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Discovering the Genesis Person
Within
by
Commissioner Joe Noland
Some see
things as they were
Others see things as they are
Few see things as they will be
Negativism is antithesis to creation and innovation. For this
reason, in the title of my latest book project, I have crossed
out the letters “no” in Inxxvation and replaced them with the
letters “yes,” thereby taking innovation to a higher spiritual
realm.
“Yes!” to Genesis
In the beginning God was saying “No!” to status quo (“status
no”) and “Yes!” to Genesis (Creation): Sky, land, oceans,
plants, sun, moon, fish, wild animals, cattle, reptiles, man,
woman: “YES!” Genesis is the spiritual counterpart to
innovation (a secularly derived concept). Genesis takes the
“no” out of innovation and replaces it with “yes.” Allow me to
invent a new word here, “Inyesvation” which now becomes a
modern Genesis counterpoint.
Monument to Genesis
Cornel West, Professor of Religion, Princeton, writes:
“America—this monument to the genius of ordinary men and
women, this place where hope becomes capacity, this long,
halting turn of the NO into the YES, needs citizens who love
it enough to re-imagine and remake it.”
Permit me to paraphrase the above this way: The Salvation
Army—this monument to the Genesis of ordinary men and women,
this place where hope becomes capacity, this long, halting
turn of the NO into the YES, needs soldiers who love it enough
to re-imagine and remake it – see things as they will be.
Gordon MacKenzie writes in his book, Orbiting the Giant
Hairball, “Genesis is ‘finding in the chaos beyond culture
antidotes for the stagnation of status quo.’”
Church Quiescent
The Salvation Army in its epochal Genesis years, dared
courageously and with great conviction to sing and dance in
the chaos beyond the culture that spawned its early pioneers.
And what about organized religion during this time? Findley
Dunachie notes in his historical writings, “The church
quiescent supports the status quo. In neither country was the
established Church a force for change…”
Quiescent: Inactive or at rest. Dormant. Inert.
(Encarta) Devoid of passion (Noland)
Passion: Fervor. Zeal. Enthusiasm. Commitment.
William Booth’s passion for these displaced souls disturbed
the quiescence of New Connexion Methodism greatly, so much so,
that at their 1861 annual conference in Liverpool a decision
was made to minimize the magnitude of Booth’s ministry. This
action disquieted the soul of his wife Catherine, so much so,
that from the gallery she spontaneously stood forth and cried
out...
Never!
When Catherine said, “Never!” she was saying “Yes!” to Genesis
and “No!” to status quno. This is one of those rare instances
where the word, “No!” is appropriate because, in this case, a
“yes” would have been a “no” to Genesis. In the same breath
she said “No!” to culture and “Yes!” to need.
Souls crying out in dizzying confusion
Two of them spiritually aware
Products of unwieldy, chaotic diffusion
Yielded together in prayer
Desperately seeking a healing infusion
Asking, “Who’s out there to care?”
Viewed by some an unwanted intrusion.
Thus igniting their passion with flare!
NEVER!
This one word, felt passionately and delivered spontaneously
ignited a Genesis movement, unstoppable. Chaos is the
incubator for creativity and inyesvation; Passion is its fuel
and energy (The singing and dancing part, so much so that...).
Passion: Spontaneous spiritual combustion (Noland).
Compass Points
The danger always is that passion becomes an end in itself,
rather than a means to an end. Passion without vision is
eternally purposeless. If passion is the fuel, vision is the
destination – seeing things as they will be.
There can be no destination without the journey. Risk-takings
are the compass points to help chart the course. Trial and
error is an essential component of Genesis thinking and
progress, with adjustments and course corrections required
periodically along the way.
When there is risk involved, the conditioned response is to
say, “No!” There can be no pioneering spirit without a healthy
dose of “Say Yes!” risk-taking. Say what? Without it the
wheels will spin, going nowhere. Translation: “Status Quno.”
Movement Making Ventures
Every time Jesus said “No!” to law and “Yes!” to love, those
were risk-taking compass points. When Luther nailed his 95
Thesis to the church door at Wittenberg that was a critical
compass point. When Catherine said, “Never!” that was a
ministry-changing point. When William said, “No!” to
“Volunteer” and “Yes!” to “Salvation” Army, military
nomenclature, uniforms, et al, this represented a course
correction point. Without these risk-taking compass points,
three movement making, inyesvative ventures would have gone
nowhere.
Venture: an undertaking that is dangerous, daring, or
of uncertain outcome – The Free Dictionary.
Booth outlined TSA venture clearly when he observed,
"Beginning as I did with a clean sheet of paper, wedded to no
plan... willing to take a leaf out of anybody's book... above
all, to obey the direction of the Holy Spirit... we tried
various methods and those that did not answer we
unhesitatingly threw overboard and adopted something else.”
There is nothing traditional or status quno about this kind of
venturesome spirit.
Questions
Certain questions immediately beg themselves. Are we at a
critical compass point juncture in the journey today? What
would Dunachie be saying, writing in 2009? Would it be, “The
church quiescent supports the status quo. In no Western
country is the established Church a force for change…?” The
emphases being on “established.”
Would Catherine Booth’s soul be similarly disquieted today,
thus altering her observation ever so slightly: “The more I
see of fashionable Salvationism, the more I despise it.
NEVER!”
Would General Wilfred Kitching, who is still with us in
spirit, be saying with even greater urgency, “When the
Salvationist looks back to the early days of our Movement, he
begins to wonder if any group of Christians showed a greater
expression of originality [passion, vision and risk-taking].
We need to examine our multifarious Corps activities to see if
they have become merely symbols of what was once a virile
expression of aggressive evangelism?”
Discovery
The Salvation Army began its journey as a Genesis movement. Is
it still one today? If so, is it wholly or sporadically? These
questions and more define the premise of my book in progress,
its byline reading: “Discovering the Genesis Person Within.”
You can fill in the blanks and follow along as it progresses
over at www.joenoland.com: Inyesvation Link.
Its chapters are exploratory in nature; you will have to
provide the answers personally. Let the Genesis discovery
(venture) begin, within and without. YES!
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