Thursday, April 21, 2005
Post Modernity, Emerging Church and the Salvation Army
This morning I was directed to an article in the current issue of 'the Officer' magazine (a Salvation Army worldwide publication) that was written by my old minster.
It was entitled 'Great Aunt Sally?' and asked the question "is the Salvation Army just like our Great Aunt Sally? She is wonderful, whe would do anything for anyone - but she's a bit outdated and unusual."
He then moves to unpack whether the Army has kept up with Post Modernism and the culture and world that operates outside of its buildings. His challenge is to mission and to reconnect with the founding principals of the Salvation Army -incarnational mission, messianic spirituality and entrepreneurial leadership - but to reengage with them and rediscover them for our post modern world. Change or be irrelevant is the thrust of his article. A common theme in the church today.
This morning on my way to work I read through the Articles of War. The Articles of War is the document that a Salvation Army soldier signs to commit to becoming a soldier. Whilst not wanting to enter into my opinion on soldiership, I will say that I was challenged as I read through my Articles of War.
The first half of the document is the Doctrines of the Salvation Army. A pretty standard thing to have on a church document. Nothing peculiar about signing a document to say you agree with the beliefs of a movement or church (depending on your definition of our organisation).
What for me is challenging about the Articles of War is that at the bottom of the doctrines it has in bold
Therefore
and continues with what these doctrines look like when practically outlived by the Salvationist soldier:
I will be responsive to the Holy Spirit's work .......
I will make the values of the Kingdom of God and not the values of the world the standard for my life.
I will uphold Christian integrity in every area of my life .....
I will maintain Christian ideals in all my relationships ......
I will uphold the sanctity of marriage and of family life.
I will be a faithful steward of my time and gifts, my money and my possessions, my body, my mind and my spirit, knowing that I am accountable to God.
I will abstain from ...... and all else that could enslave the body or spirit.
I will be faithful to the purposes for which God raised up the Salvation Army, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, endeavouring to win others to Him, and in His name caring for the needy and disadvantaged.
I will be actively involved, as I am able, in the life, work, worship and witness of the corps ..... (& tithe as much as possible)
I will be true to the principles and practices of the Salvation Army .......
My first question with regard to all the discussion on the relevance of church and the best way of doing things is a bit like this:
are we putting the cart before the horse?
We need to get the church to live up to the things it believes.
The Salvation Army needs to hold its soldiers to the things they have signed to.
Incarnational mission is precisely about living out the things we say we believe.
Messianic spirituality is about acting how Jesus acts.
Entrepreneurial leadership springs from passion, which comes from living out a life of passionate Christian discipleship.
Living it is 90% of the battle for relevance that our churches face.
It was entitled 'Great Aunt Sally?' and asked the question "is the Salvation Army just like our Great Aunt Sally? She is wonderful, whe would do anything for anyone - but she's a bit outdated and unusual."
He then moves to unpack whether the Army has kept up with Post Modernism and the culture and world that operates outside of its buildings. His challenge is to mission and to reconnect with the founding principals of the Salvation Army -incarnational mission, messianic spirituality and entrepreneurial leadership - but to reengage with them and rediscover them for our post modern world. Change or be irrelevant is the thrust of his article. A common theme in the church today.
This morning on my way to work I read through the Articles of War. The Articles of War is the document that a Salvation Army soldier signs to commit to becoming a soldier. Whilst not wanting to enter into my opinion on soldiership, I will say that I was challenged as I read through my Articles of War.
The first half of the document is the Doctrines of the Salvation Army. A pretty standard thing to have on a church document. Nothing peculiar about signing a document to say you agree with the beliefs of a movement or church (depending on your definition of our organisation).
What for me is challenging about the Articles of War is that at the bottom of the doctrines it has in bold
Therefore
and continues with what these doctrines look like when practically outlived by the Salvationist soldier:
I will be responsive to the Holy Spirit's work .......
I will make the values of the Kingdom of God and not the values of the world the standard for my life.
I will uphold Christian integrity in every area of my life .....
I will maintain Christian ideals in all my relationships ......
I will uphold the sanctity of marriage and of family life.
I will be a faithful steward of my time and gifts, my money and my possessions, my body, my mind and my spirit, knowing that I am accountable to God.
I will abstain from ...... and all else that could enslave the body or spirit.
I will be faithful to the purposes for which God raised up the Salvation Army, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, endeavouring to win others to Him, and in His name caring for the needy and disadvantaged.
I will be actively involved, as I am able, in the life, work, worship and witness of the corps ..... (& tithe as much as possible)
I will be true to the principles and practices of the Salvation Army .......
My first question with regard to all the discussion on the relevance of church and the best way of doing things is a bit like this:
are we putting the cart before the horse?
We need to get the church to live up to the things it believes.
The Salvation Army needs to hold its soldiers to the things they have signed to.
Incarnational mission is precisely about living out the things we say we believe.
Messianic spirituality is about acting how Jesus acts.
Entrepreneurial leadership springs from passion, which comes from living out a life of passionate Christian discipleship.
Living it is 90% of the battle for relevance that our churches face.
Post Modernity, Emerging Church and the Salvation Army
This morning I was directed to an article in the current issue of 'the Officer' magazine (a Salvation Army worldwide publication) that was written by my old minster.
It was entitled 'Great Aunt Sally?' and asked the question "is the Salvation Army just like our Great Aunt Sally? She is wonderful, whe would do anything for anyone - but she's a bit outdated and unusual."
He then moves to unpack whether the Army has kept up with Post Modernism and the culture and world that operates outside of its buildings. His challenge is to mission and to reconnect with the founding principals of the Salvation Army -incarnational mission, messianic spirituality and entrepreneurial leadership - but to reengage with them and rediscover them for our post modern world. Change or be irrelevant is the thrust of his article. A common theme in the church today.
This morning on my way to work I read through the Articles of War. The Articles of War is the document that a Salvation Army soldier signs to commit to becoming a soldier. Whilst not wanting to enter into my opinion on soldiership, I will say that I was challenged as I read through my Articles of War.
The first half of the document is the Doctrines of the Salvation Army. A pretty standard thing to have on a church document. Nothing peculiar about signing a document to say you agree with the beliefs of a movement or church (depending on your definition of our organisation).
What for me is challenging about the Articles of War is that at the bottom of the doctrines it has in bold
Therefore
and continues with what these doctrines look like when practically outlived by the Salvationist soldier:
I will be responsive to the Holy Spirit's work .......
I will make the values of the Kingdom of God and not the values of the world the standard for my life.
I will uphold Christian integrity in every area of my life .....
I will maintain Christian ideals in all my relationships ......
I will uphold the sanctity of marriage and of family life.
I will be a faithful steward of my time and gifts, my money and my possessions, my body, my mind and my spirit, knowing that I am accountable to God.
I will abstain from ...... and all else that could enslave the body or spirit.
I will be faithful to the purposes for which God raised up the Salvation Army, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, endeavouring to win others to Him, and in His name caring for the needy and disadvantaged.
I will be actively involved, as I am able, in the life, work, worship and witness of the corps ..... (& tithe as much as possible)
I will be true to the principles and practices of the Salvation Army .......
My first question with regard to all the discussion on the relevance of church and the best way of doing things is a bit like this:
are we putting the cart before the horse?
We need to get the church to live up to the things it believes.
The Salvation Army needs to hold its soldiers to the things they have signed to.
Incarnational mission is precisely about living out the things we say we believe.
Messianic spirituality is about acting how Jesus acts.
Entrepreneurial leadership springs from passion, which comes from living out a life of passionate Christian discipleship.
Living it is 90% of the battle for relevance that our churches face.
It was entitled 'Great Aunt Sally?' and asked the question "is the Salvation Army just like our Great Aunt Sally? She is wonderful, whe would do anything for anyone - but she's a bit outdated and unusual."
He then moves to unpack whether the Army has kept up with Post Modernism and the culture and world that operates outside of its buildings. His challenge is to mission and to reconnect with the founding principals of the Salvation Army -incarnational mission, messianic spirituality and entrepreneurial leadership - but to reengage with them and rediscover them for our post modern world. Change or be irrelevant is the thrust of his article. A common theme in the church today.
This morning on my way to work I read through the Articles of War. The Articles of War is the document that a Salvation Army soldier signs to commit to becoming a soldier. Whilst not wanting to enter into my opinion on soldiership, I will say that I was challenged as I read through my Articles of War.
The first half of the document is the Doctrines of the Salvation Army. A pretty standard thing to have on a church document. Nothing peculiar about signing a document to say you agree with the beliefs of a movement or church (depending on your definition of our organisation).
What for me is challenging about the Articles of War is that at the bottom of the doctrines it has in bold
Therefore
and continues with what these doctrines look like when practically outlived by the Salvationist soldier:
I will be responsive to the Holy Spirit's work .......
I will make the values of the Kingdom of God and not the values of the world the standard for my life.
I will uphold Christian integrity in every area of my life .....
I will maintain Christian ideals in all my relationships ......
I will uphold the sanctity of marriage and of family life.
I will be a faithful steward of my time and gifts, my money and my possessions, my body, my mind and my spirit, knowing that I am accountable to God.
I will abstain from ...... and all else that could enslave the body or spirit.
I will be faithful to the purposes for which God raised up the Salvation Army, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, endeavouring to win others to Him, and in His name caring for the needy and disadvantaged.
I will be actively involved, as I am able, in the life, work, worship and witness of the corps ..... (& tithe as much as possible)
I will be true to the principles and practices of the Salvation Army .......
My first question with regard to all the discussion on the relevance of church and the best way of doing things is a bit like this:
are we putting the cart before the horse?
We need to get the church to live up to the things it believes.
The Salvation Army needs to hold its soldiers to the things they have signed to.
Incarnational mission is precisely about living out the things we say we believe.
Messianic spirituality is about acting how Jesus acts.
Entrepreneurial leadership springs from passion, which comes from living out a life of passionate Christian discipleship.
Living it is 90% of the battle for relevance that our churches face.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Long time no post....
I tried to post last week, but when I clicked 'publish' it died.
When I went back I had lost my post.
So I retyped it and clicked publish and again it didn't work.
I ran out of time to try for a third time.
Sorry.
Last week I was trying to say how I got a new Palm, which is good.
I was looking for bible translations to put on it. The problem is that because of copyright you have to pay for all the major translations (NIV, NRSV, message).
The question is how does one copyright the 'word of God'?
I have the same issue with people who say something like "please use my God inspired song to worship God, but if you don't pay me my royalties then I will sue you"
There are a number of inherent questions in there isn't there.
I got up at 6:30 this morning to watch Liverpool play Juventus.
The game was a draw, but Liverpool won the tie 2-1 and so is through to the Semi Finals of the Champions League, the first time since 1985.
I am very excited, needless to say.
Anyway, I better go back to laminating. Great fun. I just looked at the clock and was shocked that was 11:30. I have been at this for about 1 1/2 hours, but it seemed like 30 minutes.
When I went back I had lost my post.
So I retyped it and clicked publish and again it didn't work.
I ran out of time to try for a third time.
Sorry.
Last week I was trying to say how I got a new Palm, which is good.
I was looking for bible translations to put on it. The problem is that because of copyright you have to pay for all the major translations (NIV, NRSV, message).
The question is how does one copyright the 'word of God'?
I have the same issue with people who say something like "please use my God inspired song to worship God, but if you don't pay me my royalties then I will sue you"
There are a number of inherent questions in there isn't there.
I got up at 6:30 this morning to watch Liverpool play Juventus.
The game was a draw, but Liverpool won the tie 2-1 and so is through to the Semi Finals of the Champions League, the first time since 1985.
I am very excited, needless to say.
Anyway, I better go back to laminating. Great fun. I just looked at the clock and was shocked that was 11:30. I have been at this for about 1 1/2 hours, but it seemed like 30 minutes.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Weekend
So after a hectic Easter weekend,
here I am enjoying a quiet weekend.
We have come to Traralgon for Cathlyn's (melissa's sister) 21st.
I have spent the past 26 hours reading books pretty much non-stop (except for sleeping). It is great.
I went to the library on thursday to find some books.
The first one I read (and finished in around 24 hours) was about the how the Israeli Air Force bombed Iraqs first nuclear reactor to prevent them from building an atomic bomb.
It was in 1981. I knew that it had happened so when I saw a book detailing it I thought I would pick it up and read. It was very interesting. Of course the guy highlighted how all the present neo-cons, Wolfawitz and the like, all loved the idea of bombing Iraq 10 years before the Americans did it for the first time.
I am now reading a book on the Cuban missile crisis. It is written by a sailor who was on an American destroyer during the crisis. He interviewed people on both sides of the naval blockade. It is very detailed and relies heavily on personal stories of the officers involved. It documents how close we came to a nuclear war during the crisis.
The USSR allowed their battlefield commanders the responsibility to use tatical nuclear weapons without authorisation from Moscow if the situation called for it.
It sounds like very deep reading for a quiet weekend doesn't it?
oh well. I enjoy it.
here I am enjoying a quiet weekend.
We have come to Traralgon for Cathlyn's (melissa's sister) 21st.
I have spent the past 26 hours reading books pretty much non-stop (except for sleeping). It is great.
I went to the library on thursday to find some books.
The first one I read (and finished in around 24 hours) was about the how the Israeli Air Force bombed Iraqs first nuclear reactor to prevent them from building an atomic bomb.
It was in 1981. I knew that it had happened so when I saw a book detailing it I thought I would pick it up and read. It was very interesting. Of course the guy highlighted how all the present neo-cons, Wolfawitz and the like, all loved the idea of bombing Iraq 10 years before the Americans did it for the first time.
I am now reading a book on the Cuban missile crisis. It is written by a sailor who was on an American destroyer during the crisis. He interviewed people on both sides of the naval blockade. It is very detailed and relies heavily on personal stories of the officers involved. It documents how close we came to a nuclear war during the crisis.
The USSR allowed their battlefield commanders the responsibility to use tatical nuclear weapons without authorisation from Moscow if the situation called for it.
It sounds like very deep reading for a quiet weekend doesn't it?
oh well. I enjoy it.
