into the
dark, but into the arms of a God who had already planned from eternity the
destiny of my pilgrimage.
Thirdly, I now can look back on almost six
decades and stand in awe of the way he has blessed my life, far beyond anything
I could have dreamt or imagined. The thought of committing my life to an
organization whose foundational principles were sacrifice and obedience seems
unimaginable, but at eighty, with life nearing the end, it seems a very
reasonable thing to do (Romans 12:1). If I could have written my own biography,
I doubt if I could done it any better.
Life as an officer is not easy, but never dull;
not purely selfish, but submissive to the way of Jesus; not “I’ll do it my way”
but “not my way Father, but thy will be done.” I never asked for an
appointment, nor refused to go where I was sent.
Officership is more about eternity than it is
about time, and I believe time is only preparation for eternity. Today I see
the journey has been crammed full of challenges, privileges, surprises,
opportunities and much more. But the incomparable surprise is in the future:
when, by God’s grace I entered into the inheritance which God has prepared for
those who love and serve him (1 Peter 1:4, 5). Then we will know that life is
not about success in terms of this world’s values but about faithfulness to the
known will of God.
Lt. Colonel, male, Congo: Why I am a Salvation Army Officer? What an interesting
question! I suppose the first answer is that I felt called to Salvation Army
Service. I was in the military during the Korean Conflict at the time of my
calling, and I had an overwhelming sense that God wanted me to serve Him. I had
little talent to offer and was a first-generation Salvationist, but I felt that
service in The Salvation Army was the best thing I could do with my life.
After I was discharged from the Air Force, I
entered the “Faithful” Session in 1956 in San Francisco.
I met my wife in training, and over the years,
we have had many kinds of appointments and have been privileged to travel and
serve the Lord in many un-imagined places. Each appointment has only confirmed
that I was just where God wanted me to be. Since retirement, we continue to
serve as Coordinator of the Territorial Call to Prayer ministry, Phoenix ARC
Chaplains, and the Southwest Divisional Congo Partnership in Missions
Coordinator.
Oh, there have been times of disappointment and
stress, but God has been faithful, and even though we are now retired we still
have the joy of service and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. I used to be
a bit turned off by those old “fogies” who used to totter up to the pulpit and
say, “I’ve never been sorry I heeded God’s Call, etc” Well, I guess now I’m one
of them! Would I do it over again? Absolutely! God is just as wonderful now, as
all those many years ago. And I’m not finished yet!