JAC Online

Interview with General Eva Burrows
from JAC Issue Seven

JAC: For those who haven't yet read GENERAL OF GOD'S ARMY, please tell us
a little about your conversion.

EB: Like most officers' children, I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus when I was a
child - sincerely, simply and enthusiastically. But I date my true conversion and
total decision for Christ to when I was eighteen. Following a period of teenage
rebellion and non-attendance at the Army, I had gone to university and amazed
myself by accepting an invitation to the Christian Union. At an Intervarsity
Fellowship vacation Bible camp where we studied Paul's letter to the Romans, I
became aware of my deep need for forgiveness and salvation. It was actually at
a Youth Councils soon afterwards that I made the BIG decision at the mercy
seat, not only to surrender my life to Christ, but to promise to serve Him all my
days. A wonderful night, a life-changing decision, the best I ever made in my life.
It wasn't long afterwards that I became a soldier and applied for Officership.

JAC: Although an Australian citizen, you consider yourself an African officer.
Please explain.

EB: Yes, I'm a 'fair-dinkum Aussie' and happy to be so, but my time of service in
Africa made such an indelible impression on my life that I feel part of myself is
African. I went to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) when I was a young Lieutenant, 23
years old, and gave myself wholeheartedly to the African people, believing I
would be there the whole of my life as a missionary officer. The Salvation Army
appointed me away after I had been there 17 very formative years, and it was
like a grief experience. "Identification' is an important principle of my life, and I
believe I identified with the African people, feeling their aspirations, hopes and
longings --- spiritual, educational and cultural.

JAC: What is the secret to the fast Salvation Army growth in parts of Africa?

EB: When the Salvation Army went into Central and East Africa in particular, the
continent was awakening to the Christian faith. Together with the proclamation of
the good news of the Gospel, the missionary officers gave credibility to their
message of God's love by providing clinics and hospitals to meet health needs,
schools to give new opportunities for education and progress, and farms to teach
improved methods of growing crops. The African people responded with
enthusiasm. Our schools and colleges in particular have been seed-beds for the
growth of committed young Salvationists and our Army in general.
It was our joyous style of worship that particularly suited the Africans for whom
the drum and vibrant singing and dancing are among the basics of life. Marching
to the drum-beat and the rhythm of the timberal is natural for African Christians,
and gives living expression to their faith. In Africa, the Salvation Army is known
as an exuberant, militant, evangelistic force within the Christian church.

JAC: Education has been a large part of your Officership, from Institutes in Africa
to ICO in England. There are various schools of thought as to the proper place of
formal education in the Army. What is the proper role?

EB: Depends in which part of the world you are serving. We often say, 'Where
there's a need, there's the Salvation Army.' When the Army went to India and
Africa and certain two-third world countries, one of the great needs was for
education. There was little or no government provision, so missions including the
Salvation Army became deeply involved in the national educational system.
We have not been so involved in Western territories, apart from Newfoundland
(Canada). However even there the government is now taking control of all
denominational schools, though helpfully the Army is permitted to provide school
chaplains to retain the Christian influence.
The expense of maintaining an educational program with today's sophisticated
school curricula could not be justified in SA Western territories Beside that, we
would be far too late in seeking to enter this complex field. However we should
take every opportunity when offered to us to provide Christian education in
schools as does happen in Australia.

JAC: You are the first General to have earned a degree at university (BA, Med).
It seems you have started a trend! Do you see post-graduate education as
necessary for SA leadership at any level of The Salvation Army in the 3rd
millennium? Why?

EB: NO. I have never considered a university education an essential for SA
leadership. However in the present environment where higher education is more
readily available to talented young people, it is likely that more officers and Army
leaders in future will have studied at university, and even taken post-graduate
degrees. In fact in all parts of the Army world, officers are being encouraged to
take further studies for their own personal, intellectual and spiritual development,
and for greater competence in ministry. A well-furnished mind is a great asset.
I add, that a General needs more than a series of letters denoting academic
achievement after his/her name to be an effective leader. Often termed our
'scholar General'. Frederick Coutts never attended a university!

JAC: What books have had the greatest impact on you over the years? Why?

EB: As a young Christian, 'My Utmost for His Highest' (Oswald Chambers) and
the devotional writings of Stanley Jones gave me spiritual stimulus. 'Mere
Christianity' and other C. S. Lewis books were helpful as I became grounded in
the faith at university. Brengle, Sangster and Coutts were guides in my pursuit of
holiness. As an officer, the writings of the Scottish theologian, A.M. Hunter, were
invaluable as also ideas from reading the sermons of great preachers like J. S.
Stewart. In recent years I have found the writings of John Stott very challenging
especially 'The Cross of Christ' and 'The Contemporary Christian'. Guiding me to
a more reflective and contemplative spiritual life has been Richard Foster with
such books as 'Celebration of Discipline', 'Prayer' and Henri Nouwen. I have a full
shelf of the great Christian classics in paperback, which became a wonderful
world of new reading after coming to London from Africa in 1970 e.g. Julian of
Norwich, my favorite saint Theresa of Avila, and de Caussade.
I have never ceased to find Salvation Army history enthralling and challenging.

JAC: Who are your heroes? Why?

EB: Absolutely Jesus, first before all; my exemplar in all things. Moses and King
David in the Old Testament. In Army history, William Booth, Booth-Tucker (India)
and Weerasooriya (Sri Lanka) and Lieut.-Colonel Lillian Nhari OF a wonderful
African officer in Zimbabwe.
My principal at Howard Institute, Lieut.-Colonel Phil Rive OF, was mentor and
role-model to me as a young missionary officer. His understanding of African
culture and language, his deep spiritual insight and his humanity set me a pattern
to follow.
My mother has always been the most admired woman in my life -- wonderful
officer, fine preacher, loving mother of nine children and people person. After her
comes Catherine Booth whose strong convictions and unflinching commitment to
justice I have sought to emulate.

JAC: General Catherine Booth went on record, stating, "The great fundamental
principle of The Salvation Army is a the law of adaptation." This comment has
been used by many salvos at many times toward diverse ends. You yourself are
responsible for significant change in the administration of The Salvation Army
worldwide. What is the proper understanding of this fundamental principle for us
today, in light of tensions between priestly v. prophetic roles?

EB: In Africa I never gave much thought to the Army's 'law of adaptation',
because the whole of life was adaptation in practice ... adapting to another
culture, to new ways of looking at life, to another language, and how to
communicate effectively to another race. However after being appointed to the
International College for Officers in London, I began to study in an enlightening
way the organization, administration and styles of leadership of the Army. What
you might call the Salvation Army culture.
My reading included all the writings of the Army Mother, and I was challenged by
her sermon "Adaptation of Measures', and linked it with Bramwell Booth's chapter
on 'How the Buttons Came Off". The 'holy liberty' which the Holy Spirit gave to
the Army to adapt and diversify and change is the holy liberty we must always
allow to impact the Army in its aim to be relevant to the times and to the people
whom it serves. Traditional ways must be questioned, cherished ideas may have
to pass away, brooding on past victories will only stultify the present, but
prophetic leadership will learn what is the 'new thing' God wants the Army to do,
and have the courage to do it. (Isaiah 43: 18-21)

JAC: What is the most significant part of your ministry today?

EB: In retirement I continue to have a wide variety of opportunities for a
preaching ministry in many parts of the world, both within and without the
Salvation Army. I consider this a great privilege. I appreciate the fact that I have
more time for preparation, now that I am free from the demands of administrative
leadership. I have enjoyed the challenge of new types of teaching ministry such
as Bible Study Camps, Holiness Conventions and even a Council of War!
As a director of the International Bible Society. I have delved more into the place
of the Word in mission and ministry, world-wide

JAC: What are your dreams for The Salvation Army?

EB: I dream of an Army that is spiritually-vibrant, Biblically-strong, culturallysensitive,
evangelistically-passionate, community-concerned and Holy Spiritempowered.
Such a Spirit-filled Army will be ready to sacrifice and serve in
obedience to Christ's commission, and through a strong prayer life be open to the
changes the Holy Spirit is ready to initiate in our strategies for the future.

JAC: What is God teaching you these days?

EB: To enjoy His presence more than ever in my life as I spend more time with
him in heart-to-heart fellowship. I am constantly overwhelmed by an awareness,
not of how much I love God, but of how much He loves me. He is teaching me to
be more reflective about His Word, as He leads me to new and deeper insights
into grace and truth. He is teaching me a more simple trust in His over-ruling
providence in all things, including the Salvation Army. I am still a keen learner in
God's school.

JAC: Can you tell us of any memorable preaching you have heard, and what
made it outstanding?

EB: As a young officer in London at the beginning of the fifties, I had the privilege
of hearing the famous preachers of that era: Dr Sangster whose spell-binding
oratory reached to the depths of ones heart; Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones whose
Biblical teaching kept me on the edge of my seat for 45 minutes, and the Rev.
John Stott who has never ceased to challenge me by the clarity of his Biblical,
evangelical preaching. I have heard him time and again over four decades. The
fine Methodist preacher, Dr Colin Morris, whose fierce social justice sermons
stimulated everyone to action. Unfortunately I have not heard many American or
Canadian preachers, but I consider Dr. Billy Graham the most powerful preacher
of the 20th century. with Dr. Robert Schuller the most influential television
preacher. At the Millennium Congress, I look forward to hearing Dr Lloyd Ogilvie
whose books I have found inspirational.
I consider General Albert Orsborn the most memorable and eloquent Army
preacher, with General Brown a great communicator of the gospel, and General
Coutts a profound teacher of the faith. In recent times, I have greatly benefited
from the preaching of Commissioners Lim Ah Ang, Edward Read, Earl Maxwell.
They have the gift of reaching and winning the heart with the message. And I add
my present corps officer, Major Peter Mylechreest.

JAC: What is your most memorable spiritual experience?

EB: I have experienced many great spiritual moments, 'God-moments', in my life.
As diverse as an Easter morning sunrise in the Himalaya Mountains, the crossshaped
mercy seat lined with seekers even before I began my final message at
the 1990 International Congress, a silent retreat quite recently when glory filled
my soul without a word being spoken. But the greatest of all was that moment at
the mercy seat when I gave myself wholly to God, and He gave Himself to me.

JAC: Please comment on the state of aggressive Christianity in the 21st century.
How relevant is primitive Salvationism?

EB: I respond positively to the term 'primitive Salvationism'. To me that refers to
the original, elemental, pristine qualities of our early Salvation Army --- the
spontaneous joy in the faith, the zeal for soul-saving, the willingness to risk
everything for Christ, the audacious attacks on the strongholds of Satan, the
readiness to adapt, the relevance of the message, the strong social conscience.
These are qualities for all centuries from the first to the twenty-first. Through the
Holy Spirit we must reclaim them as we enter the twenty-first century.

JAC: 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?

EB: So often I find the message for the moment from God's Word, I do so for
salvation soldiers in this millennium moment from Jude 20 - 23.
'Continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith.' That Foundation
is Jesus Christ, so live in obedience to His will.
'Continue to pray as you are directed by the Holy Spirit' for the Holy Spirit purifies
your desires, your motives, and helps you set the right priorities in prayer and
witness and service.
'Stay within the boundaries where God's love can reach and bless you.' That
should be a Salvationist's natural environment, and there you are kept true and
faithful. Thus strengthened by faith, prayer and love, we are called to service. It is
our Christian duty and responsibility to seek and save the lost.
'Show mercy to those who are wavering in the faith. Save others by snatching
them as from the very flames of hell, itself.' So, go to it! Let God's mercy, love
and grace reach others through you, as you seek to build the Kingdom of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this new millennium.