Armybarmy Blog

March 31, 2003
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.

My friend and I were discussing the prophetic today in SALVATIONISM 301 (chapter by Elaine Gillingham). We wondered why so many people oppose it. He figured that it was just like the coalition that is attacking Iraq right now. They are aiming at command centres and communication facilities with the goal of cutting off the leadership from the troops. Excellent.

Could it also be that the Ephesians 6 list of armor has only one offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (which we know is the spoken word of God, from the Greek, rhema)- the voice of God- the prophetic. If an army has only one offensive weapon you are very strategic to knock it out.
posted by Stephen Court, March 31, 2003

March 30, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.

I've written about the deflation of the word, revival, and the term, filled with the Spirit. I continue that theme today with 'glory'.

I heard two different leaders address this subject recently. Ravi Zacharias wrote a bit about it when discussing why God doesn't show Himself more obviously to people. Of course, He'd have to keep showing up to remind and convince them of His existence, His care, and His power to intervene in their lives. The ancient Israelites, recently freed from Egyptian captivity, lived in a constant sign and wonder age during which God showed Himself constantly and consistently. And yet whenever they hit a little roadblock faith was thrown out with the day-old manna as they demonstrated their disbelief that God exists, cares, and has the power to intervene in their lives (now, I've taken the argument off a bit from RZ- no offence intended). In other words, He'd have to keep showing up to prove Himself to us. If He walked in to Bill's living room and Bills broke down and repented, what would happen if Bill left his house and drove over his 5 year old son by mistake while pulling out of the driveway? Would the recent appearance of God's glory be enough? Would Bill ask where God was now? Where would it end?

Then I saw Winkie Pratney explain the glory of God another way. He defined the term 'bless your soul.' It is a common, though antique, term in our culture. He figures that it means something like'you're an idiot, mate!' You know, it's like when Frank tripped over the sidewalk crack and broke his leg. 'Bless your heart', or, 'you're an idiot, mate'. Well, WP suggests that this is how God responded when Moses begged that he wanted to see God's face. 'Bless your heart' or 'you're an idiot, mate.' WP argues that the glory of God is way too much for anyone to handle, that if it shows up, you have to get saved, or die. I guess Saul/Paul is an example. WP's perspective is that it just isn't fair to the free will of people if God releases or exposes His glory to us. We just can't handle it. We can't resist it.

Glory is a very serious thing. If God shows us His glory we are forever changed. Certainly we cannot abide where the glory is. Look through Scripture to see how priests and others react to the glory. Out for the count.

And yet, we have discounted the term similarly to 'revival' and 'filled with the Spirit' so that it means anything from a personal warm fuzzy to corporate goose bumps during an appeal. These are not the glory of God.

That said, I am very interested in seeing the the glory of God come (bless my heart!). I will do what I can to help prepare a resting place for God's glory. Forget settling for visitation. We need to change things so that God is comfortable sticking around- habitation.
posted by Stephen Court, March 30, 2003.

March 29, 2003.

Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.

David Demian leads Watchmen for the Nations and has inspired The Gathering, a series of national and more recently international leaders meetings seeking to prepare a resting place for the glory of God.

Some people can't get their minds around what he does. Apparently many ask him what his title is. He is actually a medical surgeon by training and so 'Doctor' would be appropriate, although a little irrelevant to his vocation. They've tried to pigeon-hole him, using terms like 'apostolic', intercessory, 'prophetic', connecting, etc.

He is a deep man, but his response was funny. 'Who cares?' His suggestions of a title was this: Whatever Until.

It stands for 'whatever it takes until the glory of God finds a resting place here.'

Oh, that God will raise up an army of Whatever Untils!
posted by Stephen Court, March 29, 2003.

March 28, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Have you heard of these Gatherings? For a few years there have been leaders gatherings once a year in various parts of the country. Our province is hosting it’s first provincial leaders meeting. I am at it now (til Friday afternoon).

Watchmen For The Nations organize them, with the purpose of reconciliation and strategic unity for the war. When we’ve got it down, then Canada can play its prophetic healing role in other nations.

It is somewhat heady stuff to see God making global chess moves and seeing Canada (a pawn?) having some key role (even if it is to move so that more powerful pieces are into space (carrying the chess analogy).

We praise God for the way He brings together the Body. He is almighty. Heaven is going to be out of this world.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 28, 2003.

March 27, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

They say that any press is good press. Here is an example. The UK SA paper, SALVATIONIST, was generous enough to run a report on The War College (our one-year training school that starts in September- see thewarcollege.com). Here are a couple of letters that came in response (from the March 22 issue, p10):

"Language"
Are we the only Salvationists who find the choice of 'The War College' as a title for Canada and Bermuda territory's new training initiative a little unfortunate? It sounds more like the language of the last century than of the post-modern era the college clearly desires to reflect. While appreciating the need for training in both evangelism and spiritual warfare, some coded language is best kept out of the public domain if we are to speak in culturally sensitive terms to 21st-century humankind. 'The War College' might meet the criteria of being 'primitive.' it might equally be too topical to be relevant.

"Naivety"
I cannot believe the naivety of those who chose and approved the choice of 'The War College' for the Canada and Bermuda Territory's new training establishment in Vancouver. When attempting to sell The War Cry in pubs or on the streets I am frequently told, 'I believe in peace, not war.' When I point out, if given the opportunity, this title was decided upon by William Booth in 1879 it simply confirms their deep-rooted suspicions that our Movement is still locked into the Victorian era. Can those who chose the name not imagine the look of horror and astonishment on faces of non-Christian parents and friends when young Salvationists tell them they are going to a war college? The title borders on the crass. A college called 21st-century Evangelism, meaning exactly the same, would surely have been so much more appropriate. Did not our Lord say, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God' (Matthew 5:9 New International Version)?

I’ve deleted the writers’ names as I don’t want to offend. It sounds like we might not be getting any applications from England..
Posted by Stephen Court, March 27, 2003

March 26, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Yesterday’s book, NOT RELIGION BUT LOVE elicits another bloggy response. This crew of people moved to the slum area in Brisbane and lived there. They started the West End Waiters Union because they wanted to be ‘waiters’ on the West End.

“We didn’t want to set agendas for anybody. We just wanted to be available, like waiters, to take people’s orders, and to do what we could to help them” (p79).

Wow. This goes to the distinction that the author, Dave Andrews makes between service and servanthood: “Acts of service are those acts that we decide to do in our efforts to help others. Acts of servanthood are those acts that others decide they would like us to do for them” (Dave Andrews, p46).

It is tough to let go of an agenda.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 26, 2003.

March 25, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

I’ve been reading a challenging book that my friend Kirsten sent me. Here’s a kicker that grows out of the author’s observation that Jesus used to give out money with no strings attached:

We will only be free to opt for emergency relief if we recognize that other people have as much right to our hard-earned cash as we do. (Dave Andrews, NOT RELIGION BUT LOVE, p68)

Well, I agree, but possibly with a different understanding that Dave Andrews. My friend Elaine suggested that we have no right over our money. So, in that sense, I agree.

But I infer that he is good with us just giving our money away to whoever, whenever. I am not there, yet.

I guess we have no right, only responsibility. The responsibility comes to distribute it as directed by God.

It is good stuff, though.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 25, 2003.

March 24, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Sentimentalizing is a weak exercise. It is emotion generated by someone else’s emotion. It is vicarious emotion. It is feeling bad about someone feeling bad. It leads to weak decisions. It forgets the forest for the trees. For example, people wimp out of a pro-life stance because they sentimentalize about specific women who are raped or they go anti-war because they sentimentalize about a poor child blown to bits (not every pro-abortionist argues this way; not every pro-appeasement protester argues this way). Their sentimentalizing about the feelings of a raped woman blinds them to the fact that they are supporting the murder of a baby. Their sentimentalizing about the poor child blown to bits ignores the fact that under the current oppressive regime that baby and scores of thousands of others will die within a year, and in so doing they personally support the persecution and oppression of those people.

And so it is with the Gospel. We fail ourselves and our God because we sentimentalize. We do more harm than good. Because we’re too afraid to tell someone she is going to hell unless she repents and follows Jesus, she actually gets there.

We must give up sentimentalizing… If ever the gospel is going to make headway against the rush of evil passions, worldly ambition, and devilish animosity, it must be by determined, deadly warfare, conducted with at least as much care, sagacity, and persistency as men bestow on earthly enterprises for gain or glory. (Catherine Booth, THE SALVATION ARMY IN RELATION TO THE CHURCHES, p50)

Are you up for it? It is a real demonstration of compassion. The bottom of all my emails reminds me, “It’s Jesus or hell.” It is.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 24, 2003.

March 23, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

"Train my hands for war, my fingers for battle" (David, Psalm 144:1).

This prayer is all about warfare worship. You might not have noticed it. Verse 9 starts a sequence that makes it more obvious:

”O God, I sing to Thee a new song; on a ten-stringed harp I sing psalms to Thee who grantest victories to kings.”

So you musicians and worship leaders and singers out there, don’t just practise for hours a day. Also call out to the God who grants victories to kings to train your hands for war, and your fingers for battle. Sing to Him new songs.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 23, 2003.

March 21, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

What is to be won for God must be captured from the devil by the use of superior force… Our Army can no more hope for victory than any other without the most unwearied exertion. Not indeed by human might or power, but by the use of all men's power under the mighty influence of the Holy Spirit are signs and wonders continually possible. (George Scott Railton, jn COLONEL JUNKER, p107)

But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armour in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. Luke 11:20-22

Bring on the Stronger Man, Lord Jesus. We want the ‘superior force’ of the Holy Spirit in our midst, please.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 21, 2003.

March 20, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

One of my temptations is to jump into the political situation of these days and analyze and argue for a specific position. I was corrected this morning by an email from Pat Cocking, who sends out instructions to intercessors. This is her direction for these days.

Intercessors,

It is very important that Christians stay focused in the midst of this time of turmoil and upheaval. Individuals might find it easy to reach into the mind for opinions and reasonings concerning the political decisions currently being made, but strong focused prayer is what the Spirit is calling for. Of course, in the midst of this type of crisis, talk and communication regarding the situation is inevitable but a posture of prayer and the release of faith-filled intercession will bring about the purposes of God.

Focus on the Lord's greatness and stand firm in faith concerning His love, righteousness and sovereign power. This will keep you in perfect peace and Godly perspective in the midst of tumult. Encourage each other to pray more and share opinions less. JESUS IS LORD!!!

The following directives might be helpful to you:

1. Exaltation of Jesus through worship and praise. Worship will help you to focus on the greatness of God.

2. Decree Psalm 91 as a Psalm of protection. Hide yourselves, your loved ones and your nation under the banner of the Lord's promises.

3. Pray for the Lord to impart "wisdom from above" to all leaders, politicians and military strategists.

4. Pray for the righteousness of the Lord to prevail against deception and wickedness.

5. Believe for the light of the gospel to expose deeds of darkness -- believe for truth to prevail and for all false motives and hidden evil actions to be exposed.

6. Pray for the protection of innocent lives and intercede especially for those in Iraq (both the citizens of the nation and the military troops). Believe for a revelation of Jesus Christ to visit those who are in the nation and for a great harvest of souls.

7. Pray for an increased call to prayer and intercession to fill the lives of believers all over the world. Pray for the gathering of God's people unto focused, faith-filled, tenacious prayer.

8. In Jesus' name bind fear and call for faith to arise in the nations.

9. Pray for an increased revelation in the hearts of people everywhere concerning their need of Christ -- awareness of mankind's complete dependency on the true and living God.

10. Pray for the spirit of humility to clothe God's people everywhere and for politicians and military strategists to humble themselves before Him at this time.

11. Believe for the dispatching of angelic majesties.

12. Pray for the knowledge of the glory of the Lord to fill the nations.

"If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." Col 3:1-4

PAT COCKING
from the War Room
www.the-war-room.com
Posted by Stephen Court, March 20, 2003.

March 20, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

This is a short addition to a post on March 16 about the three genocides on that pro-life sign. The kicker is that all three genocides- the Jews in Nazi Germany, the blacks in pre-bellum America, and the unborn babies in North America today- were legal.

Each of these atrocities was legal in that country.

Tragic!
posted by Stephen Court, March 20, 2003.

March 20, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

My friend wrote me and asked what we’re all about out here in Vancouver. Others have wondered what got into the water. For what it is worth, here goes:
I am into what the Army was originally about. That is, I am into salvation, holiness, and world-winning. I am unapologetic of the 'Army'- it IS a Biblical concept, after all. I’m into primitive Salvationism- that is, chari-flavoured, mission-focused heroism. We have obviously wandered from our roots to secondary and tertiary and trivial pastimes. I am not committed to retaining all of the primitive trappings. That would be pathetic hero worship. I think we're beginning to experience, in our circle, that unapologetic, romantic, heroic warfare remains as attractive and captivating today as it was 120 years ago with the primitive salvos and 2,000 years ago with the 33 AD salvos. The crazy thing is that when we're out living it, it is not a garment we put on; it is an undying passion oozing out of us.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 20, 2003.

March 19, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

For some reason this issue keeps coming up. I’ve never found it an issue with our converts. It gets raised by church-goers or church-influenced Salvationists.

Being Salvationists, we don’t do them, and for good reasons.

I don't know if you care to hear them, but just in case, here are a few, in no order of importance (please receive none as a personal attack)...

- To do so is a betrayal of our prophetic calling to the Body of Christ of non-sacramental testimony, willingly 'sacrificing' (or, at least, foregoing) the privilege of practising them as a reminder to our comrades of every stripe and colour. For a Salvationist to compromise by indulging in them necessarily waters down the corporate testimony and prophetic integrity of The Salvation Army.

- Although Scriptural, they are not Biblical. By that I mean that though practised as recorded in Scripture, they are no more the intentions of God for us than that we argue and split up our evangelism (as Paul and Barnabus), cast lots for another apostle, worship solely at the Temple, stare at a physical pole with a snake on it, carry around God's presence in a little box, devote things by literally killing every living thing, or being obliged to chop off foreskin to remind us that we belong to God. What is Biblical in each of those instances is not Scriptural: don't argue but wait on God and, in the meantime, love one another; ask God; worship Him everywhere, recognize that we are the temple of God; look up at Jesus and not the snake (which, inevitably, like every other physical practice given by God, proved a snare to the people of God or proved obsolete by the supercession of spiritual reality); carry around God's presence in our lives; devote things by giving them over to God (and not destroying every living thing); and circumcising our hearts.

- The two Protestant sacraments are, in my mind, and largely for the reasons suggested above, superstitious. As such they are not only in contrast with but in contest against Christianity.

- The intention of Jesus at the last passover was to celebrate the last passover. Each time we celebrate it we recognise that He is the passover lamb. There is no institution of sacrament in the last passover Gospel accounts, unless, and I'm not sold on this, that it is the institution of foot washing as a regular practice. Check the text again to note how clearly foot washing is hammered by Jesus as something to be copied. While not patently pagan, the historically orthodox concepts of transubstantiation and consubstantiation are nearly laughable for their absurdity.

- Water baptism is not even a purely Christian ritual, being practised by all kinds of groups as a public initiation rite. By getting dunked we are publicly associating with that dunking group, whatever that group might be. Today, this is obsolete, as wearing a Christian t-shirt or uniform (as I am reminded so powerfully every time I go downtown) is magnitudes more effective in associating with Jesus Christ publicly to sinners than getting dunked once in front of six sinner friends we were able to coerce out to the holiness meeting with promises of Swiss Chalet and a swim afterward.

- It is not helpful for us to identify, to the sinning public- our people- with the liberal (apostate?) former churches that hog the real estate downtown and most of what passes for Christian warfare on our front.

- Number 8 serge is a bear to dry clean after mucky harbour dippings.

- In an Army we follow our leaders' directions. We are following our leaders.

So that is where we stand.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 19, 2003.

March 18, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

One of my pal’s favourite worship leader is Bono. I think her list goes: Bono, David Ruis, Lauryn Hill. But that’s another story.

Bono, in one of his legendary live lines at least a decade ago, says, “The God that I believe in isn’t short of cash, mister!”

So my issue here isn’t that God lacks cash. As Captain Doug Burr told me, “My God owns the kettles in a thousand malls” (you have to be semi-biblically literate to get that one; oh, and a salvo).

But I’ve heard of a Christian organization that is taking a hit financially these days. Some think that God must be a little short of cash. Maybe they need to work a little harder at the spring Appeal, or be sharper in their direct mail, or…

No. I think that God has been trying to get this organization’s attention. I think that He may have tried all kinds of methods, some of which were harmful to Him in the short –term, all in hopes of catching someone’s ear. Probably most involved the retreat of His protection for a short time to demonstrate human vulnerability. But the costs were high. Whether it was lawsuit or death or immorality or slime, the problems sucked the attention that God craved.

So I think He may have gone for the pocket book. And I think He will get their attention. And, frankly, even if He doesn’t, it may be that these new financial pressures help to bring about change toward God’s intention anyway.

Lord, help us to listen clearly and obey, so something like that never happens to us.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 18, 2003

March 17, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

In honour of St. Patrick, here is his prayer, The Breastplate:
Today I put on
a terrible strength
invoking the Trinity
confessing the Three
with faith in the One
as I face my Maker.
Today I put on the power
of Christ's birth and baptism,
of his hanging and burial,
His resurrection, ascension,
and descent at the Judgement.
Today I put on the power
of the order of the Cherubim,
angels' obedience,
archangels' attendance,
in hope of ascending
to my reward;
patriarchs' prayers,
prophets' predictions,
apostles precepts,
confessors' testimony,
holy virgins' innocence
and the deeds of true men.
Today I put on
the power of Heaven,
the light of the Sun,
the radiance of the Moon,
the splendour of fire,
the fierceness of lightning,
the swiftness of wind,
the depth of the sea,
the firmness of earth
and the hardness of rock.
Today I put on
God's strenghth to steer me,
God's power to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye for my vision,
God's ear for my hearing,
God's word for my speech,
God's hand to protect me,
God's pathway before me,
God's shield for my shelter,
God's angels to guard me
from ambush of devils,
from vice's allurements,
from traps of the flesh,
from all who wish ill,
whether distant or close,
alone or in hosts.
I summon these powers today
to take my part against every implacable power
that attacks my body and soul,
the chants of false prophets,
dark laws of the pagans,
false heretics' laws,
entrapments of idols,
enchantments of women
or smiths or druids,
and all knowledge that poisons
man's body or soul.
Christ guard me today
from poison, from burning,
from drowning, from hurt,
that I have my reward.
Christ beside me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ within me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me.
Christ on my right hand,
Christ on my left,
Christ where I lie,
Christ where I sit,
Christ where I rise.
Christ in the hearts of all who think of me,
Christ in the mouths of all who speak to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Today I put on
a terrible strength,
invoking the Trinity,
confessing the Three,
with faith in the One
as I face my Maker.
Domini est salus.
Domini est salus.
Domini est salus.
Salus tua, Domine, sit semper vobiscum.
Russell Rook prays this on the forthcoming AND CAN IT BE? CD (stay tuned to armybarmy.com).
Posted by Stephen Court, March 17, 2003.

March 17, 2003.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

I did a teaching called Christmorphosis a while ago. I wrote an article on it, and preached it (It is an ACC preach on this site). I got some of the good stuff from a deep guy, an evangelist called Andrew Shearman. I can describe that man in one word- ZEAL.

Anyway, it is classic stuff about us growing up in our relationship with God. I recommend the preach. :- )

But I left something important out, and just learned something more. So, without running through the whole argument about this whole life being about getting our inheritance, and we don’t get it until we are ‘adopted’ into the family, I’ll just add the new stuff, and, if you’re intrigued, you can listen.

The tricky part has to do with Jesus. He’s always God and always man. But there is a period in His life during which He is merely Jesus and after which He is the Christ. It has to do with His adoption into the family of God (again, either see the article or listen to the preach for details.

I quoted Psalm 2 to support this position. I left out the key follow-up! Verse 7 reads, “The Lord said to Me: Thou art My Son; this day I have begotten Thee.” That’s the adoption part. But I forgot to add verse 8: “Ask it of Me, and I will make the nations Thy inheritance, and the ends of the earth Thy possession.” It is all about the inheritance and I forgot the part that provided the inheritance, right after the adoption! You preachers know how I feel.

Well, I was reading Ravi Zacharias, a habit I recommend to all, and he quotes the famous Linus verse in Isaiah 9: “For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given.” This is the important new part for me. The child is born. The Son is given! That is it, again, right there! Do you get it?

The pitch to us is that we, too, though we may be children born into the family, must become sons (and daughters) given or adopted into the family so that we can get our inheritance.

Are you lacking an inheritance? You need to get adopted.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 17, 2003.

March 16, 2003.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

One of our comrade pro-lifers got assaulted this week. Cops, arrests, commotion, the whole shooting match.

The cause was a BIG sign that showed three pictures: dead Jews with a byline reading UNGENTILE; a lynched black man with the tag, UNWHITE; and a dead unborn baby with the line, UNBORN (see for yourself at the bottom left of http://www.abortionno.org/GAP/gap_signs4.html).

A lady started screaming ‘take this down’ repeatedly, apparently because she was offended that there was a black man being lynched in the photo.

She was engaged by an orthodox Jewish man, fittingly present to represent protest against another of the three groups depicted in the graphic sign.

Of course, there were no babies who could protest the murder of their own. So we had to be there to represent them.

It was all very powerful.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 16, 2003.

March 15, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

So, you may have caught on about our weekly pro-life protests across the street from an abortuary. We wear sandwich boards that say things like ‘Abortion kills babies’.

And that’s fine. My buddy, Rob, a regular with me, figures that this is a good entry level activity so that when we stand before God and He asks what we did about the abortion issue, at least we won’t be dumbstruck. He knows that street protests aren’t the most effective thing to do, but it is something.

We wondered why we stand with a sandwich board saying ‘abortion kills babies’ and we don’t stand out there with ones that say ‘It’s Jesus or hell’.

My mom used to go out on the streets with such signs.

Here’s my thing, and I don’t think it is a cop-out. With pro-life, the sandwich boards are entry level; do this because you can’t think of anything better. But for evangelism, sandwich boards are also entry level, something to do when you can think of nothing better.

We’ve got lots of better things to do. We can do prayer evangelism. We can do power evangelism. We can do friendship evangelism. We can do tract evangelism. We can do ‘needs’ evangelism. We don’t have to settle for sandwich board evangelism.

That’s not to say there is not place for it. I’d do it.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 15, 2003.

March 12, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Addition to last post…

I want to raise up 100 who will raise up 100s.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 12, 2003.

March 12, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

John Wesley once proclaimed: "Give me one hundred men who love only God with all their heart and hate only sin with all their heart and we will shake the gates of hell and bring in the kingdom of God in one generation."

I want to be one of the 100.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 12, 2003.

March 12, 2003.

Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Isaiah 57:15 God explains, “I … dwell with him who is lowly and contrite in spirit.”

Jesus is hanging out with the poor, the marginalized, the drug addict, the prostitute, the homeless. I need to hang out there some more.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 12, 2003.

March 12, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

In our cell meeting last night, my friend Elaine taught us about the Good Samaritan. When this man SAW the beaten person, he jumped into compassionate action. The verb ‘saw’ is a strong word, connoting perception, and even staring.

This poor sufferer sure caught the Good Samaritan’s attention. It was a convicting moment. It is so easy to walk straight by the suffering who huddle in store doorways, who crouch on corners with their hats out, who shake, shimmy, and shuffle under some drug-induced demonic spell.

Yes, we go out among them and serve them, witnessing to Jesus’ love and power. But at other times, when we’re not intentionally witnessing, it is pretty easy to look askance and pick up the tempo of guilty steps.

Hmm.

Then my wife Danielle jumped in with a memory from an evangelistic campaign overseas. Apparently (and forgive me if I get a detail or two wrong) the common greeting in Zulu speaks to this issue forcefully. Upon meeting the first person says ‘I am alive’. The second person responds, ‘I see you’.

It is almost as if existence itself is wrapped up in community, that our acknowledgement of you, our recognition of your presence completes you, confirms that you are alive.

What does that say of so many that I walk by? What does that say about me?
Posted by Stephen Court, March 12, 2003.

March 11, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

A few of my friends attended a women’s conference at which they were taught exciting ways to make up a mission statement. They had to pick from a few words to describe themselves and then fire off ten descriptors to characterize the word they chose.

‘Fire’ is the word I chose afterwards, as they practised what they learned on me. One of the first descriptors I chose was ‘incendiary’.

The dictionary defines ‘incendiary’ as follows:
1. used or adapted for setting property on fire;
2. of arson;
3. tending to arouse strife, sedition;
4. a person who commits arson;
5. a device that burns with an intense heat;
6. a person who stirs up strife.

That defines what I want to be, fairly well. I want to be used to set territory on fire (1), to start and spread fires (2,4). I want to arouse sedition, or, rebellion against the government of satan (3,6). I want to burn with an intense heat (5).
How about you?
Posted by Stephen Court, March 11, 2003.

March 11, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

I figure we need probably 5,000 outlandishly sold-out, extravagently anointed, wonderful sign-performing, divinely creative, super-humanly tireless, spiritually authoritative, offensively bold, ankle-rubbingly humble, over-size-hearted compassionate, devil-daring, shockingly fearless, holy, passionate, zealous, covenanted, apostolic, prophetic end-time warriors to win the world.
Are you in?
Posted by Stephen Court, March 11, 2003.

March 10th, 2003
Hi.
I’ve been reading a book called ‘The Mask of Command’ – it’s a study on Generalship… it covers the great military leaders of the world. Right now, I’m captivated by Alexander the Great. He was 16 years old when he fought in his first war and 18 when he led his first command. I was thinking the army might have been on to something when they put youngsters in charge of the early day ranks. Alexander died at age 34 – but he was without doubt one of the most effective military leaders of all time. Imagine if he had to have waited 15 years until he was a Major in order to lead commands?? He would have been dead already. And perhaps many have died, waiting for the chance to lead. Hmmm.
Another interesting thing about his leadership style is that he is the epitome of ‘heroic’. He led every battle at the front of the charge. He had scars from almost every one. There were even times when he charged alone until his heroic and unabashed courage roused the doubting ranks to action. Wow. Maybe his success is his willingness to die in the thick of it for the glory of it. He wasn’t just a leader – he was fighter. Then I was thinking it might only be possible to be an effective ‘military leader’ if you are a fighter. If you think like a fighter, and act like a fighter and FEEL like a fighter. What if every officer had to have a front line contact? Every Headquarters officer was appointed one day a week to a field position… just to keep acting, and thinking and feeling like fighters. Perhaps we’d be producing ‘heroic leaders’ of new proportions.

I’m determined to fight heroically in this salvation war. Join me.
Danielle

March 9th, 2003
Here’s another thing. I’ve gobbled down a couple of chapters of a new book called ‘Why not Women?’ by the founder and president of YWAM international. It is an incredible book so far. I highly recommend it. What baffles me though, is how long this fight has been going and how often on the front of women in leadership in the church it seems to be moving in the wrong direction.
When William Booth drew up the principles of the early Salvation Army – women in leadership was one of his chief priorities and ‘callings’. The Salvation Army was actually raised up to unleash women in ministry. The equality of the Kingdom of God was put forth as an example and the church has followed in many ways, I guess. Even in the western world mainline churches are still voting and debating and wasting a lot of time and energy on the women in leadership issue. It’s quite baffling. Even in the army (which is perhaps the most tragic of all realities) women struggle to advance according to gifting instead of gender.
I chalk it up to a demonic attack. I think that the promise to Eve in the garden that her descendents would end up crushing his head… and that the picture painting in Psalm 68 about a great host of women warriors that would destroy their enemies is a picture of what God has in mind for women in the battle for the salvation of the world. And I think the enemy knows it – how else can you account for the absolute assault against women around the world. An “article (in New York Times back page) explained how demographic scientists can predict how many males and females will be born anywhere in the world. But recent statistics show that as many as 100 million little girls are missing in today’s generation worldwide, killed by their families because of gender- page 20, Loren Cunningham). Many of them were born in third world countries and because they weren’t male were left to die – exposed to the elements as little helpless babies. Many of them were aborted because they didn’t fit the bill for the life of their parents for some reason. Why the assault on women? It’s something to think about.
Still baffled by the realities of it all.
Danielle

March 9, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

So I was just out pro-lifing it a bit, wearing a sandwich board that read ‘Abortion Kills Babies.” That kind of thing, and the Big signs we have (see the bottom left link on armybarmy.com that says, ‘abortion is out’) provoke a fair bit of response. One lady wondered why weren’t protesting against the war in Iraq.

‘Wonder’ is a bit of a stretch, since she was in no mind to discuss that question. Because of her state I refrained from offering that the estimated 100,000 casualties of renewed armed conflict in Iraq would make about one month’s worth of killed babies in America.

Which is the greater cause for protest?
Posted by Stephen Court, March 9, 2003.

March 8, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

We were on about being pro-life based on principle or being anti-abortion based on preference or consequence.

One argument I’ve heard against the pro-life period (based on the principle of the sanctity of human life) is the situation in which both an unborn baby and the pregnant mother are dying and in saving one the other will die.

I say that you aren’t aborting the baby, you are saving the mother. The retort is that it is the exact same procedure to abort the baby as it is to save the mother.

Well, some of you have heard the old evangelistic story of the father who took his son to work one day. You will know that the Father represents God and that the Son represents Jesus. He was responsible for the bridge going up and down for marine and train traffic. He was surprised to see an unscheduled train approaching the upright bridge. As he turned to flick the switch he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, his young son playing in the gear of the bridge. The sound of the oncoming train was too loud for his to warn his son and the train itself was too close for him to run and rescue his son.

And so, with remorse that I can’t imagine, he flipped the switch to lower the bridge.

He flipped the switch to save the lives of the train passengers.

He flipped the switch and killed his son.

The exact same procedure, flipping the switch, both saved many lives and killed his son. He did not flip the switch to kill his son (notice that the Son was sacrificed so that all those people could be saved, just like in real life).

In the same way, to perform a procedure, in the hypothetical situation described to me, that both saves the mother and kills the baby is to perform the procedure to save the mother. It is not to perform the procedure to kill the baby.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 8, 2003.

There are rumours of war in the air. Some people figure Iraq is going to be attacked. They expect that the Iraqi dictator will be removed from power and that the country’s forces will be disarmed of weapons of mass destruction.

This has caused much uproar from people with strong convictions on both sides. There are even some ancient Greek students who are following the comedy by Aristophanes (415 BC), in which, a bunch of women, fed up with watching their husbands bounce from war to war, decide to withhold sex to force them to sign a truce (see Lysistrata Project). The latter day Lysistras are going on a sex strike until their men stop supporting the war.

Even Amnesty International is admitting the gross persecution and oppression in that country. Says AI, on a link from the top headline article;

Human rights violations have been committed on a massive scale against all sectors of society in Iraq. Most of the victims have been suspected political opponents of the government, their relatives, and members of religious and ethnic groups.

I guess The Salvation Army has spoken publicly on the subject. In New Zealand, we, “oppose and denounce any unilateral military action against Iraq.” I’m not sure that statement is as strong as it sounds since there are more than twenty nations in the so-called coalition of the willing that are preparing for attack (I assume that they intend ‘unilateral’ in this sense and not meaning ‘from one side’ since the conflict is still part of the Persian Gulf War, instigated by Iraq, and being extended by the truce-breaking of Iraq, making any invasion of Iraq part of a multi-lateral military action). This being the case, the statement is as innocuous as me opposing and denouncing any attack on Iraq by the Harlem Globetrotters. This is a joint statement made with some churches.

The Army in the UK and Ireland has also made a public statement. The UK Army is, “very concerned about the situation in Iraq.” “Salvationists in the UK would encourage actions and statements which showed that any conflict would not be a 'war on Islam'.”

I’ve been asked when The Salvation Army in my country will come out with a statement. Of course, I’ve no clue. However, I wonder if we’ve any right, here or in the UK or NZ, to make any statement against a war ostensibly intended to, among other things, free an oppressed people, if we haven’t done anything to free them ourselves.

To the extent we’ve been there serving and preaching the good news to the poor, to the extent we’ve been advocating for the imprisoned, to the extent we have been setting free the downtrodden, to the extent we’ve been proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour, to that extent we’ve got the right to speak out against the war.

I love to worship. I’ve written about it here. I love to promote great SA worship as I’ve encountered it around the world. Some of you in various parts of the world will have been blessed to worship with the likes of Tony Baso, Michelle Kay, Mark Hood, Nathan Rowe, Andrew Grinnell, Tom Freeman, and Danielle Strickland, all strong SA worship leaders.

I want each of these and scores more who I’ve not met yet to be prospered by the Lord and anointed with a powerful, intimate, authoritative gift to lead The Salvation Army in worship.

That said, we’ve been typically weak in worship. And this has given us a poor self-esteem (I write to those of you who recognize our spiritual poverty in the corporate worship that the Church understands in these days). When we get out to inter-denominational events we relish the corporate worship, but we sometimes get down on ourselves for what has been described as the desert that is SA worship.

My wife Danielle corrected that powerfully on the last occasion we had to worship outside the Army. The word got out in our little group about ‘I wish that we…’ and ‘Why can’t we…’ and Danielle interrupted.

After blessing the Body and the different parts of it, with specific mention of the great worship in which we had been involved, Danielle noted that we don’t have to take a back seat. She instructed us that what the Army has down, what we bring to the table to bless the rest of the Body, is Isaiah 58 worship.

And that is nothing to sneeze at. The rest of the Body may be better than us right now at crawling into God’s presence with sweet songs or joyously proclaiming His divine character to Him. But we, on our good days, have Isaiah 58 worship down. Let’s keep it, and continue working on the other aspects.

I had the privilege today to meet with the retired officers fellowship. Technically, they are all officers on reserve now, but you know how hard it is to change a Retired Officership Flag or a culture that tells you that you are retired and on the shelf.

There were a lot of victories represented in that room. There were a lot of blood and tears poured out over those lifetimes. There were deep wells of compassion lingering there. It was a profound place.

To some extent, it was a bit like Hebrews 11. I don’t mean the front end, but the back end:

And all these, while winning divine approval through their faith, did not receive the promised blessing; for God had in view something better for us, so that without us they would not be made perfect.

Now, that doesn’t sound very good. These saints have won divine approval through their faith. Hallelujah. But to some extent, the promised blessing hasn’t yet come. We’ve not won the world. Any revivals in their day were few and far between. They fought during a tough era for the Army in our territory. But they were faithful.

Now it falls on us. Not to add to the burden, but in some way, they look to the next generation to gain on the ground they won. They look for the fulfilled promises during these days. They expect to be made perfect through what God continues to do. Our faithfulness to God should be enough to spur us on to martyr-like devotion. If the invisibility of God makes that difficult for you, look to the faithful generation that has gone before, breaking up the unploughed ground, warring against a powerful enemy, establishing beachheads for the Kingdom, defending land won, preaching, evangelizing, serving, discipling our generation to advance the warfare for God’s greater glory, and decide to totally commit your SELF to this great Salvation Conflict.

Here are a few letters to the bloggers from this week. A couple tackle important issues from Captains’ Blog or JAC so I run them at face value for you to digest.

I'm responding to your piece on the abortion war and the church's desired stance re. the issue.

I'm a Christian and a Salvationist… So, like yourself and the JAC website readers I feel I have a right and a duty to try and express how I feel about the subject.

Abortion is in many instances the needless taking of life. It is a suffering that doesn't end with the termination of a pregnancy. For example, I think I would be in complete agreement with you and many Salvos/Christians that late-term abortion, or infanticide by another name, should never be allowed to be used as a form of too-late birth control.

However, even though I would not declare myself to be pro-abortion in many cases, I personally would not take a eight-month-old child to an emotionally and potentially-physically volatile clash between right-to-lifers and pro-abortionists. As with experiences in North America, we here in Australia have had instances of people being fatally shot at right-to-life protests.

The question of what kind of risks you expose your children to is of course a personal one. Your son, Zion, is too young to benefit from the experience, and hopefully too young to be adversely affected. Which leaves me (acknowledging your lack of a babysitter) to perceive your decision to take him as a stunt intended to offend pro-choicers, some/many of whom may possibly have been dealing with the emotional and spiritual anguish of having had abortions themselves. All this duly noted, and though I might disagree with you, taking your child was your call as a parent (and presumably Danielle's call also).

Re. your comments, it's one of the tricks o' the trade for journalists/communicators the world over to plant an inflammatory comment or two in the body of the text to provoke a strong emotional reaction.

Obviously Salvation Army mags and websites are not averse to using such a ploy; if something doesn't get people to think and respond then you can logically and with some authority say an article failed in its efforts.

Your juxtaposition of would-be satire re. a Christian group's pragmatic approach to reasons to sanction abortion (below)

| ...if you can't find a crib that will match the colour of the baby room you are planning

is going to be offensive to any Christian who has worked through these issues, or has friends or family who have gone through the agony of deciding whether to give an embryo or foetus the opportunity to live at the possible expense of a woman's physical, spiritual or psychological health.

I personally think you stand in error if you are going to judge a woman or a couple for aborting a child in the circumstances you outline before your throwaway lines (that are acknowledged and respected by the Army's positional statements in the Army's Australia Southern and Eastern Territories).

You don't have the right to judge, or mock, the decision and the pain it involves - neither do I. Indeed, neither do I have the right to judge your stance, which in many instances I agree with.

I respect a lot of what you have achieved and are achieving, Stephen. I love the passion you and Danielle bring to mission for Jesus. But if you perceive the world around you to be a just and perfect world where the good are rewarded and the bad punished - where you feel you can speak on moral issues with complete certainty and label them black or white with an almost arrogant dismissal of the viewpoint of others - then you are in error and are selling yourself and the church in general short. Life is not that simple. I believe God expects us to use our intellects and our emotions concurrently.

Just want to let you know that I have been blessed big time by the Captians Blogs. I come to work everyday a hour and a half early just to worship, read the sciptures, and read some Salvation Army stuff (including the Blog) to give me a renewed passion each day for the war that we are in.

I've come to realize that when i don't get my daily dose of captain's blog i suffer some serious withdrawal...please know that i'm really enjoying the timbits of provocative thought that you and Danielle are providing. As well, I find that when I'm preparing for cell groups I will refer back to your writings and materials and they are guaranteed to spur discussion...I love it!

As long as I'm on the topic, armybarmy and JAC have developed quite an avid following over here...my youth are accelerating spiritually in some interesting and passionate directions. This is largely due to the articles that they are reading from those websites and the fact that they are hungering after the Holy Spirit and the Will of God not only for their individual lives but for them as a group. I've not seen anything like it before!! Certainly not in the adult corps anyway...There are more than a few spirited emails being volleyed about and many fiery discussions a-blazin! So way to be a catalyst bro - and thanks for being obedient to God.

It is so refreshing to see a Christian leader, such as yourself, willing to speak out against abortion, willing to state the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

I was just reading your blog article where you discuss people who are against abortion due to preference, consensus, or consequence, but not principal. Your example regarding preference brought a thought to mind that I can't remember if I mentioned to you before -- you refer to people prefering to use a pill or condom instead of their taxes going to kill babies. But the pill actually can kill babies too because of its 3^rd mechanism (changing the lining of the uterus to prevent implantation if fertilization occurs:

The end. Some good points are made. I note that I was writing on the macro issue of abortion and failed to consider the feelings of past participants. I didn’t mean to come across condemning. Please forgive me.

March 5, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

I just listened to a tape of prophecies by Stacey Campbell made up in Williams Lake at the first Primitive Salvationist Network gathering. Wow! I will try to get one part of it up online in the coming weeks at armybarmy.com.
Stacey Campbell is a recognized prophetic voice to the international church. She gives an intense, detailed, and hopeful prophecy for The Salvation Army. It is powerful.
But for now, one thing: she described (this is in 2001) as the bride in army boots. I love it. A passionate, covenanted, intimate lover who is battle-ready and active. That is what I want to be. That is what I want our Army to be!
Posted by Stephen Court, March 5, 2003.

March 5, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

One territorial leader in another country identified the following problems and challenges in the Army of today. After each colon, I’ve addressed each one, and on several of the issues, offered a solution.

>Lack of prepared leaders: SFOTs have to get better at preparing for real world warfare. This includes the curricula, the teachers, the ethos, and the incoming students. Alternative training schools like The War College will prove more nimble at adapting to the exigencies of the war;

>Maintenance mentality: it comes down to organizational culture (including the promotions system, the understanding of the CO's role, and the spirit of control), leadership ability, and understanding of mission (I say it is to win the world);

>Losing touch with the people we were raised to serve: Cariboo HIll CO (largest corps in the country) serves sandwiches every week at midnight downtown to street people. He is in touch;

>Lack of enthusiasm for the Army: organizational inferiority complex- you'd think that the Nolands and Praiseworks! of the Army would pull us out of it. But too many salvos get their lead from tv, tapes, videos, and conferences outside the Army;

>Professionalism, career versus calling: massive issue for officers in the West; It will take at least a generation of senior leaders being appointed to corps and a substantial reduction in standard of living for officers for this to change;

>Confederation of Army's: difficult reality. We should be able to work the communications system to our advantage (the cults do it effectively- with satallite preaching on Sundays);

>Letting funds set the agenda: another tension. We need risk-taking leaders (COs) and senior leaders who support them (i.e. don't punish failure and find the resources to make God-given dreams reality);

>Separation of social services and evangelism: if we get back to authentic community the helps could take place from within that biblical context;

>Loss of youth activities and ministry: we suffer the same as second generation ethnic congregations whose kids speak English and don't want to worship in ______ (place immigrant language here). Our SA culture is at least as strong as a first generation immigrant ethnic congregation's culture. The solution is in the parent congregation changing, not extra efforts for the kids;

>Training is becoming academic, with a loss of people focus: and a loss of mission focus. One senior leader in America told me that we are infatuated with credentials. Some of our best warriors in history would be rejected from our training schools;

>Lack of self-sacrifice for the Salvation of the world: Amen. God forgive. God, keep the poor, the oppressed, the broken, the vulnerable, the orphan and the widow in my mind and heart, please.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 5, 2003.

March 4, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name.

I warned you a couple of blogs ago about the competition thing.
I’ve got two goals in life:
1. win the world for Jesus;
2. love Jesus more than anybody else does.
Whew. There, I said it. It is out in the open.
As far as number one is concerned, I will offend most Christians. Most are influenced in the end-time worldview more by good fiction than by Biblical teaching. So they think we’re just going to get raptured and avoid the ugly ending. These Christians will pity me. But a bunch of other Christians, those who sympathise with me, will still disagree. These people believe, as I do, that there will be a great final harvest before the end of the world, as Jesus and Revelation teach. But few of them will actually go for the whole world in their dreams. The bravest among them, that I’ve met anyway, are aiming for one billion. So, these Christians, too, figure I’m a little deluded. So, most people feel sorry for me. Oh well. I’m going for the world.
My hero Catherine Booth prophesied that this movement will inaugurate the great final conquest of the Lord Jesus Christ. The common goal of her Army was to ‘tear hell’s throne to pieces and win the world for Jesus.’ To quote Morpheus in the upcoming MATRIX RELOADED: “Isn’t that worth fighting for? Isn’t that worth dying for?”
The second one will tick most of you, too. I am in competition with you. Yes, I want to love Jesus more than you do. I am not deluded. I realize that I’ve got a long way to go. I’ve met heaps of people who love Jesus way more than me. But I am going for it. Our competition includes everyone that ever lived. Do you want to join me?
posted by Stephen Court, March 4, 2003.

March 4, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name.

Yesterday was a big day (the third). It was the third day of the third month of the third year of the third millennium.
But it was also big for other reasons (see my February 27 blog). Besides what I noted on the 27th, it was also the 33 anniversary of the filing day for Roe v. Wade (which led to the evil law that has facilitated the murder of more than 3,600 American babies every day! Yes, every day!).
Now, I’ve not tuned in to every news cast available to humanity, but I cannot see that the Fiji Global Consciouness New Age Love-in worked, that there were any terrorist attacks, or that we renewed our evil covenant with the spirit of death (re. Roe v. Wade).
Praise God. Thank You God for Your mercy.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 4, 2003.

March 4, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

I think I mentioned something about a top 5 list in my last post. I know, I know. But let me explain.
Way back I noted that one of my heroes was Commissioner Frederick Booth-Tucker. He pioneered The Salvation Army in India. One his early converts was Arnolis Weerasooryia. This man was apparently one-of-a-kind. He quickly rose to become the TC in India and during Tucker’s long absence in England led the Army in that huge country (it is now broken into SIX territories).
Colonel Weerasooryia was eager to love Jesus more than anyone else. He passionate about it. He searched for the person in a village who loved Jesus most, and then set out to learn from that person to love Jesus more. Then he’d hit the books of the great hearts in history, seeking for the ways that they loved Jesus. And on and on he progressed.
It sounds like competition to me. And I know that this has a bad reputation in Christian circles. But for a holy man to want to love Jesus more than me, and to actively compete with me to accomplish it, well, who loses? I mean, we both end up loving Jesus more!
So, that is another blog (maybe the next one), but I wanted to get into the ranking thing for a minute.
Jesus actually gave us the MO for being first - be the servant of all.
So, in the spirit of Jesus and Weerassoryia (who, by the way, is noted for saying, ‘the Cross is the attraction’), I like to consider those who have made the greatest impact for the Kingdom of God throughout history.
And Bill Bright is one of them. We’re blessed because he is still around. He started a movement called Campus Crusade for Christ, an evangelistic and discipling movement that is stretching its influence through all kinds of countries and all levels of society. The two greatest evangelistic tools in history, measured by fruitfulness in conversion, the Jesus Film and the Four Spiritual Laws, come out of this movement as well. Wow. Praise the Lord. God raise up more Bill Brights.
Who else is up there? I’ll have to come back to the list on another day…
Posted by Stephen Court, March 4, 2003.

March 3, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

I am a Crusader for Christ.
My session at the College For Officer Training in Toronto was so named. I love it. I know it is entirely politically incorrect. I know that I am not helping myself to reach those on the receiving end of the most-times corrupt Crusades. I know that there are many evils that were perpetrated in the name of the Crusades.
But you know what? Billy Graham seems to have done pretty well with the term. And Bill Bright (one of history’s top 5 Christians? Think about the harvest from the Four Spiritual Laws and the Jesus Film and compare) of Campus Crusade for Christ got by. And, besides, I never chose the name!
So, anyway, our session had it’s own verse. Oh, a verse may have been foisted upon us. After all, the name was, and a song! Our verse is inscribed on little bookmarks we got when were commissioned as Salvation Army officers.
2 Corinthians 6:7: By the power of God; by the armour of righteousness.
That about says it all.
We’re about combination of the power of God and the holiness of God. The use of the word armour denotes battle-readiness and connotes live-action fire. That we do our thing ‘by’ this and ‘by’ that implies that it is not ourselves, our cleverness, our skills, our disciplines, our creativity, or our plans.
Insofar as I’ve fallen short of my mission to date it is largely due to that tragic fact that I’ve gone into battle without that power and without that armour, and that I’ve relied on other factors.
God forgive me.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 3, 2003.

March 2, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Back to the abortion thing for a minute. I am growing increasingly convinced that many Christians are not taught the truth about abortion. I just assumed that because you are born again, that your sins are forgiven, that you’ve been adopted into God’s family, that you’ve crossed over from death to life, that you’d be pro-life.
But many in my movement aren’t. In fact, the movement in which I fight is not pro-life. Now, before anyone gets all hot and bothered, let me admit that they say they are pro-life. But what they really are is anti-abortion on demand. That is not pro-life. That is pro-convenience. That is anti-mess. That is pro-pill and pro-condom. That is vaguely moral-sounding.
But it is not pro-life.
You see, if you believe in the sanctity of life, if you are PRO-life, then you are pro-life. What I mean is that if you are pro-life you don’t attach a bunch of exceptions to your stand. Many of my comrades say that they are pro-life EXCEPT in cases of ______, ______, and _____ (fill in the blanks with your choice of unseemly situation including rape, incest, etc.). What they are really saying is that they are against abortion on demand. Yipee. At best they are saying, “I am in favour of life (of protecting a baby’s life) with some exceptions, in which cases I am not in favour of life.”
And they don’t see the issue. It is tantamount to saying that I am pro-Jesus, except _____, _____, and _____ (how about these blank-fillers: 1. when it means I have to stop sinning; 2. when I might be embarrassed for being labeled a Jesus-follower; and 3. when I might have to obey Him at the cost of my desires?). You’re not pro-Jesus. You might be pro-religion, pro-appearance, or pro-warm-and-fuzzies, but you are not pro-Jesus. In effect, you can say, “I am in favour of Jesus, with some exceptions, in which cases I am not in favour of life.”
Once you throw an exception in, your position is not based on principle. It may be based on preference or consensus or consequence (see Professor Christopher Hodgkinson) but it isn’t based on the fact that you belief human life to be anything special.
Does that make sense? For example, you may not want to kill unborn babies on demand. That may be an issue of preference. You would prefer to use a pill or a condom than have your tax dollars (in my country) poured into killing babies as a means of contraceptive. Or it may be an issue of consensus. Most people in our western society feel it a little uncivilized to be killing babies on demand. It could be an issue of consequence. So you are against killing babies on demand because if you go around killing unborn babies on demand it becomes increasingly difficult for the mother to bear children in the future. But you cannot say that you are against killing babies on demand is a matter of a principle you hold that human life is sacred, because you make exceptions to your anti-abortion stand.
And once you start down that road you find yourself traveling with a Professor Peter Singer, who actually argues that some humans aren’t people and so don’t deserve the same human rights as the rest of us. Unborn babies are on his list. But so are newly born babies. And there are also really old people who can’t really do much any more. And he’d include all sorts of health issues and mental limitations. So, once you make an exception to your pro-life role you are in cahoots with Singer and the death squad. You may think it unseemly to kill old, sick, or whiny people, but your distaste for killing them is not based on any principle but only preference, consensus, or consequence.
Christians need to learn about the sanctity of human life. We are created in God’s image.
Let’s fight to protect life.
Posted by Stephen Court, March 1, 2003.

March 1, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.

Here’s something ironic. Our family was out doing our pro-life protesting yesterday, at a new location. On one side of the street was an enormous vertical TOYS ‘R US sign. The store also had a prominent horizontal sign that read BABIES ‘R US.
Directly across the street from the BABIES ‘R US sign was the abortion clinic.
The joys of a free country (outside the 50 foot bubble zone).
Posted by Stephen Court, March 1, 2003.

Captains' Blog is a regular feature on armybarmy.com. These web logs are posted a couple of times a week by Captains Danielle Strickland and Stephen Court. You can respond with comments to: sixonefour@lightspeed.ca