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Why
Council?
by Captain Andrew Bale
Every Easter I find myself being teased by the same question –
what did Jesus really want to do? The bible makes it quite
clear what the Father wanted, but scripture is silent on any
alternative plans that Jesus might have had. Some people would
find the idea that the will of the Father and the Son were at
odds, at such a critical time in the plan of redemption, as
offensive maybe even heretical. They would point to passages
such as the following as clear evidence that Jesus wanted to
die on the cross, that Calvary
was his only wish.
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And he said, ‘The Son of Man
must suffer
many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests
and the teachers of the law, and
he must be killed
and on the third day be raised to life.’ (Luke 9:22)
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As the time approached for him to
be taken up to heaven, Jesus
resolutely
set out for Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51)
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From that time on Jesus began to
explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many
things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the
teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the
third day be raised to life. (Matthew 16:21)
However, the dialogue between the Father and the son that took
place in Gethsemane unequivocally shows us that discerning what the
Father’s will is and being prepared to carry it out presents
us with a formidable challenge. The prayer prayed in
Gethsemane
is perhaps the most passionate and intense recorded in the
bible, Jesus wrestles not (like Jacob) with God but with
himself, with his will.
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called
Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I
go over there and pray’… and he began to be sorrowful and
troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with
sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with
me.’ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the
ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup
be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’ Then he
returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Couldn’t
you men keep watch with me for one hour?’ he asked Peter.
‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The
spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ He went away a
second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible for
this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be
done.’ When he came back, he again found them sleeping,
because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away
once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing…
(Matthew 26:36-44)
The battle in Gethsemane is
one that all Christians are ultimately required to fight – the
battle between what we want and what God wills. This is the
battle that takes place this side of the brook, a battle that
results either in us turning away from self-denial or going
‘beyond the brook’ having ‘resolved the whole of love’s
demands…’ This is
a difficult battle because we are not always presented with
two choices, it is not always just a matter of black or white,
or yes or no, sometimes we are faced with a myriad of choices,
a multitude of paths many of which seem almost identical.
Which do we choose? How do we choose? What do we do once we
have chosen?
I don’t accept the argument that some have
put forward that Jesus was simply frightened of the physical
pain that awaited him – the Jesus I love is certainly complex
but definitely not a coward. I am also sure that all the
alternatives the Son laid before the Father that night were
all proposals designed with the intention of securing our
redemption. Maybe it was the thought that Jesus was about to
take upon himself ‘the sins of the world’, every cruel and
selfish act ever committed and ever to be committed? We will
never know the motive behind Christ’s prayer or what those
other plans were and I can see little point in speculating.
What we do know is that the process of discerning and obeying
the will of the Father was a battle, and if it was a battle
for Christ how much more of a battle will it be for us?
Some people are too quick to attribute
everything in their life to God’s will. I had a friend once
who started his own business – it was going to be the most
successful venture in the world because he was certain that he
was ‘about his father’s business…’ At about the same time he
was appointed a Local Officer in the Corps where we both
soldiered, he was going to be the best Local Officer the Army
had ever seen because this appointment was God’s will. Sadly,
the business folded within a couple of years and as for being
a Local Officer he is no longer even a Salvationist. All too
often when things appear favourable we trumpet the fact that
we are in the centre of God’s will and when circumstances
change we simple change God’s will to match our situation. I
once knew someone who was so obsessed with knowing and doing
God’s will that he would do nothing without directing a prayer
heavenwards. Every detail of his life was supposedly directed
by divine instruction. When he went to lunch he would ask God
‘what shall I have today McDonald’s or KFC’ when he went home
in the evening he would ask God what he should watch on the
TV. God gave us free will in order that we might make choices,
he gave us brains so that we might make intelligent choices
and he gave us hearts and souls so that when it comes to the
things that really matter he can guide us, but he is not going
to direct us in the minutiae of our everyday existence! With
some things we can go to God for advice but some decisions we
will need to make ourselves.
In a few days the High Council meets to
elect a new General – the only position in the Salvation Army
to which an Officer is not appointed. To help them in their
deliberations they will spend a great deal of time in prayer
and reflection and out of that time and reflection will come
the guidance they need to make their decision. Two years ago
they met and carried out this process and through them God
chose Linda Bond to be our international leader. Now, somewhat
unexpectedly, they are meeting again. They are meeting
because, although Linda Bond has still another year to serve,
she has decided to retire for personal reasons. This decision
according to the official IHQ statement was made ‘following a
period of personal reflection and prayer.’ Two years ago the
High Council elected Linda Bond after a period of ‘reflection
and prayer’ and now Linda Bond has retired after a similar
period of ‘reflection and prayer…’ So what happened? Did God
change his mind? Was he unable to foresee the changes in
circumstances that have compelled our Leader to step aside?
Were the High Council deceived when they nominated
Commissioner Bond and when she accepted their nomination did
she do so without properly consulting the powers that be? Some
might consider such questions facetious and I suppose they are
a little tongue in cheek but they do present us with serious
challenges about how we perceive, prove and perform God’s
will.
One of the disappointments that I have
faced over the last 20 years as a Christian and a Salvationist
has been the way in which Salvationists have expressed their
disappointment in the choice of General; Tillsley, Rader,
Gowans, Larsson, Clifton and Bond - I have heard people
criticise the election of all these leaders – some of them
more than others – but all without exception. My answer to
such people (regardless of my personal views) has always been
a resolute defence of my belief that they were chosen and
anointed not by a body of men and women but by God. The High
Council is not beyond error when it comes to electing a
General, it does not have some inerrant divine insurance cover
to protect its deliberations. As we have already said, if
Jesus found the will of the Father hard work to determine and
embrace how much more will we! Add to the equation a cunning
and deceitful spiritual enemy doing his best to pervert and
influence our perception of God’s will and the task of the
High Council becomes almost impossible. Nevertheless, even
with its inherent weaknesses I still believe that The High
Council remains the best way we have of coming to a decision
that is most likely to reflect the will of the Father. If we
believe that the most senior leaders of our movement gather
together for prayer and that they collectively select from
their own number a leader then we have to believe that they
carry out that task with the highest possible personal and
spiritual integrity, consequently we have to accept that the
choice they have made is the best one.
I know some Officers who embrace their
appointments as being God’s direct will for their lives, I
also know some who see the appointment process as being human
and flawed and on that basis determine for themselves which of
their appointments came from God and which didn’t. Forced to
sit in one of those camps I would chose the former rather than
the latter. However, one thing I have learnt is that wherever
I am sent and whatever I am asked to do the Army cannot give
me an appointment where God cannot use me. When marching
orders come I will salute and go wherever, whenever and to
whatever I am asked to do and I will obey without complaint
because that is what I signed up for, it is part of my
covenant.
In (almost) 40 years since I was enrolled
as a Salvationist I have seen Generals come and go, some have
been ill, some have disappointed, some have pleased, some have
inspired and to date two have retired early but they all (for
better or worse, richer, or poorer, in sickness and in health)
were God’s best man or woman available at that time.
I will be praying for the High Council and
I will be encouraging my fellow Salvationists to do the same.
When Jesus asked the disciples to lend him similar support
they fell asleep! I hope that in the next few weeks
Salvationists will not be guilty of similar complacency. The
High Council have a difficult task and they will need all the
support they can get. There will be some leaders who have
already decided to reject the nomination if it comes their
way. There will be some who will allow their decision to be
swayed by others. Many of them will be tired and their minds
will be constantly distracted back to their appointments and
families. Then, as we have already indicated, the enemy will
be roaming the corridors and conference rooms looking ‘for
whom he can devour’ When the High Council eventually finish
their deliberations and announce their choice then I will
salute and follow the man or woman they have elected and I
will accept that my new General is as close to God’s choice as
we could ever have got. We may not always get a General we
want, we might not even get the one that God wanted but one
thing we can be certain about - we will never get one that he
cannot use. Hallelujah!
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