We
need to develop a culture of growth in Army leadership, says the territorial
commander.
Interview with Commissioner Brian Peddle
Commissioner
Brian Peddle, territorial commander, speaks with John McAlister, web editor,
about the importance of officers, the challenges of recruitment and retention
and why he remains hopeful for the future.
Why
do we still need Salvation Army officers?
The Salvation Army is first and
foremost a spiritual movement. We need ordained individuals who are available
to be appointed to ministry units across the territory. If we can’t access a
reasonable number of officers through our appointment system, then we will have
all kinds of inequities as to how we serve our communities and lead the Army.
When people offer themselves for ordination and become covenanted individuals,
and in turn make themselves available for appointments, they become a great
gift to the Army in the territory as kingdom workers.
We also carry a
responsibility to support the international Salvation Army by making officers
available for overseas service.
How
do we ensure that we have enough officers for the future?
We need to pray and ask
God to give us more. One of the evidences of God’s blessing on the Army in this
territory is that we continue to welcome cadets to our College for Officer
Training. This year, 16 cadets have started training as part of the Disciples
of the Cross Session. These are excellent people whom God has called to
ministry. In each of their stories there is a divine dimension that they have
responded to with obedient faith.
The
question I sometimes ask is, Why not a few more to meet our needs? In that
context, we need to continue unpacking this divine partnership we have with
God. We need to take our understanding of God’s prerogative to specifically lay
his hand on individuals in calling them to officership and balance that with
our responsibility to keep the leadership needs of the Army in front of our
people. We need to recruit and directly ask people to consider serving God
through the Army as a Salvation Army officer. We need every Salvationist to
offer themselves as recruiters. Strategies will be helpful but engaging in a
holy conversation is also appropriate and necessary.
What
characteristics do you think an ideal candidate for officership should have?
Let me start by noting
the need for obedient faith in God which leads to listening to his voice and
following through with what he commands. You need to be delivered from being
judgmental so that you can love people without condition. You need humility and
the ability to express yourself well. These are some characteristics but beyond
these come a set of competencies that we try to unpack in each officer’s
journey. How are they doing with their personal relationship with Christ? How
do they manage their servant role with people? How are they developing
spiritually with disciplines? How do they relate to being a minister of the
gospel? How are they progressing at being a leader of God’s people? Do they
invest in others? In the lifelong journey of an officer, it is important that
the Army nurtures and develops these competencies.
Why
do you think it’s so hard to recruit officer candidates?
I’m not sure that it is
harder than in the past. I think that many things, such as demographics, have
changed significantly. In many families, there were several children, so it
wasn’t unusual for one or more in a family to offer themselves to officership.
I don’t think there are as many young people coming into families, or into the
Army, who are available for future leadership.
When
people are deciding what to do with their lives or going through a life
transition and trying to figure out the next chapter, we need to encourage them
to be open to the reality that God loves them and has a plan for their lives.
We need to be willing to talk about this openly in the Army and in our
congregations. This doesn’t have to be a conversation left for a specific weekend
when we bring people together to talk about vocation. We need to refresh our
initiatives as far as our willingness to have the hard conversations about how
God is unfolding his plan for all of us.
There
is a huge need for new officers. At present, we have 830 officers as a
resource. If all of the trends continue—taking our retirements and other losses
and put them alongside those new recruits who are entering training college—in
another decade we will only have 630 officers. Unless things change dramatically,
then the availability of officers in the territory will be limited. This should
be a concern, not just for territorial leadership, but for all Salvationists. I
ask for all Salvationists to do their part and pray earnestly for this critical
issue of candidate recruitment. We all need to play a role as recruiters.
While
some officers are retiring, others have quit or been terminated. Why are we
losing officers?
The
retirement numbers are an important part of honouring those who have served. We
can project those down to the day. We’re trying to foster a culture in which
officers who are well in body and spirit can extend their years of service. I
want to honour those who engage in ministry post-retirement and stress our
renewed efforts to make this continuation of covenanted service worth pursuing.
Officers
are called and covenanted to serve God through The Salvation Army. In some
ways, we’ve set them apart. It should be noted, however, that they face the
same challenges and stresses as everyone else living in the world today. So,
there are outcomes when difficulties arise with family or marriage or when
there are serious issues in regard to ministry. I wish I could point to a
specific cause or pattern that leads to officers quitting or being terminated
so that we could respond to it, but the situations of each individual or couple
are unique so it’s difficult to establish a response mechanism that could turn
this around. That’s why the Bible calls us to pray for those in spiritual
authority over us. I call upon Salvationists to pray for the protection and
well-being of their officers and to support them where possible. The Army has a
huge responsibility to nurture our officers and ensure that their spiritual
lives are strong.
With
our leadership needs, what are some strategies that we should be looking at?
First of all, our
leadership needs exist at every level of the Army and require almost every
capacity that you can imagine. In just a second appointment, an officer can
receive a significant responsibility with a congregation that is modest but yet
a program with 20-25 employees and perhaps a budget of $2 million. Our
leadership needs will continue to challenge us and we will have to keep
responding to build the capacity of the people we already have—and add to their
numbers.
I
look to our leadership development team for the creation of personal
development plans for our officers and employees. This isn’t simply an
officers’ Army, but a partnership shared between our officers, employees and
volunteers.
I
commend Booth University College for developing programs that are helping us
with our capacity issue, such as their chaplaincy and management programs. At
present, we’re exploring a program designed to enhance the corps officer role.
I would like to see Booth become our corporate learning centre, so that as we
face emerging leadership needs and capacity issues, then Booth—with its
resources and the Army’s commitment to it—becomes one of the means by which we
respond as a territory.
We
need to find ways to enable more Salvationists to serve as auxiliary-captains
or in another service category and bring their life experiences to the Army. We
also need to recognize the value of our 10,000 employees and find opportunities
to maximize our investment in them.
As
the numbers of officers decrease, does this open up new opportunities for lay
leadership? If so, how is the Army moving to empower its lay leaders?
Those strategies are
being considered. I don’t think we have enough in place to counterbalance the
reality of our leadership needs. These are priorities for the territory. We
need to be more open to providing ministry opportunities for people. When we
look at our employee component, we are trying to develop and invest in them.
I
do have some concern for what we call our local officers. I think there’s
significant responsibility for the Army to continue to ask, appoint and train
local officers who are able to support existing officer models and also step
into the gap in situations when an officer is not available. I am personally
grateful for our local officers who take on various leadership roles in the
territory, particularly at the corps level. A great deal of work needs to go
into the strategies to support them and in turn help the Army to respond to any
diminishment of officer numbers.
Are
you hopeful for the future?
I’m more than hopeful. I don’t have any sense at all that
God has taken his hand off the Army in this territory. There is too much
visible evidence of his blessing upon us. As I travel the territory, it creates
hope within me and I am inspired to believe for greater things. As the
territorial commander, I can’t just manage what we have. I have a
responsibility as a leader to create a culture of growth that challenges the
status quo and says that we can be greater than what we are because God needs
us to be greater. We need to grasp the opportunities that come to us both as a
social service agency and a credible denomination. We need to be a clear voice
in culture and society.
Commissioner
Brian Peddle is the territorial commander of the Canada and Bermuda
Territory. Click here to read his columns.
Territory. Click here to read his columns.
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