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The DREAM
by Commissioner James Knaggs
with comment by Stephen Court
'I have a
dream that one day The Salvation Army will, in its entirety,
be what God wants it to be…
'…that every soldier, young and old, would be sanctified
through and through…and out of the passion of their love in
Christ, would be an undeniable force for God's love in the
world.
'…that this love would be seen between each soldier to
demonstrate that God has sent his son into the world not to
condemn it, but that the world, through him, might be
saved…and by this would all people know that we are his
followers and represent him.
'…that our love would be seen through intentional and overt
acts of mercy and justice, all the while in humility before
God, not needing to publish our works, only doing them to
glorify God.
'…that our mission would have such integrity that every
expression of our ministry would be marked not so much by a
red shield or even a crest, but by the love of God for people.
'…that every corps would embrace the gospel for everyone in
their community, not discriminating by culture, language,
social status, or age…and that the helping ministries would be
woven into the fabric so that even under a nuclear microscope
we could not distinguish between spiritual and social.
'…that every social program would be inviting to any one in
need to be helped towards eternal affect, still maintaining
our resolve to dispense such love indiscriminately and
unconditionally…and that their connections with the corps
ministries become seamless to the point that they would become
a type of corps in their own right.
'…that we would have effective ministries to eradicate
homelessness, human trafficking, prostitution and other
indecencies currently common in our society.
'…that our social program strategy will be based upon the
needs of people in the context of Biblical mandate, not
necessarily the offerings of government contracts.
'…that headquarters' support units would be understood as
such, not diminishing their purposes for accountability, but
wholly in the context of authentic support and encouragement.
'…that programs such as Salvo Stores and Employment Plus would
also become saving stations for the lost and fully integrated
into the mission of the territory.
'…that Salvo Stores and the Trade become responsible outlets
for Fair Trade goods.
'…that our commercial department at THQ become a resource and
focal point for facilitating our increasing efforts in Fair
Trade.
'…that the Family Tracing Service be expanded to find those
souls who have been lost to the Army, assisting in bringing
them home, where they belong.
'…that we would never have another day in our existence where
someone was not brought to Christ.
'…that our soldiers' roll would only be an increasing reality
as would our worship and discipleship meetings.
'…that the proliferation of new ministry openings would be so
common and normal that we would have to appoint personnel just
to keep track of it, most often after the fact.
'…that those gifted with creative ministry gifts would have
every opportunity to employ these very skills in the work of
the Army.
'…that our worship would be filled with creative means to
celebrate God's provisions and presence among us.
'…that our 24/7 Prayer Initiatives will be adopted by
individual corps throughout the territory all the time.
'…that we would establish Lighthouses of Prayer to cover our
neighbourhoods with grace.
'…that we would have numerous prayer destinations where people
could go for prayer retreats, learning opportunities and
resources.
'…that our systems would be less restrictive and more
imaginative to accommodate the new things God wants to do
among us.
'…that as a movement, we would be marked by holiness in
corporate and individual praxis.
'…that there would be such an outpouring of the Spirit upon us
that we would be courageous and effective witnesses in our
families, communities, cities, Australia and the world.
'…that our compassion would be large enough to be understood
as authentically global throughout what we do at home and
abroad.
'…that our people would be quick to respond to the voice of
God for whatever he calls them to.
'…that our officer training programs would be taxed by the
unusual response of the called to serve as officers in The
Salvation Army.
'…that our local officers would be so empowered to understand
their foundational role in the corps ministries and fully
embrace the priesthood of all believers.
'…that our women would have appointments and responsibilities
commensurate with their gifts, abilities and experience.
'…that our young people would be filled with the spirit and
recognised as contributors in the fight.
'…that our children would be welcomed as authentic soldiers
with proper opportunities to celebrate the presence of Christ
in their lives and in their environments.
'…that an extraordinary forgiveness and healing of past sins
and hurts would prevail upon all people victimised by our
practices or inattention.
'…that God would see that we love Him supremely through Christ
and that our reliance on the Holy Spirit completes His hope in
us.
'…that God would see that we love Him absolutely and are
expressing our love for Him by our active love for others.'
Comment (by Stephen Court):
So, what? Where do we go from here?
There are a few options ahead. We can decide that this Dream
and the ONE DAY... a nice read, somewhat stirring, and put it
down on a shelf alongside many dusty covers that haven't made
much of an impact in the routine of our lives.
We can add another tagline to our territory. We can make
posters and print brochures of the dream and stick it on the
walls of our halls and our fridges. And then a decade from now
we can wistfully hearken back to the Dream when we see the odd
orphaned sun-faded bulletin on a lonely YP hallway, or
visually stumble across the spine of this book while searching
for the latest, greatest tome on our bookshelves.
Or, we can submit to it. We can receive it as from God. We can
position ourselves downstream in the river of his grace so
that the Dream can flow over us and through us, saturating our
insides and carrying us along to supernatural fulfilment.
Can you imagine what will happen if we embrace option three?
How our lives will change. How our corps will change. How our
cities will change. How our society will change. How our world
will change. We're at least as intrigued as you are as to the
possibilities. We're committed to fanning into flame the gifts
of God. We want God to go deeper and wider on this and spin
off regional visions and local visions and micro-visions,
orchestrating a symphony of divine creativity in and through
us
We'd love to hear about your journey of discovery,
miraculously co-labouring with God, in this case co-crafting
with God to paint the colours of the Dream on the canvas of
the lives of billions of people.
Are you up for it?
Live the Dream.
Sign up, in your prayer corner, today.
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