The Past is Good
by
Andrew Bale
1 The past is good.
In the following quote, taken from an address delivered at the
International Staff Councils 1904, William Booth posed, what
was for him, the unthinkable question:
“The past is good - excellent; but will the Army abide or will
it be as the morning cloud and the early dew, that melt away
and leave no trace behind? Will it be as the bubble which,
though it sparkles with glittering hues in the sunlight for a
season, soon bursts and is seen no more?… Shall the Salvation
Army, the child of our dearest hopes, our fondest dreams, and
our deepest devotion, perish after this fashion? What do you
say my comrade? What do I say myself? You ask.
The Founder went on to say that he rejected ‘the question as
frivolous’. Indeed he saw the question ‘as an aspersion on the
devotion and toil’ of Salvationists for it assumed ‘the
possibility of their ceasing to live holy lives, loosing their
love for souls, ceasing to offer their burning prayers, and
stopping the fight in which they glory, for the salvation of
their dying fellow men.’
In one sense the Founder’s prophetic optimism has been
justified – The Salvation Army is still here. However, even
the most loyal supporter, would have to accept that in the
western territories at least, it bears very little resemblance
to the Army that Booth foresaw. We know that this is true
because in the same address the General goes on to describe
his vision of a future Salvation Army and it does not look
like the organisation which survives today. I am drawing
comparisons to the Army in the western world; Booth would be
quite at home with much of the Army in the developing world.
In his vision Booth sees four things.
The first is a general picture of a united Army involved in a
‘conflict - a fight - no! More than a fight - a long continued
war.’ In which ‘Officers and Soldiers, Senior and Junior, far
more enthusiastically inspired, and efficiently skilled than
in all the past, all take hearty and earnest part.’
He then describes the work of the Army’s social wing in which
he sees ‘the most complete and extended arrangements for the
rescue of the drunkard of which the world has ever dreamed.’
He predicts that everywhere there will be “inebriate homes for
men, inebriate homes for women’ and that these homes will be
‘a self-sustaining success’ which guarantees the deliverance
of ‘thousands - nay, hundreds of thousands’.
He then turns his eyes to the Officers yet to be and he sees
‘a crowd of not less than 100,000 Officers, men and women of
all nations, races and tongues, whose business it is to make
Salvation known among the multitudes… far beyond anything
known at present in quality… and all are favoured with a far
superior training to that of their forerunners who are
struggling in the War today.’ He describes the Training
College of the future as ‘the World’s University for Training
men and women to deal with the universal sins, vices and
sufferings of humanity…’
Finally the General’s vision encompasses ‘the Salvation
Citadel’ he states that ‘ no city and no neighbourhood of any
dimensions - indeed, no village, - can be found without one.’
These ‘Salvation Citadels’ are described as being ‘not only a
house of prayer and a Battery of Salvation, but a centre of
every conceivable humanising and spiritualising influence and
activity... every Citadel is a centre from which proceeds the
religious visitation of every house around it, whether
occupied by rich or poor, a source of friendship for every
sick, friendless and suffering one: a responsible force for
the oversight and religious ministration of every drinking
saloon, concert hall, and theatre in the district: a fountain
of merciful oversight for every gambling den round about.’
Even someone looking through red, yellow and blue tinted
glasses could not fail to perceive that the reality we see
around us today falls well short of the Founder’s vision.
Booth saw an Army that would grow numerically, professionally
and in evangelistic effectiveness:-
Somewhere along the way the old man’s vision has faltered and
the reason why can be found in what Booth refused to accept as
possible yet which has today become a reality. Booth saw
decline and death as unthinkable simply because it could only
happen as the direct result of our movement losing four things
– four things which were so basic and fundamental to authentic
Salvationism that is was quite simply beyond his belief that
they could disappear.
Those four essentials of primitive Salvationism were:
• Every soldier living a holy life
• Every soldier possessing a practical love for souls,
• Every soldier offering burning prayers,
• Every soldier actively fighting for the salvation of others.
If we assume that the Army in the western territories is dying
then there are two ways we can debate its impending death
(based on Booth’s vision) - we can discuss whether or not the
essentials listed above have been lost (and to what degree) or
we can simply accept Booth’s logic and admit that our current
decline is proof of that loss.
There is of course a third option which dismisses Booth’s
vision and demands that the Army of today needs to be
demolished completely and rebuilt from the ground up. The
writer, whilst recognising that such an opinion exists,
dismisses it on the grounds that the unique denominational
witness God raised the Army up to express still needs to be
heard (and seen) by the wider church. The question asked (and
answered by this series) is not is the Army dying but can the
Army live again? The answer, I believe, is found in how much
we value those four essentials.
2 Every soldier living a holy life
William Booth identified 4 essentials he considered to be
crucial to the survival and development of the Army. The first
of those four essentials is holiness.
It is my firm belief that the rediscovery of practical
personal holiness will prove to be the salvation of The
Salvation Army. Indeed, if time and space permitted, I think
one could build a convincing argument that this is the only
Salvation Army essential as the other three are all a direct
and natural consequence of holiness.
Let’s be honest – in today’s Army holiness is hardly ever
taught, hardly ever believed and hardly ever lived. Over the
years the Army has softened and watered down its definition of
holiness and the conclusions of the current doctrine book
would be considered vague – even derisory – by Salvationists
listening to the founder’s predictions in 1904.
For a definition of holiness as it was understood by the
Founder you need to go back (probably before the war). What
follows is a summary of Holiness as set out in the 1922
Doctrine Book.
“The sanctification of god’s people means their separation
from sin and their devotion to god. Entire sanctification is
complete deliverance from sin, and the devotion of the ‘whole
being, with all its gifts and capacities, to the love and will
of god.’
• The first condition of entire sanctification is conviction;
that is, seeing the need for being made holy.
• The second condition of entire sanctification is
renunciation; that is, giving up everything opposed to the
will of God. Renunciation must be forever, and it must be
entire, including everything that is known to be wrong.
Everything that seems doubtful, for the Bible shows such to be
sinful.
• The third condition of entire sanctification is
consecration; That is, the dedication to God of ourselves and
all we possess, to live only to please Him and do His will.
• The fourth condition of entire sanctification is faith;
• Assurance of entire sanctification is given by the Holy
Spirit.
• Sanctification is the work of God.
• Entire sanctification takes place instantaneously.
• The entirely sanctified are kept only by God.”
If we agree with William that holiness, as described above, is
essential to the growth and development of the Army then we
must rediscover both the power and the application of personal
holiness.
Ask a group of Salvationists under the age of 21 to give you a
definition of ‘salvation’ and most of them could come up with
a plausible answer – ask them to define ‘holiness’ and most of
them would struggle to deliver a credible response. Recent
Salvation Army publications (from the 1960’s on) have often
excelled at saying what holiness isn’t without finding the
courage to say exactly what it is!
Holiness is not complicated; it is simply the wilful obedience
of the greatest commandment - ‘Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind.'
(Matthew 22:37). Holiness is a matter of saying to yourself,
the world and the devil I belong to God to be used by him as,
when and how he sees fit. Sometimes we confuse holiness with
our Christian pilgrimage and therefore see it as a process.
God does not accept our ‘living sacrifice’ piecemeal, he wants
it all and he wants it immediately. If we give him 95% of
ourselves and knowingly hold back 5% then we are sin – an
unrepentant and deliberately disobedient person cannot be
saved (‘continuance in a state of salvation depends upon
continued obedient faith…)
Of course we can only surrender everything according to the
knowledge and revelation we have received – what God calls
‘all’ today’ he may identify as ‘partial’ tomorrow. Ongoing
revelation may be a process but holiness can only ever be an
instant transaction. Of course such an entire consecration is
only made possible by grace and sustained through faithful
obedience.
I came across a great quote the other day, I have been unable
to find the source but it simply stated that people often say
they value what they do but in reality people do what they
value. Holiness happens when we value God and his purposes,
when we value the lost, when we value time alone with God,
when we value Christian fellowship and time with the word.
Holiness happens when we value those things not just in an
intellectual or emotional way but when we value them in a
practical way.
Consecration means obedience to God and obedience to God means
a refusal to sin. Some Christians believe that sin is
inevitable this side of death. Such a notion would have been
quickly dismissed by our pioneers as heresy. Uncomfortable
though the thought is our doctrines remind us that our
salvation is dependant on our obedience. This is not to say
that we earn our salvation, salvation is the free gift of God,
what it does say is that wilful disobedience is sin and active
Christianity and sin do not mix. Holiness does not protect us
from error or stupidity but as long as we remain ‘set apart’
by the Holy Spirit it does save us from sin completely.
If we want to fulfil God’s plans for the Salvation Army then
we must once more raise this essential to its proper place
within our denominational display cabinet. The Salvation Army
is meant to be a holiness movement made up of fully
consecrated warriors who, by the grace of God, have gone on
their way determined to ‘sin no more’.
William Booth said in a letter written October 10, 1886:
"Bramwell wrote to me last week, saying that it is the
experiential realization and definite teaching of the blessing
of Holiness that alone can make us different from the other
organizations around us. I say Amen. And only this, it seems
to me can justify us in having any separate existence at all."
The good news is that holiness is not shunned by contemporary
Salvationists it is simply something that they are largely
unaware of. Let’s teach it, let’s live it, let’s enjoy it for
without it ‘none shall see the Lord.’
3. Every soldier possessing a practical love for souls,
The average Salvation Army Officer in the western territories
no longer has any real confidence in the ability of the gospel
to save a man instantly. Ouch! I can already feel the rotten
tomatoes and brickbats coming my way – but let us be
completely honest with ourselves. Imagine the scene, an
inebriated man staggers into the hall demanding material help
– what do we do? Do we:-
A) Immediately fall to our knees, clasping their hand and
start pleading for their soul.
B) Ask them to come back tomorrow and then start ringing round
trying to secure funding so that they can go through detox.
C) Give them a food parcel
D) Give them a travel voucher out of our city so that they
become somebody else’s problem.
We do not direct such people to the mercy seat as readily as
we ought to because we no longer think that their Salvation is
either, necessary or likely. Although all Salvationists and
Salvation Army Officers have signed up to the Doctrines many
of them no longer believe in judgement or hell and as a result
do not see their own Salvation or that of others as important.
Keith Green sums it up so much better than I can!
Do you see, do you see all the people sinking down
Don't you care, don't you care are you gonna let them drown
How can you be so numb not to care if they come
You close your eyes and pretend the job's done
"Oh bless me lord, bless me Lord" you know it's all I ever
hear
No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds and He cares for you needs
And you just lay back and keep soaking it in
Oh can't you see it's such a sin
'Cause He brings people to you door and you turn them away
As you smile and say "God bless you, be at peace"
And all heaven just weeps 'Cause Jesus came to you door
And you've left him out on the streets.
If we want the Army to survive and grow it isn’t going to
happen unless we all have a love for souls and it is
abundantly obvious that our passion for the lost is on the
wane.
How do we get a love for souls? Well first of all it helps to
be saved and to fully understand that we are saved It also
helps to recognise what we are saved from, what we are saved
to, and that our salvation is the result of God’s love and
mercy. We also need to believe that the salvation we enjoy is
as readily available to others. Where does a love for souls
come from? It comes from a natural desire to share with other
people that ‘life in all its fullness’ which has so radically
altered and improved our own lives. A man cured from a
hitherto incurable disease will automatically point any other
sufferer he meets towards the cure. In the same way a truly
saved Salvationist will naturally possess a love for souls.
Some argue that our earliest converts were familiar with the
teachings of the bible and that society generally accepted the
bible as true. Proponents of this theory would argue that if a
Salvationist in 1880 confronted a sinner for long enough with
the gospel the inevitable result would be repentance. This
theory is well passed its sell by date and in desperate need
of dismissal. Many of the Army’s earliest converts had
experienced no contact with any kind of religious education
whatsoever, many of them were unable to read or write and were
accurately identified by the Army as belonging to an
un-churched underclass. The gospel preached and the methods
used in reality were no more culturally relevant to the
un-churched masses then as might be the case today. The truth
is that the gospel has never been culturally relevant – this
was true when Judaic monotheistic Christians tried to convert
polytheistic Greeks and Romans in the first century and it
remains so today.
Our need is not to make the gospel (nor the Army) culturally
relevant but to simply recognise the relevance of the gospel
full stop. The world needs Jesus, sinners need Jesus and it is
the responsibility (and ought to be the natural desire) of the
Salvationist to go after them. Without judgement, without
hell, without heaven the Salvation Army is indeed redundant.
We were raised up to be a mission engaged in the active
redemption of the lost – quite literally plucking souls from
the fires of hell. Take away man’s universal need for
salvation, take away the urgency of our evangelism and we
become like a hospital without patients or worse - Doctors
without a cure.
In order to rediscover this essential our soldiers once again
need to become ‘saved to save’. Collectively The Salvation
Army needs to become a living corporate testimony to both the
need for and the efficacy of Salvation. The truth is that not
‘one’ but millions of souls ‘remain without the light of God’
and God still requires an Army to go and fight for them.
O is not the Christ 'midst the crowd of today
Whose questioning cries do not cease?
And will he not show to the hearts that would know
The things that belong to their peace?
But how shall they hear if the preacher forbear
Or lack in compassionate zeal?
Or how shall hearts move with the Master's own love,
Without his anointing and seal?
In George Scott Railton’s book “Heathen England” printed in
1877, the old warrior expounding the value of open-air
evangelism is asked “How many are considered necessary to
undertake a procession?” – Railton’s response – ‘One!’
4. Every soldier offering burning prayers
The following quote, taken from the same series of addresses
(initially delivered to Staff Officers in 1904 by William
Booth) on which this series is based, gives us Booth’s take on
prayer (his pragmatic common sense, powers of observation and
wisdom never cease to amaze.)
“It seems to me… that there are several kinds of praying:-
One man prays to man. That is – he prays for the approval of
those about him. He wants them to think well of him and his
performance. He prays for the information, or comfort, or
benefit of those for whom he prays, and whose benefit he
seeks, and to whom he wishes to do good. Still, it is prayer
to man, and there is no attempt to get anything from God in
it. That is not aggressive prayer.
Another man prays to himself. He prays to his own mind. His
performance is an intellectual exercise, and if he thinks he
has made a well-sounding prayer he is content. There is no
attempt to influence the mind of God, or to get anything from
God. At best, it is like stagnant water.
Another, prays into space, as it were. He opens his mouth, and
utters a sentence. This sentence calls up another; and on he
goes, until he has gone his round, or occupied as much time as
he considers necessary, and then he says ‘Amen.’ He may have
good and earnest desires in all this, and the thing may sound
rather fine, but you cannot call that aggressive prayer. It is
more like sounding brass.
Another man fixes his mind upon the thing he wants, and the
God to whom he has come for it. He seizes the opportunity to
ask God for it, and believes that He hears his request. There
is something likely to follow such an appeal.”
If you ask the average Salvationist how much, on a scale of
one to ten, (1 being high) they value prayer most would
respond with ‘one’. If they were then asked to share how much
time they devoted to prayer it is unlikely that they would be
willing to provide a candid answer. As with holiness we are in
danger of losing almost completely our unique call as a
movement to ‘aggressive prayer’.
The Salvation Army was birthed in ‘aggressive prayer’. This is
the kind of intercession that mirrors the struggle of Jacob
when he wrestled with God. It is intercession that believes,
that expects, that demands in faith. It is the kind of
‘importune’ prayer that Christ described in the parable in
Luke 11:5-8 which is almost improper or rude in its urgency.
It is the type of prayer that often continues into the early
hours of the morning or goes without sleep completely, it is
often accompanied by fasting and repentance.
Booth described such intense intercession as ‘burning prayers’
and such prayers are the fuel of The Salvation Army. Once upon
a time the meeting (whether it focussed on salvation or
holiness) was merely the appetiser with the main course being
the prayer meeting. The notion of a prayer meeting following
the main meeting is all but lost from the contemporary
Salvation Army. Indeed the most once can expect today is a
hastily cobbled together appeal tagged onto the end of the
meeting - sometimes nothing more than the selection of a
quieter or more reflective song and sometimes not even that.
How many times have we sat in meetings and sensed the
readiness of souls to convert or consecrate yet no opportunity
has been given.
How can we rescue sinners and see saints regenerated without
‘aggressive prayer’. If we are to ‘Tread all the powers of
darkness down and win the well-fought day’ if as an Army we
are going to go on from ‘strength to strength’ then we are
going to have to ‘wrestle and fight and pray’
The following extract from the Newcastle Daily Chronicle,
Wednesday 21st May 1879 describes the practice, purpose and
result of such prayer:
“Several figures are bent double near the platform, groaning
and wringing their hands… Penitents! Are these penitents who
kneel on the form and wring their hands? Or are they persons
struck with the contagion of over- wrought enthusiasm?
Half a-dozen crop-headed youths are praying vociferously, with
their faces towards me. Did I say praying? It was vociferous
shouting, with closed eyes. Their bodies sway to and fro;
their hands are lifted, and brought down again with a thump on
the form; they contort themselves as if they were in acute
agony.
The converts retire to their seats with red faces. Let us
follow one of them. He is a broad- faced, shock-headed youth,
of about twenty. A few minutes since, he was foaming out of a
well-developed mouth. Now he is dancing about the floor,
shouting "hallelujah" and wringing the hands of all those who
will yield their arm to him. Anon he will mount one of the
forms, and shout his experience into the middle of a hubbub
which condemns him to remain unheard. Then he will waltz round
again, alternately laugh and cry, and go through a new course
of hand-shaking. He has in fact been converted.”
If we are to survive and prosper as an Army it will be on the
back of our ‘burning prayers’. Let the true Salvationist
wheedle out those prayers made to man, to ourselves or worse
spoken into space and let him fix his “mind upon the thing he
wants, and the God to whom he has come for it.’ Let him ‘seize
the opportunity to ask God for it, and believe that He hears
his request.” For as the Founder reminds us “There is
something likely to follow such an appeal.”
5. Every soldier actively fighting for the salvation of
others
“But the victory which above all others we prize, in the open
air as well as elsewhere, is the salvation of souls on the
spot. We constantly invite seekers of salvation to come and
kneel down in the midst of our ring before everybody, to plead
for mercy. And, thank God! The invitation has very often met
with a hearty response” so said George Scott Railton in his
famous Salvation Army apologetic ‘Heathen England”.
God raised up The Salvation Army to save souls, if our
evangelistic methods do not deliver the maximum number of
converts in the minimum amount of time they we are failing our
calling. First and foremost we should be constantly engaged in
battling for the Salvation of the world.
Like any other Army engaged in active conflict we must
dedicate every available resource towards the front line. Our
troops must be armed, trained, led, deployed, fed, nursed
(when wounded fighting) and when caught by the enemy rescued.
In short we have to be engaged at all levels in fighting for
the salvation of others. This practical and sacrificial
commitment to battle is the fourth essential outlined by Booth
in his vision of the future and like the first three it is
largely lacking in our modern movement.
An 1878 advertisement for Salvation Army Officers asked the
following to apply:
“Men and women of God, anxious to devote their lives to the
work of saving souls… who can talk to a crowd of people… so as
to wound sinners hearts; who can lead a godly band of men and
women to do anything likely to win souls.”
Conversely the same advert requested that the following need
not apply:
“Those who do not think they can be expected to exhaust all
their strength in labouring day and night to save souls.”
As the song says ‘Salvation is our motto’ and so it needs to
be. Our very name ought to prove to even the most sceptical
doubter what God intended our main occupation to be.
In the quote that opened this series William Booth foresaw “‘a
conflict - a fight - no! More than a fight - a long continued
war.’ In which ‘Officers and Soldiers, Senior and Junior, far
more enthusiastically inspired, and efficiently skilled than
in all the past, all take hearty and earnest part.’
If holy living, a love for the lost and intense intercession
are essentials of Salvationism how much more is the
requirement that every part of our structure, every resource,
every covenanted soldier and Officer is spent in the salvation
of the world.
If we take an un-blinkered look at ourselves – warts and all –
we will see that much of what keeps us busy is evangelically
unproductive. We have plenty of coffee shops that provide a
secure environment for elderly shoppers to chat, we have a
surfeit of charity shops where people can grab a bargain, and
we have a host of various clubs and fellowships which
entertain the saints but very little in the way of militant
evangelism. Now there is nothing wrong with service rendered
in love which does not seek to save but simply to help and
support – but we need to remember that as important as such
service is it is not our raison d'etre.
In his book ‘Lost Prophets’ Commissioner Brengle described
what he thought would become of the Army if ‘love leaked out’,
does the following picture describe with any accuracy the Army
of 2006:
“We may still house the homeless, dole out food to the hungry,
punctiliously perform our routine work, but the mighty
ministry of the Spirit will no longer be our glory. Our
musicians will play meticulously; our Songsters will revel in
the artistry of song
that tickles the ear, but leaves the heart cold and hard. Our
Officers will make broad their phylacteries and hob-nob with
mayors and councilmen and be greeted in the market-place, but
God will not be among us. We shall still recruit our ranks and
supply our Training Garrisons with Cadets from among our own
Young People, but we shall cease to be saviours of the lost
sheep that have no shepherd.”
If I have a useful tool that no longer functions then I try
and repair it, if the damage is irreparable then I throw it
away – or to use a biblical metaphor – if I dig a trench
around my vine and water it but it continues to produce no
fruit then I cut it down and throw it on the fire (Luke
13:6-9)
God raised up The Salvation Army because he needed a militant
company of covenanted warriors who were totally consecrated to
him and completely devoted to the evangelism of the lost. He
still needs such a tool – indeed his need is greater today
than it has ever been. He doesn’t need another church – café,
community or otherwise he needs an Army. If the Army is to
survive and grow then it needs to find the self confidence to
be itself. The Army cannot love the lost until it loves itself
and is completely happy with the calling that God has bestowed
upon it.
In the words of a somewhat antiquated panel game it is time
for the real Salvation Army to stand up. God is checking the
fuse, oiling the motor and hoping that his beloved tool will
spring to life – if it doesn’t he’ll throw it away and simply
create a new one.
Last year I attended the British Congress. The evening meeting
on the Sunday was excellent. A good sermon was followed by a
lengthy and fruitful prayer meeting culminated in many
decisions. I left the auditorium optimistic and upbeat. As I
made my way through the throng to the exit an African officer
resplendent in his stand up collar white uniform approached me
– to this day I don’t know who he was? He embraced me – indeed
he lifted me off the floor! He looked me in the eye and said
“Don’t worry brother, the revival is coming, it wont always be
like this; the revival is coming!”
Fill us with thy Holy Spirit;
Make our soldiers white as snow;
Save the world through Jesus' merit,
Satan's kingdom overthrow.
Bless our Army! Bless our Army!
Send us where we ought to go.
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