History, Identity, and Destiny
by Commissioner Wesley Harris
HENRY FORD,
the famous car maker, is reported to have said that ‘history
is all bunk’. Some of us might have sympathized with that
point of view when in our youth history seemed to be no more
than long lists of names and dates we were required to
memorize. But properly understood history is not all bunk and
it is unlikely that a man as smart as Ford really thought so
either.
History is corporate memory and a movement such as The
Salvation Army without an awareness of its history could well
suffer an identity crisis and be somewhat like a person with
Alzheimer's disease. Unaware of where we have been we may have
little clue as to where we are going.
If some among us have lost their identity cards a stiff dose
of history might be prescribed. Wisdom was not born with our
generation and we may learn from those who have gone before us
– from their mistakes as well as their successes.
Jewish people have always regarded history as immensely
important. As they have sought to go forward they have tended
to look back for encouragement. The Old Testament shows that
the Jews thought of Yahweh as the God of history and
especially as the one who brought their forefathers out of
bondage in Egypt.
With a similar perspective Dr G. Campbell Morgan declared,
‘History is His story if only we can get high enough to see it
that way’. We may see Army history in the same light and
perhaps take comfort from the words of George Bernard Shaw,
‘God is not in the hands of the Church. The Church is in the
hands of God’.
But if we see the hand of God in the making of our movement we
may also see how it has been molded by the conditions and
cultures in which it has developed. For example, the social
and economic situation in 19th century did much to shape us in
our formative years.
Not only our organization but also our theology may have been
affected by developments in the wider world. In Victorian
times there was widespread belief in the inevitability of
progress. Tennyson could write finely of ‘the one far off
divine event to which the whole creation moves’ and from a
different perspective Karl Marx could envisage a classless
society. Things could only get better.
In this setting most evangelicals were post milleniallists who
believed that the Church would win the world for Jesus and
that then the Lord would come and set up his kingdom. As
Professor Roger Green has pointed out William Booth believed
that in this his Army had a leading role to play. Hence the
huge expectations with which he led his troops into the fray.
They were going somewhere. Victory was near – perhaps within
12 years!
Roger Green cites an article in All the World dated summer
1890 in which William Booth pictured London as the new
Jerusalem with Hyde Park roofed in as the venue for non-stop
congress meetings! It was heady stuff, but optimism – secular
and ecclesiastical – was jolted by the horrors of the first
World War and the revelation of the depths of depravity to
which so-called civilized nations could sink.
Since, many evangelical Christians have become
pre-milleniallists believing that the human state is such that
only the return of Christ can sort it out and that it is vain
to hope that we can win the world for Jesus. A study of Army
songs might reveal some modification of expectations in this
connection. The apostolic optimism with which we began is less
evident today and so may be the cutting edge of our
evangelism.
If 20th century wars had an indirect effect theologically they
certainly had a serious impact on Army operations,
particularly in Europe where our forces were often greatly
reduced. In other parts of the world such as Africa, despite
tribal and other conflicts, great growth has occurred.
The development of technology has been both a boon and a bane
for the Army. For example, in many places the motorcar has
made it easier for people to get to meetings and also for more
to miss meeting and search for recreation at the sea or
countryside.
The TV has led some to stay in front of the box instead of
gathering for worship but has also provided some opportunities
to reach a much wider circle. When I interviewed the late
Commissioner Bramwell-Booth she agreed that through the mass
media she had reached far more people after she was
ninety-five than in all her years before that time.
William Booth is reported to have said that there should be
adaptation of method but continuity of principle and his
dictum has never been more pertinent than in our post modern
world where change is rapid and can be destabilizing.
History is be like a broad river flowing steadily and carrying
communication and commerce with it. Then the river changes its
level and flows down rapids. Its course is broken by jagged
rocks. There is turbulence, white water and whirlpools.
The period through which we are passing is like that. Whereas
in the past change may have been gradual and predictable now
it is speedy. Some find this intimidating and try to avoid the
rapids by clinging to the bushes on the banks. Others face the
challenge of change determined to ride the rough water, keep
their balance and avoid the rocks which could wreck their best
intentions.
As Army leaders we need to cope with change and use it to
further the unchanging values which are ours – without
becoming what I would describe as ‘change junkies’. My concern
would be about those who would change everything as well as
those who want to change nothing!
When those with the benefit of hindsight assess the current
period of Army history how will they judge us. Will they say
that we have been too wary of change or that we have been too
easily carried away by the currents of passing opinion?
What are the signs of the times? History is now as well as
then. The identity and destiny of the Army under God is
something to which we are all making a contribution which may
be greater than we know.
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