Soldier Interview - Aaron White
Canada & Bermuda Territory
JAC interviewed soldiers from five territories regarding
battle issues that we all face. We expect that most of you
will learn much on what the problems and solutions are in this
great salvation conflict. We esteem the interviewees as those
fighting hard and committed to glorifying Jesus as they
capture, train, and deploy on very different fronts.
JAC: Quick bio:
AW: Aaron White, along with his wife Cherie and their 4 kids,
live and minister in Vancouver’s notorious Downtown Eastside,
labeled North America’s poorest postal code. He serves as the
Youth Cell Coordinator and co-CSM at Vancouver 614, and spends
most of his time working with at-risk teens and children,
visiting schools, writing cell outlines, and helping lead the
24-7 prayer movement in Canada. He loves Jesus, loves
authentic Christian community, loves reading, and loves
eggnog.
JAC: Tell us, about your salvation and sanctification.
AW: I was brought up in a Christian home, and made my first
public commitment to Christ at a Cub camp at the age of six.
My first act after “praying the prayer” was to ask my friend
why he wasn’t doing it too. Might have set a pattern for my
life.
In university I realized that I really only had my parent’s
faith. This was not entirely a bad thing; my parents love me,
and I trust them, so at the very least it gave me the tools
with which to make an informed decision about faith. But I did
have to know the reasons for my own belief, especially in the
face of peer and Prof. pressure at the University of Victoria.
After a great deal of intellectual, moral, and spiritual
struggle I made a recommitment to Christ.
Though I had been brought up in The Salvation Army, the
mission to the poor had never really been brought home to me.
I had stood on Kettles and been thanked for “all the good work
I do”, but I had really no clue what good work The Army was
doing.
It was only when I got a summer job working at a men’s shelter
and halfway house that I began to understand the mission of
The Salvation Army.
It was during this time that I started trying to figure out
holiness. I began reading a bunch of spiritual classics, and
everyone seemed to be all on about holiness, like it was
something important. Then I started reading about the early
Army stuff, and again, holiness, holiness, holiness. They
wouldn’t shut up about it.
So I started praying for holiness, primarily in terms of
intimacy with the Holy Spirit. I remember reading a C.S. Lewis
book late one night after I got married, and he was describing
the love relationship that exists inside the Trinity. He
suggested that at the end of it all Jesus wanted to present
His bride to His Father, to show Him how beautiful she was,
kind of as a gift. I put the book down and began to pray for
that beauty, to pray that I could be a art of that precious
gift between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At that moment, I
lost control of my head.
I know it sounds weird, but my head started tilting backwards,
until it was positioned back as far as it would go, and my
face was pointed towards the ceiling. At the same time my
mouth was opening up as wide as it would go. Not painful, but
definitely odd.
I remained stuck in that pose for awhile, hoping that Cherie
wouldn’t come out, because I looked ridiculous. Then it ended,
and I regained control of my head. I thought, “Hmmmm. That was
strange. Thanks God for that, whatever it was.”
I looked down and continued reading. The very next line I read
was a quote from Psalm 81:10, which says, “Open wide your
mouth, and I will fill it with blessings.”
It was a moment of incredible Holy Spirit intimacy, the
promise of His goodness and righteousness in my life, and that
has been a touchstone in my life ever since.
JAC: What engages your passions and energies these days.
AW: Authentic Christian community, and through that community,
prayer, justice and mission. I work mostly with kids and
teens, and my desire is for them to come to know Jesus and to
build just, missional communities that impact their families,
communities and schools. I love introducing kids and teens to
the concept of justice as it is presented in Scripture, and
then watching them catch hold of it and run with it. You can’t
beat kids and teens for passion and idealism.
My passion and energy is also engaged by my family. I have a
phenomenal wife, and four awesome kids whom I love to bits and
pieces. They teach me more about God’s Kingdom every day.
JAC: What is your role with The Salvation Army?
AW: My wife and I serve as CSMs for 614 Vancouver, and I am
also responsible for kids and youth cells at the Corps. I work
part time for Vancouver Family Services as well, and help
teach at The War College. I am a soldier.
JAC: What is your mission/calling?
AW: To be a revolutionary for Jesus. To teach others,
especially kids and teens, to be the same. And to build
community in desperate places, right now (and for the long
foreseeable future) in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. To
be a good Dad and Husband.
JAC: How does The Army support your war-fighting?
AW: With oodles of cash! Or, slightly more realistically, with
some financial support, with the freedom to try things, and
with the support of leaders and workers who are prepared to
throw it all away after Jesus. It is a pretty ideal missions
environment.
JAC: How do you influence people?
AW: With passion, lifestyle, prayer, encouragement, presence,
and large, blunt objects.
JAC: What are your dreams for the next several years?
AW: I dream of four schools in particular being turned upside
down for Jesus. I dream of Oppenheimer Park (nicknamed Needle
Park) becoming a place where children can come and safely play
(it’s happening!) I see a community in which people aren’t
just evicted from their homes. I dream of drug rehab that
actually works because people have community to support them
when they are out. I dream of a Salvation Army that takes on
injustice and sin and isn’t afraid to get dirty or scandalous.
I see me still living in the DTES with my family, but our
community is a lot tighter, hopefully bigger, more abounding
in love (every day) and I have decent left-handed lay-up shot
in the low post.
JAC: What are the keys to successful warfare on your front and
the larger salvation war?
AW: Holiness, Compassion, Prayer, and Presence.
JAC: How are you and your comrades strengthening The Salvation
Army?
AW: I am personally bringing up four children who will know
(and already do know) what Blood and Fire means. And I’m
trying, along with my comrades, to teach it to all those whom
I influence.
Teaching and mentoring at The War College is also key here. I
believe it is a model for training and missions and leadership
that actually works, is cost effective, is reproducible, and
that people are drawn to.
JAC: What are some of the dangers we have to face in the
coming years? (and how?)
AW: Huge danger of apathy. Always. Do we have endurance in
this fight? Will we last? Or will we get world-weary, bored,
too busy looking for the next interesting shiny bauble? We
have to keep it before us that we are in a fight, the enemy is
real, and the fight matters for our world, for the people
around us. We need to stay hungry, and desperate for God. We
can’t stop praying.
JAC: What final exhortation have you for this audience?
AW: If you are finding Christianity to be boring, then you are
probably doing it wrong. Live lives of Holy risk for the King,
put it all on the line, every day. Follow Christ’s model of
compassion, love and grace for the unlikely and hurting, but
also do not forget that we are also called to be dangerous to
the dark things of this world.
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