For
Such a Time as This?
by Lieut.-Colonel
Richard Munn Reflections on Married Officer Leadership
Ecclesiastical Indignity
From her very
conception she was different.
Born on the grimy streets of London’s east end and
encircled by Victorian gin houses and other establishments of
ill repute her open air preaching, uniform wearing, drum
banging, brass playing, and flag-waving irreverence infuriated
church officialdom and delighted the impoverished masses.
She unabashedly discarded the sacraments as ritualistic
impediments to new birth in Christ and repeatedly called
sinners to the ‘mercy seat’ instead.
She impiously composed new religious lyrics and
inserted them onto jaunty music hall tunes, all for singular
aim of attracting attention and reaching people spurned by the
established church.
The assault incorporated both men and women as
evangelists, preachers and leaders.
In the eyes of many, it was the latter gender that
added yet one more ecclesiastical indignity to this ragamuffin
battalion of embarrassing enthusiasts.
From this
inauspicious beginning, The Salvation Army has evolved into a
multi-faceted international movement that is well respected
for its discipline, pragmatism, frugality and compassion.
The rowdiness of the early decades may have tempered,
and yet today’s cast of characters still evokes bemusement,
people not quite appropriate for refined sanctuary or
reflective academia.
Along the way an
interesting thing happened.
As others adopted her ideas and strategies, they became
humdrum for her.
What originally seemed so innovative now seems routine.
The use of
husband and wife teams is a good example.
The effectiveness and sheer novelty of the arrangement
is now commonplace to most Salvation Army communities of
faith. It has
been that way as long as Salvationists can remember.
Others are catching on.
Small businesses, large corporations, medical
establishments, institutions of higher learning – and even the
church – are beginning to see that a husband and wife team has
something distinctly advantageous to offer.
What’s going on
here? Are the
Army’s once distinctively sharp features now camouflaged
amidst a more conventional landscape?
Or is the movement poised to incisively engage a
culture that is steadily inclining towards to her once
avant-garde thinking?
Are the men and women of The Salvation Army ready ‘for
such a time as this?’
Married Officer Couples
The Salvation
Army has commissioned and given leadership to both men women
since William and Catherine Booth founded the movement in
1865. While William is often recognized as the dominant
founding figure, there is no doubt that Catherine had a vital
influence upon both him and the theological framework of the
Army. Roy Hattersley poignantly writes, “Without her it would
have been a different movement, as William Booth, without her,
would have been a different man.”
The expectancy that both husband and wife candidates
apply together for Officership was thus assumed from the early
years of the movement.
In most
territories today, it is not that The Salvation Army permits –
or even encourages – the ordination of husbands and wives; it
insists that for either a husband or a wife to become a
commissioned officer both spouses have to serve together.
One spouse alone cannot become commissioned.
Both husband and wife must profess a joint calling.
Both are commissioned together.
It is a uniquely identifying feature and theological
distinction of the movement.
The resulting
fundamental leadership model for its community of faith is the
married officer couple.
With 85% of its communities of faith headed by
specifically appointed husband and wife teams The Salvation
Army has the highest percentage of dual clergy couples of any
protestant denomination.
Suffice it to say, the married officer couple is an
inherent facet of the culture and organizational framework of
The Salvation Army.
Management guru Peter Drucker even describes the
husband-wife officer team ministry as one of the reasons for
The Salvation Army’s “staying power.”
This legacy
positions The Salvation Army to speak with some authority on
the subject of dual clergy couples.
The denomination has had to wrestle with the pragmatic
considerations of implementing dual clergy couple leadership
for many decades.
As a result the movement is qualified to share its
experiential reflections.
The Salvation Army has hundreds of experienced married
officer couples that can offer counsel, insights and
experience on the matter.
Conclusion
Missionally, The
Salvation Army is effectively poised to engage a culture that
is wrestling with the familial and marital ramifications of
fully employed parents.
A healthy married officer relationship can publically
model restoration amidst the broken relationship between men
and women as a result of the fall.
In this sense it is powerfully evangelistic.
Structurally, The
Salvation Army is positioned to attract the increasing numbers
of couples looking for ministry opportunities together.
Ecclesiologically, The Salvation Army is well qualified to
contribute towards church dialogue that is now underway
concerning couples in ministry.
Yes indeed,
Salvation Army married officer leadership seems primed “for
such a time as this.”
Are we ready to
say, ‘I do?’
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