JAC Online

Interview: Andrew Grinnell

Original Publication - JAC #46, December 2006 – January 2007

 

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:

 

AG: I'm Andrew Grinnell and I live in Leeds in the north of England with my wife and three children. I work for ALOVE as the Emerging Mission Officer and am passionate about seeing churches developed in some of the toughest areas/ estates in the UK.

 

JAC: Tell us, about your salvation and sanctification.

 

AG: I was brought up in the Salvation Army and so I guess I inherited much of my early spirituality from a mixture of the belief of my parents and the Salvation Army corps I found myself in. Loads changed during my mid to late teens firstly as I encountered Christians from other churches and secondly as I started to try and work out what faith meant to me directly, not only as someone who was born into it. Throughout the last 10 years it’s been much of the same, as I wrestle with who God is, who I am and how together we might not only survive the world, but see it transformed as well.

 

JAC: What engages your passions and energies these days.

 

AG: well, although loads of different things energise me, I suppose it all boils down to a few things. I love building bridges for people to walk over and connect with each other. That is in so many different areas, whether its people in my community who don't know each other, different church leaders who are unaware of what each other is doing, those who have dreams and passions and no-one to share them with or people applying to be involved in one of our programmes. There's something about seeing people connecting for the first time with the intent of making a difference!!!

 

Another area would be in seeing people get it. Again that's on a variety of levels but I'm passionate about people understanding more about God, the universe and how to live in it. In many ways this mirrors my own journey and wrestle and so as I enjoy those ah-ha moments, I love seeing others having them as well.

 

In the middle of all this is probably my greatest passion to see the poor encounter the Kingdom of God. I want to see the poorest communities in the

UK being built into real community, and people getting it as they experience the love of Christ. I want to see Christians sharing this vision and getting out to live in these places to see God's transformative grace at work.

 

JAC: What is your role with The Salvation Army?

 

AG: Fortunately my role fits perfectly with these passions. I work for ALOVE as the emerging mission officer and two main responsibilities. Firstly I oversee the development of the NEO strategy

www.salvationarmy.org.uk/alove/neo which plants teams of people on estates in the UK. We've currently got nine teams out there and we're researching and planning for more. Secondly, I'm responsible for creating and developing training courses to help with this. I guess one of the greatest excitements for our teams are that there often is loads of energy, desire and passion to do something. This is great but shear energy alone will not plant long-term sustainable churches. We need to give people the theological, spiritual and mission resources to help them keep going for a long time.

 

JAC: What is your mission/calling?

 

AG: Difficult to separate from the above. I guess the only thing I'd add is that I'm also called to be involved in it locally. It’s not just my job all this, I shouldn't only go around theorising about how to do it, I'm called to be involved in it on a day-to-day level. A few of us have just moved in to this estate in Leeds to bring a bit of change, and to be changed as we seek God out there.

 

JAC: How does The Army support your war-fighting?

 

AG: On the practical level it pays me so that's a start. But beyond that it places me in a tradition with a heritage that is about all that I'm about - seeing the orphan, widow and stranger (as the Old Testament puts it) transformed by the gospel of Christ.

 

JAC: How do you influence people?

 

You: Badly!!! I guess it's a long haul. You build relationships by learning to listen to others, and then speaking when the times right. If all that's backed up by someone who's living as authentically as they possible can, I think people are influenced, even if it means they only change a little.

 

JAC: What are your dreams for the next several years?

 

You: To keep seeing communities transformed by planting a whole bunch of other teams. To see my children grow up as authentic disciples, and to see a bit of transformation in my own community.

 

JAC: What are the keys to successful warfare on your front and the larger salvation war?

 

You: Humility, vulnerability, courage and thinking!!! You can't do it any other way as far as I know and I'm very much committed to making sure that the last of these is not neglected. Getting out there is vital, reflecting on what we learn there is key.

 

JAC: How are you and your comrades strengthening The Salvation Army?

 

AG: By opening up new opportunities for mission.

 

JAC: What are some of the dangers we have to face in the coming years? (and how?)

 

AG: Not to become too self absorbed and self obsessed. It strikes me the church in general spends more time trying to articulate who it is to each other than engaging in the real issues in the world. In truth, the people on our estate probably don't care too much about what we wear, how we describe ourselves, what role we play within the denominational structure. They just want people around them that will make a difference for them and care. I guess we need to stop taking ourselves too seriously and get on with making a difference.

 

JAC: What final exhortation have you for this audience?

 

AG: I think Richard of Chichester puts it best: 'to love you (God) more dearly, follow you more nearly, know you more clearly, day by day.'

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

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