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Interview with General Arnold Brown
from JAC Issue Five
J.A.C.: For those who haven't read The Gate and
the Light yet, please tell us
about your background, how you came to know Jesus, and how you
came to
know The Salvation Army.
AB: I was led to Christ by my godly mother, and at her knee.
During prayers she
carefully explained the way of Salvation, and rather tearfully
I joined her in
singing an old chorus: "My sins rose as high as a mountain.
They all disappeared
in the Fountain. He wrote my name down for a palace and crown,
Praise His
dear Name I'm free, I'm free." And I was!
As far as The Salvation Army is concerned, I was born into it.
My parents were
officers. All my father's brothers and sisters were also
officers. All but one
married, which meant that when the family gathered in the home
of my paternal
grandparents there were 13 officers present in full uniform,
all of them in charge
of corps on the British Field. (Present as a young boy, I
could be forgiven for
thinking that everyone in the world was a Salvationist!) I can
still hear that group
singing the old hymns while gathered around the harmonium
played by my
father. The one unmarried aunt was the only woman officer ever
to command the
renowned Regent Hall Corps. She was the one who, knowing I had
been "called,
"encouraged me to enter the College for Officer Training.
J.A.C.: You've been an innovator through your life, pioneering
Radio and
Television ministry, pace setting in Public Relations, and
advancing
administrative forms and function. What opportunities in the
21st century will
open up to the Army, and how do you believe we should exploit
them?
A.B.: I will not live through the 21st century, but I'm sure
that there will be
technological developments in the next 50 years that would
startle me. Science
has greatly improved man's lot, but the hungers of the heart
have remained, and
will remain. If The Army is sensitive to the leadings of the
Holy Spirit, its ministry
will be guided toward, and into, appropriate forms of
adaptation. Even in a totally
mechanized world, the human heart will be famished without the
Bread of Life.
Salvationists of the far future, who will themselves also be
engulfed in vast
societal changes, can take comfort in the fact that it is
"Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, today and for ever." All I hope is that they will
claim, and use, "the
wisdom that cometh from above."
J.A.C.: What is the most significant part of your ministry
today? Is it the writing,
the preaching, the legacy, or something else?
A.B.: I still consider preaching to be a high honour, and
though advancing years
militate against regular "specialling," to occupy platform or
pulpit and proclaim
Christ as Saviour remains an appreciated privilege. Divested
of administrative
burdens I have had more opportunity for writing, and I remind
myself that the
printed word has the possibility of reaching greater numbers
of people, and of
outlasting by far the spoken word. Both preaching and
devotional/inspirational
writing require prayerful preparation, and this, in itself, as
an exercise, is
rewarding.
J.A.C.: What are your dreams for The Salvation Army?
A.B.: That it remains a militant expression of the universal
church of Christ in the
world; that it will have a stronger voice on behalf of the
suffering and the needy in
the upper councils of legislation; that it will be acutely
aware of societal changes
as they are happening, and be imaginatively proactive. I dream
of an Army that is
rooted in tradition and flowering in contemporary relevance. I
dream of an Army
that increasingly makes an effective two-pronged thrust into
humanity; on the one
hand an unstoppable, vital, evangelical force, and on the
other a compassionate
movement dedicated to binding up the wounds of the world. I
don't dream of
"countless serried ranks" of Salvationists. A Gideon-Army can
be victorious!
J.A.C.: You have written about recipients of the Order of the
Founder in
FIGHTING FOR HIS GLORY. Other than those worthies, who has
been most
influential in shaping you into who you are today?
A.B.: They are legion! Many "unknowns" as well as "the knowns"
influenced my
life for good. I was taught to appreciate good music by Jack
Green, OF. I was
taught the writing craft by Colonels Hawkins, Webb and Putt,
under whom I
worked. I was taught pragmatic leadership by Commissioner
Wycliffe Booth
during his 9-year stay in the Canada/Bermuda Territory. I was
taught
statesmanship by General Erik Wickberg. I am still teachable,
and, hopefully, still
learning! In my private, domestic world, my greatest "teacher"
has been my wife,
an unfailing example when it comes to living by high and holy
principles.
J.A.C.: You are known as a widely read man. Which books have
influenced you
most?
A.B.: At the top of the list, of course, is the Bible. Next
(and strange as it may
seem) the dictionary! For literary style, Gibbons' "The
Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire." For character-sketching Tolstoy's "War and
Peace." For
information the 8 volumes of Will Durant's "History of
Civilization." For the
elements of effective preaching Dr. John Oman's "Concerning
the Ministry" (a
book I acquired before becoming an officer and which I've
re-read many times).
The foregoing comprise only a short, short list.
J.A.C.: Can you tell us of any memorable preaching you have
heard, and what
made it outstanding?
A.B.: As a youth, on a visit to London, England, I attended a
summer series of
sermons on the Gospel according to John delivered in the
Westminster Chapel
by the Rev. Campbell Morgan (1). His preaching affected me
deeply, as did the
preaching of Dr. W. E. Sangster of Westminster Central Hall.
Both preached with
a blend of scholarship and soul-winning passion. In Canada two
outstanding
preachers, both friends of mine and of The Army, are Dr.
Leonard Griffith and Dr.
John Gladstone. Both are now retired but still occupying
pulpits throughout North
America. Both are skilful users of illustration in a way that
all of us could well
emulate. So far as Army preachers (though he wouldn't use that
term about
himself) are concerned, General Albert Orsborn (with whom I
traveled for some
weeks as his ADC) could grip and move a congregation by his
eloquence when
dealing with a Calvary-related subject.
J.A.C.: What is God teaching you these days?
A.B.: To remember that "He's got the whole world in His
hands." The confusion of
the world, the decay of moral standards, the "inhumanity of
man to man" in so
many places, the decline in church attendance (which has to be
balanced against
an increased interest in things spiritual), could be fatally
upsetting were it not for
one's faith in God's omnipotence. I'm sure the Holy Sprit is
reminding me of this
when surprisingly often I hear in my head the song, "His eye
is on the sparrow,
and I know He cares for me."
J.A.C.: You have written of Canadian pioneers and Major Yin.
Who are your own
heroes?
A.B.: In first place, Jesus. After Him, the Apostle Paul.
After Paul, all who are like
him in endurance and sacrifice for the Kingdom's sake. Among
them, in recent
times, must be rated Major Yin Hung Shun, the last leader of
The Salvation Army
in China. The more I learned of his persecution and witness,
the more towering a
figure he became in my estimation, and the smaller I felt
myself to be. In the book
I wrote about him, "YIN - The Mountain the Wind Blew Here,"
his spiritual
greatness and heroism are conveyed, though perhaps
inadequately.
J.A.C.: What is your most memorable spiritual experience?
A.B.: Apart from my own conversion and sanctification,
watching the streams of
people from varied cultural backgrounds making their way to
the Altar, either
seeking Salvation or in re-consecration, during the massive
Centenary
Congresses in London, in Kansas City, in Adelaide and in
Paris.
J.A.C.: Please comment on the state of Aggressive Christianity
in the 21st
century. How relevant is primitive salvationism?
A.B.: The dictionary defines "primitive" in its theological
use as "adhering to
strictly traditional interpretation of doctrine and
Scripture." We live in New
Testament times and I believe that the prayerful, habitual
study of the New
Testament will leave us in no doubt as to how to make relevant
all we are and all
we do in respect of our own times. One hopes that the 21st
Century, now taking
its first infant breaths, might be a century of global
spiritual revival in the primitive
sense that brought the early church into being. God grant that
it may be so!
J.A.C.: Our first General often wrote letters to his soldiers
with teaching for daily
life and warfare. Would you take this opportunity to offer a
millennial message to
soldiers around the world?
A.B.: Yes! See Song 810, verse 1.
March on, salvation soldiers,
March on toward the fight,
with Jesus as our leader,
We'll put the foe to flight;
In spite of men and devils
We'll raise the banner high,
For the day of victory's coming by and by.
(1): Dr. Campbell Morgan, in his youthful years, considered
officership, but was
dissuaded by Catherine Booth who felt that his extraordinary
expository gifts
marked him for a special ministry.
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