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JAC
Interview with Lieutenant Arwyn Rodriguera
Arwyn is an intriguing USA Western officer.
JAC: Who are you? (we’re looking for a quick bio)
I am Arwyn Rodriguera and I am hot mess, on a good
day, saved by the grace of God. I was named after the Elf
princess in Lord of the Rings (a fact that makes my
nerdy husband happy). I have the privilege of serving
alongside my best friend as the Corps Officers of The
Salvation Army Chico Corps/ Social Service Office. Before our
clandestine arrival in the quirky college/ recovery town of
Chico, we served as ministry staff employees with The
Salvation Army in Honolulu, Hawaii. I love a good meal with
real people.
JAC: Tell us about your salvation and
sanctification.
I fought Jesus and he fought back. I come from a home culture
of mental illness and I was bitter at God about it. At my
breaking point I cried out to the Lord and I heard him say,
"Arwyn I am going to heal you but you have to journey with
me". God turned what I hated about him into a tether of love
from my heart to his.
I admire General Coutts’ thought process on
Holiness. Like Coutts, I believe holiness is a process (for
some people it may be different). When I am not at a good
point in my journey I physically ache and can feel a
separation. This reminds me that complete healing is never
possible apart from the Holy Spirit. I resonate with Paul's
words in Corinthians 12:9 says: But he said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
JAC: What is your mission/calling?
To live authentically in community, pursue justice, and love
Jesus.
JAC: How does the Army support your war fighting?
My husband (Craig) and I have had the honor to serve with
Officers who let us be ourselves… “warts and all”.
My first experience with the Army was as a ministry staff
member of a Kroc Center in the development stages. After less
than a year I was encouraged to transfer positions (or not
have employment). The bottom line: I was not mature enough
professionally or in my relationship with the Lord. The people
I worked with held me accountable. Looking back at that moment
of accountability helped me trust the Lord’s presence in the
Army. They called me out on my junk and expected better,
because they believed I could be better. The Officers and
staff of that project were at my Commissioning and it was a
full circle moment. Through tough love I felt invested in. The
Army needs to hold their people spiritually accountable so
that we can fight to win and not fall into the lie of fighting
for personal gain or ego. The Army has done that for me.
JAC: How do you influence people?
I honestly believe the best way to influence someone is to
shut up and let people feel what they feel without condemning
them. I do not know if I am always a positive influence I tend
to speak my mind..
JAC: Who influences you? (and how/why? We’re thinking of
books, disciplers, mentors, coaches, models, teachers,
leaders, etc.)
As for books right now I am on a C.S. Lewis, Henry Nouwen and
A.W. Tozer kick. Apparently men that could be my grandpa and
love Jesus intrigue me....oi vey that’s probably indicative of
deeper issues.
I was invested in by an officer named Major Leticia Saunders.
One of our main points of contact was our love of books. She
would use analogies about faith from anything from Shakespeare
to Harry Potter and it would make me laugh. She loved the Lord
and was unafraid to interact with the world around her
intelligently. She went to be with Jesus 5 years ago this past
Christmas. My last conversation with her was over the phone.
She had her husband track me down so she could tell me about
an article she was reading about starting schools overseas.
She said she could see me doing that one day and my heart
melted because she saw potential in me. My passions mattered
to her; and even as her body gave out, she prayed for me and
my dreams. I was influenced by the holiness of God in her. I
want to be like Leticia and make people feel like their lives
matter and have Kingdom purpose.
JAC: What are your dreams for the next several
years?
My husband and I have been honored with a Corps appointment in
Chico California. Chico is a quirky College town with a large
recovery community. Our dream for the next few years is for
God to use us to teach our people about holiness and for
people to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Our prayer for
Chico Corps to become a patch work quilt of God’s grace,
mismatched stories brought together to give hospitality. We
signed up to fight for souls.
Selfishly, in the next few years, I would love to eat my way
through the Middle East and remember to stay properly hydrated
on a regular basis... those may be far-fetched dreams at this
point.
JAC: What are the keys to successful warfare on your
front and the larger salvation war?
Shutting up, listening and intentionally waiting. I think the
temptation is to move quickly and be pressed into action by
our value of being task oriented. The truth is we worship the
God that goes before us. The spiritual discipline is to
intentionally wait and then sprint when the Spirit says go!
Confession, I am totally jealous of the people with the
spiritual gift of wisdom. They always look put together and
wise (because they are). My angst bumps into them then I get
put in my place.. on a fairly regular basis. It does not help
that I am married to one of the wisest people to ever walk the
face of the earth. What I am learning is how to pray through
the waiting period. God can do whatever he wants but he loves
us enough to wait for us to respond back to him. God willingly
comes into the space we make for him. How big is the space we
are making for him and are we expecting him to be there or is
it just for show?
JAC: How do you cultivate your relationship with
God?
I walk it out and talk it out with Jesus. I separate myself
and get outside.
JAC: How are you and your comrades strengthening The
Salvation Army?
Wow... wouldn't it be cool to be used by God to
strengthen The Salvation Army. Right now the hope is to
live well and move forward prayerfully.
JAC: What are some of the dangers we have to face in the
coming years? (And how?)
All I can speak to is my limited experience with the Church in
The United States. I fear that our culture worships the god of
"humanity". Every day as a Corps Officer I have the choice to
preach a blood bought Gospel or offer up watered down anemic
Jesus. In the Army world in the West this reality hits us in
our check book.
The other day I was hanging out with an Advisory Board Member
and he asked me, "Why the Army?" and truth be told I gave him
my anemic watered down story as not to offend him. He had told
me he knew that a “god” was out there or it could be Karma.
He described himself the following way to me, "I am a
capitalist pig with a back ground in finance that can help
people”. I began to feel convicted because I had not told him
the true story. In fact I told him what I thought he wanted to
hear and not what Jesus wanted me to say. My assumption put
the value on not being offensive more than the value of truth.
Half way through our conversation I told him I had not told
him the whole truth of, "Why the Army?" for me. He graciously
let me continue and I began to tell him my testimony. I rushed
through my story and when I looked up I saw the
self-pro-claimed "Capitalist Pig" was looking straight at me
with a dropped jaw. He was in awe. He had never heard a story
like that before and he was dumbfounded! My words impacted him
and he saw God. Like a "good Christian" I then became envious
of him because he got it and I missed it. We became friends at
that moment. Before he was just a "business hoop" I had to
jump through in order to help "the real people who need
Jesus".
We are going to take hits to our bank accounts, programs,
families, employees and ego to say a few, but through all that
will we stay obedient? Will we stay on message and pursue
holiness? Or will we take the sly and deceptive easy road
selling out one lost opportunity at a time? Our
cleverness, smarts or ability to problem solve is never going
to save people, but they could kill us. I think as a community
we tend to point to the "dangers" over there like Islam, the
LBGTQ community or secularization of the media to name a few.
Scripture tells us God is sovereign overall and judgment
starts first in the house of God. Are we projecting our issues
on other things in order to avoid taking a hard look at our
own junk? Are we holy or wholly selling out?
JAC: What final exhortations have you for this audience?
I stumbled across the following quote recently and made me
think. Good stuff.
"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder
of consensus".- Martin Luther King Jr.
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