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Each
For All and All For Each
by Commissioner Wesley
Harris
THE GENERAL’S emphasis on our being
one Army is timely
and not to be taken lightly.
It is an important matter.
For many of the years of my retirement I have had the
privilege of lecturing to key officers brought to Australia for
Administrative Courses.
Without fail I have marveled at the way in which people
from widely different backgrounds have so quickly demonstrated
that they have so much
in common. From
the beginning they have been ‘on the same page’ and
demonstrated a remarkable ‘oneness’ and in a much divided
world I have seen this as the Lord’s doing and marvelous in my
eyes. But our
remarkable unity in the Army despite enormous diversity is not
something we should take for granted.
It can be strengthened by administration,
the appointment of leaders, international congresses and
conferences and many other means.
In some parts of the universal Church there is much
emphasis on the local governance and
independence of
churches and that may be understood for if progress doesn’t
take place locally it can hardly take place at all! But from
our inception the Army has also encouraged connectedness, has
sought to speak with one voice
with the stronger and the weaker sharing fellowship
spiritually and helping each other practically.
Sometimes corps may describe themselves as, for
example, ‘the Blank town Salvation Army ’but that doesn’t mean
that there are
lots of separate
salvation armies!
There is one Army,
paradoxically the same yet different in thousands of
situations yet one in doctrine and mission
With all possible acceptance of local responsibility must go a
wider vision of our Army.
What has been called a ‘parish pump mentality’ should
not prevail. A united Army will make a more cohesive and
effective contribution to the Church Universal
and its mission than would one that was disparate.
Primarily, of course our unity is in Christ.
Because we belong to him we belong to each and are
comrades in an army dedicated to winning the world for Jesus’
Come join our Army!
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