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CAPTAINS' BLOG
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June 30, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
One of the reasons for the success of the Congress we just
finished was the prayer. One of the types of intercession was
Joshua prayer. You remember that.
We marched seven days around the open-air site (Oppenheimer
Park) and around the congress site (Canada Place). The first six
days were silent. The first six laps of day seven were silent.
You’d be surprised how intimidating 15 people walking silently
around a park can be. Park workers and police officers gave our
crew, complete with a few kids- one in a stroller- more
attention than the dozens of law-breakers all within in sight of
us during the time. People were afraid of what we were going to
do (I guess I should add that we had flags!).
Two druggies sitting on the corner carried on a conversation
that went something like this:
1 - ‘what are The Salvation
Army guys doing walking around the park?’
2 - ‘they’re taking it back, man; they’re
taking it back.’
God confirmed His word through a modern day
Cyrus (yes, I know I just jumped Old Testament books for
Biblical support). And, of course, lap seven was the victory
lap.
During the earlier circuits I recalled the rowdy merriment on
the streets after Vancouver Canuck play-off victories. There was
no way that I was going to let a second round play-off game
victory celebration over-shadow a Salvation Warfare victory lap!
And so we did it up right. I don’t know if we scared anyone
sober at Oppenheimer Park or if we scared the trim off of any
brigadiers later that night around Canada Place, but we did put
the fear of God into the minds of a lot of demons.
posted by Stephen Court, June 30, 2003.
June 29, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
One of my heroes, Fakir Singh, penned these words (SASB 780):
They bid me chose an easier path and seek a lighter cross
They bid me mingle with Heaven’s gold a little of earth’s dross
The bid me, but in vain, once more the world’s illusions try;
I cannot leave the dear old flag, ‘twere better far to die.
They say the fighting is too hard, my strength of small avail
When foes beset and friends are fled my faith must surely fail
But, O how can I quit my post while millions sin-bound lie?
I cannot leave the dear old flag, ‘twere better far to die.
They say I can a Christian be and serve God quite as well
And reach Heaven just as surely by the music of church bell;
But, O the drum and clarion call of band make my pulse fly!
I cannot leave the dear old flag, ‘twere better far to die.
I answer, life is fleeting fast, I cannot, cannot wait;
For me my comrades beckoning stand beyond the pearly gate;
I hear their hallelujahs grand, I hear their battle cry:
O do not leave the dear old flag, ‘twere better far to die.
Heroic.
posted by Stephen Court, June 29, 2003.
June 28, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Back on Christopher Dawson (from a few days ago), again from
National Review (John Cullinan, ‘Godless in Brussels’):
As Christopher Dawson, the great cultural and intellectual
historian, tirelessly explained, cult (or worship) is the basis
of culture - not the other way round. "The civilization that
finds no place for religion," he added, "is a maimed culture
that has lost its spiritual roots and is condemned to sterility
and decadence."
Our maimed culture can partly blame our hypocritical, natural
(in contrast to truth and Spirit) worship. This concept adds
more weight to Amos’s 9:11 prophecy and James’s reiteration
(Acts 15:16,17) about how the restoration of David’s fallen tent
will bring the gentiles of the nations.
If our worship is true and spiritual, we can transform society.
How’s that for a different kind of evangelism!
posted by Stephen Court, June 28, 2003.
June 27, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Charles Colson said this in Christianity Today (online- June 12,
2000):
Historian Christopher Dawson argued that the cult (what and
how people worship) is the root of culture. A healthy "cult," by
its very existence, creates a strong culture; conversely an
unhealthy culture indicates a weak "cult." This is a sobering
thought for today's church as we look at the cultural decay
around us.
It is sobering because our worship sets the spiritual water
level of our society. It is because our worship has been
unhealthy that our society is unhealthy, if Dawson is right.
This is yet another argument for the evangelistic element of
worship.
Posted by Stephen Court, June 27, 2003.
June 26, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
I read the following in ‘Godless in Brussels’, by John F.
Cullinan (nationalreview.com).
Rev. John Courtney Murray, the great American Jesuit
theologian and author of the Catholic Church's modern teaching
on religious freedom at the Second Vatican Council. Reading the
signs of the times nearly a half century ago, what Murray feared
most was political life being reduced to establishment of "a
technical order of the most marvelous intricacy, which will have
been constructed and which will operate without true political
ends: and this technological order will hang, as it were,
suspended over a moral confusion; and this moral confusion will
itself be suspended over a spiritual vacuum."
Prophetic.
posted by Stephen Court, June 26 2003.
June 25, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
So those of us who are fighting to protect the unborn from
genocide (and have been losing miserably) are celebrating a new
development in that war zone.
Norma McCorvey, the original Roe in Roe v. Wade, has decided to
petition the court to reopen the case.
At a press conference, she said, “I’m sorry that I signed that
affidavit.” She believed that the court, “brought the holocaust
of abortion.”
She is hoping the decision will be overturned.
I don’t have a clue what will happen.
But I love it.
posted by Stephen Court, June 25, 2003.
June 25th, 2003
Hi again.
I did mention that there were a few highlights.
Here’s another one.
Saturday morning about 150 youth.adults came together for some
training. The training was about learning to ‘do’ worship as
‘mission’. It was for direct preparation for the Park outreach
that afternoon in the centre of Canada’s Poorest Postal Code,
the downtown eastside of Vancouver.
So the park outreach happened and reached 1000 people with
proclamation but what was most amazing was to watch 150 people
mobalized to actually be aggressive about mission. Some were
dancing, some were worshipping, some were painting, some were
praying, some were evangelizing, some were serving, some were
ministering through mercy… it was a sight to see. A people
mobilized to worship in mission…. It was like watching the army
of God (I mean it WAS watching the army of God)…. Imagine that
sight every week in every Corps across the world… imagine what a
difference we could make…. Souls saved, people aware, the Gospel
proclaimed… God grant that this understanding of worship would
permeate my being and the church would stand at attention now…
we will overcome.
I had one girl come up to me in the park who had never ever
witnessed of her faith before. She came up to me all pumped up
to share that not only had she shared her faith but she had
given away her Bible (she wondered if that was alright!!)…
that’s one life forever infected with worshipping God in spirit
and truth…. God grant that we would all be warfare worshippers.
Have you given away your Bible recently?
Posted by Danielle Strickland, June 25, 2003
June 24, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
So our congress is over. It kicked. I was psyched to see God
work in so many ways, uniting, saving, sanctifying, training,
mobilizing, motivating, revealing, speaking, teaching,
commissioning, coddling, fighting, winning…
Hallelujah!
I’m told be those who know such things that a new standard was
set for the world at Holy Roar’s in the emerging DJ worship
genre. And I THINK that in some ways it was topped on Sunday.
We were blessed with some great leaders. General Larsson had me
eating out of his hand, going on about the mission and identity
of our Army. In fact, I had to change some of my stuff for my
speak because he stole a handful of my quotes (mostly William
Booth).
We also had The Wildings, who’ve blessed the Church enormously
with their progressive, sold-out, skilled, and intimate worship.
DJ Chris Michel and VJ Brandon Laird, who, together, gave us a
taste of the future, joined them.
The larger-than-life Michael Collins, Danielle Strickland, and
Wesley Campbell also preached. Wesley, I should say, was
supposed to preach. But God seemed to have a different agenda.
So it turned out that Wesley led some powerful Harp And Bowl in
the Congress’s grand finale.
We also had our flag dedicated by the General to the great
Salvation War! This adds to our spiritual DNA and is going to be
blessing for us in our struggle.
If you couldn’t be there, I think you can still catch replays at
salvationarmy.ca.
posted by Stephen Court, June 24, 2003.
June 24th, 2003
Hey folks.
We just finished the Pacific Western Congress and Commissioning.
Of course special efforts were given by us to the WAY Beyond
Belief youth events of the congress. I have a few highlights for
you.
One was the Friday night – Holy Roar Worship experience.
It was quite amazing from start to finish, besides all the
technical wonders that were instrumental in ushering us into
God’s presence there was the fundamental teaching that worship
is more than singing and raising our hands to God – it is more
than just intimacy… it is about offering our lives as living
sacrifices.
To this end, we had different stations of worship to help us
interact with God and worship fully. One was candles (we are
called to be the light of the world), one was the Holy of Holies
(a private section with just incense, candles, and a Bible….
Where we could wait on God) – that had a line-up… and many
testified to the power of waiting before God… one station was a
social justice station where you could sign some petitions or
sign up to volunteer to help the poor…. (have you read Isaiah
58? Or Micah 6:8 or Romans 12:1?) – this was a chance to put
some meat on the bones of our singing and shouting and praising
– this was a chance to stand up for the poor and to break the
fangs of the wicked…. This was worship folks. I love what God is
doing, what He is offering us by revealing what He desires from
us…. I think we were starting to get to the heart of worship.
Thank-you Jesus.
From one worshipper who is thankful and still longing for true
worship…. In spirit and in truth.
Posted by Danielle Strickland, June 24, 2003
June 23, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
You try to learn something every day.
I’m a little sheepish to admit it, but until now I never knew
what the inscription on the Canadian quarter means.
There is the Queen’s head, and her name. But then it adds ‘D
G Regina’.
After finding out, I asked my friend, who guessed that it might
be the mint in Saskatchewan. Wrong!
Old quarters spell it out a bit more clearly. They aren’t
abbreviated like the current ones, and read ‘Dei Gratia
Regina’.
‘By the Grace of God, Queen’.
Amen. And she is still the ‘defender of the faith’. Now that’s a
title I’ll take.
posted by Stephen Court, June 23, 2003.
June 22, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
One of my personal favourite Bible botch-ups is Lazareth. Lots
of people, Christian people, talk about Lazareth.
Are you a little foggy on Lazareth, on where he fits in to
Scripture? He’s right in the part that says, “God helps those
who help themselves.”
Can’t recall where that verse appears? It’s just above
“Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
You’re sheepishly admitting you can’t locate that one in the New
Testament? It is on the page facing, “all men are created
equal.”
Wait, you say! That last one isn’t Biblical! It’s from the
French Atheists and the French Revolution. Alright. You caught
me.
None of them are in the Bible. There is a solution, though. And
Lazarus would probably appreciate some props.
posted by Stephen Court, June 22, 2003.
June 21, 2002.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Today is my wedding anniversary.
A marriage is much more than a wedding. Thank God.
One of the guys who sang at our wedding forgot that he was even
there. He has no recollection of that historic day.
Just last year on this day, Danielle and I cracked open our
wedding video, intent on enjoying and reminiscing, for the first
time, our wedding day footage. We barely lasted five minutes
before we sheepishly replaced it with an old movie we’d
borrowed.
We sang all of our own songs. The downside of that is that most
of the packed house didn’t know any of them. Some people don’t
recognize me in the photos because I stubbornly wore glasses.
You see, I don’t wear glasses, except when driving and sitting
far from the preacher. So most people have never seen me in
glasses. Why wear glasses in your own wedding, when you’re
trying to put on your best face? Well, I didn’t want to miss
anything that happened on that auspicious occasion! If I’d left
them in the car, I’d have missed Lorne King and a few of my old
mates who slipped in to the overflow room.
You remember strange things about your wedding. I remember it as
one of the few days in my life when I lacked an appetite. We
paid for all of that good food and I couldn’t even finish my
first plate!
My kid brother Rick holds a key memory in the reception. A
friend of ours named Joe, a guy who lived, literally, on Yonge
Street, took a few buses and subways to make it to our midweek
Salvation Wedding. We had an open microphone and Joe used it to
sing, a capella, many verses of the old favourite (?) “This Old
House”. After several entertaining minutes of this, Joe
mercifully found his way to the end, only to be encouraged by
Rick, behind the video camera, shouting, “One More Time!” And he
obliged!
It sounds like a bad wedding. On the contrary, I had a blast.
But it was nothing compared to the marriage. God has blessed me
immeasurably. I am so indebted to Him for how He has guided my
life. And on this day, I recognize His providence and provision.
posted by Stephen Court, June 21, 2003.
June 20, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Tomorrow we start the Pacific Northwest Congress. We’ll be in
the thick of the fight for a few days so I’ve fired off a few
bonus blogs to keep us in the loop.
If you think of it, throw up a few prayers for us, that God
sovereignly accomplishes His purposes in our midst, no matter
the consequences or costs.
I will file reports next week.
posted by Stephen Court, June 20, 2003.
June 19, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
My friends reframed a dilemma I’ve posed for people in the past.
David wanted to build the temple for God. He saved up, made
plans, and even checked with the prophet. But God told David
that he couldn’t do it because of the blood he had shed in
battle.
Instead, Solomon, a man of peace, would build it.
The blood was spilt in war. The temple was built for intimacy.
It seems like God gave him a choice (now, before everyone emails
their complaints- yes, I know that, in practice, the offer is
not mutually exclusive. We can experience both war and
intimacy).
If you were faced with that choice, which would it be? I’d pick
war in a breath. I can enjoy temple intimacy for billions of
years, but war for maybe another three score or so.
That said, David’s intimacy with God made him a better warrior.
And so I press in to catch more intimacy with God so that I can
fight better.
posted by Stephen Court, June 19, 2003.
June 18, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Getting back to the email signatures, I just got a note from my
friend, Geir, who signed off,
"That more may know Christ."
I infer from this that our communications, our friendship is
founded on the purpose that more may know Christ. Is the content
of my emails edifying? Is my prayer purposeful? Is my friendship
helping him to be effective in leading more to know Christ? Is
his to me?
posted by Stephen Court, June 18, 2003.
June 17, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
I stumbled upon the most intriguing website, called God-U-Like.
It has a summary of all kinds of groups and sects, including The
Salvation Army
(http://www.godulike.co.uk/faiths.php?chapter=87&subject=intro).
It is interesting to visit and see how much people get of what
we are and what we’re about.
They get the poor stuff, and literally give us high marks for
it.
They are refreshingly irreverent about William and Catherine,
and properly pump William (they should have pumped Catherine
more, but I’ll take what I can get).
They give you the following faith stats:
Roots:
Christian, Methodist, Evangelical and Revivalist.
Location:
First in London, England. Now marching ever outwards.
Top God:
God, the Christian one.
Running Time:
'The Christian Mission' was founded in 1865 in Whitechapel,
London. Became The Salvation Army in 1878.
Status:
Still at war.
They even give you an opportunity for you to rank the Army on
several issues. Then it pumps out a cumulative total and ranks
the Army with all of the other groups.
The final score concerns our chances at world domination. When I
visited, the chances were scored –10, the bottom possible rank.
Of course, I suggested that we have a 10 score, the best
possible chance of winning the world.
posted by Stephen Court, June 17, 2003.
June 16, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Tomorrow is the 300th birthday of John Wesley. For you new
Christians, Wesley was a legend. The Salvation Army’s founder,
General William Booth, slyly played off the Muslim mantra by
asserting, “There is one God and Wesley is His prophet.”
Though a contemporary and fellow leader of the massive 18th
century revival with George Whitefield, Wesley’s legacy is much
different. Whitefield, celebrated as a great preacher, left
behind tens of thousands of converts whose lives and family
lines were forever transformed. Praise God. Wesley did that,
too, but much more.
Wesley started a new tributary in the Christian Church, the
holiness stream. He left a denomination that circled the world.
He wrote books and published sermons that continue to influence
religious thought. He demonstrated the viability, in
post-Biblical times, of what is now popularly referred to as the
cell church model. As I said, he is a legend.
John Wesley, grandfather of Salvationism, believed that you
cannot be authentically holy unless that experience plays itself
out among the poor.
This conviction was Biblically grounded, starting with Jesus’
instruction to address God the Father as ‘Our Father’. The
fatherhood of God implied the brotherhood of men and women.
Wesley's favorite epistle challenged him, "whoever loves God
must also love his brother" (1 John 4:21 NIV). Wesley's comment
on this verse carefully defined "brother" as "everyone, whatever
his opinions or mode of worship be, purely because he is the
child and bears the image of God (Frank Baker, ‘Wesley’s
Principals for Social Action’, in Good News, January/February
1985).
The dual command to love the Lord and to love your neighbor, the
latter broadly defined by Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan,
aborted Wesley’s flirtation with a separate Christian community.
In one of his sermons on the Sermon on the Mount, he asserted,
“Christianity is essentially a social religion, and that to turn
it into a solitary religion is indeed to destroy it” (Frank
Baker, ‘Wesley’s Principals for Social Action’, Good News,
January 1985).
He funded several initiatives toward the poor on faith, although
he did make appeals for support, one of which invited, "Join
hands with God to make a poor man live” (Frank Baker, ‘Wesley’s
Principals for Social Action’, in Good News, January/February
1985).
And he put his own money where his mouth was. One year he made
the equivalent of $1.4 millions and gave 98% to the Kingdom
("Thinking Drafts," Keith Drury -- http://www.indwes.edu/tuesday).
In his lifetime he made what would be equal today to $30
millions, yet at his death he left a few books, a few coins and
a spoon! The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a famous measure for all
good Wesleyans (a category that includes all good salvationists)
today, but the Wesleyan Trilateral is less well-known
(Quadrilateral sets up four checks for Christian life: Bible,
experience, reason, tradition). It concerns money. Wesley taught
us to ‘make all you can, save all you can, and give all you
can’. The only problem was, by the time he got to the end of his
sermon, his third point went from ‘give all you can’ to ‘give
all you have’. And he lived it.
Wesley's social justice burden was birthed in the Holy Club of
Oxford, in 1729. Holy Club social action focused on two Oxford
prisons, poor families, the workhouse, and a school for
underprivileged children (Craven E. Williams, ‘Origins: Social
Holiness’,
http://www.gborocollege.edu/prescorner/holiness.html).
As early as 1740, Methodist collections fed nearly 150
unemployed people each day. Wesley looked upon this effort as,
"redemption of society by economic means" (Craven E. Williams,
‘Origins: Social Holiness’, http://www.gborocollege.edu/prescorner/holiness.html).
He initiated London’s first financial institution to make
interest-free loans to the poor. He followed that up with a free
medical dispensary. He founded schools. As a champion of prison
reform, he often skipped meals so he could help prisoner pay off
debts (Carolyn Moore. ‘The Dirt On Holiness’, Athens
Banner-Herald, March 2, 2002.).
Many argue that it was a letter from John to William Wilberforce
that led to the end of slavery in England (Carolyn Moore. ‘The
Dirt On Holiness’, Athens Banner-Herald, March 2, 2002.).
He vowed never to spend more than was absolutely necessary to
live. He even wrote his brother Samuel that by letting his hair
grow unfashionably long he was able to save a bit of money for
the poor (Letter to brother Samuel, Nov. 17,1731).
John Wesley believed that visiting the poor, establishing first
hand contact with them, was in itself a means of grace. After
all, it is difficult to influence someone if you can’t reach out
to touch him. He preached that it is better to take food to the
poor than to send it (Sermon "On Zeal", cited in Craven E.
Williams, ‘Origins: Social Holiness’,
http://www.gborocollege.edu/prescorner/holiness.html).
Wesley had a three-part plan for addressing the needs of the
poor:
-
Meet the needs yourself.
-
Solicit resources for the poor
-
Become an advocate for the poor.
(Craven E. Williams, ‘Origins: Social Holiness’,
http://www.gborocollege.edu/prescorner/holiness.html)
I realize that large portions of the Church
are getting exercised about the poor these days. I am, too. But
it is a humbling reminder that combined Bill Bright and Billy
Graham and Peter Wagner and Carlos Annacondia of that day was
all about the poor. Praise God.
posted by Stephen Court, June 16, 2003.
June 15, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Captains Brendan and Sandra Nottle, DYOs and COs in Melbourne,
Australia, are doing an exciting thing this July 2, Founder’s
Day in The Salvation Army. And we can all be involved.
They have sensed very strongly in recent times the need to
organise 24 hours of prayer for repentance, restoration and
renewal for personal, relationship, Corps', Social and corporate
healing and recovery.
They are going to commence Repentance Day at midnight, Tuesday
July 2nd and run for 24 hours until the following midnight.
July 2nd is a significant date because it is Founders Day. They
want to revisit God's vision for the Army given to Booth,
reflect on where we are today, and where God is leading us,
particularly in an urban context.
We want to spread the word about our Repentance Day. I am
wondering if you, your Corps and your contacts might be able to
email them prayers for them and yourselves, perhaps prophetic
words for them and our movement to repent_restore_renew@hotmail.com.
They will project these prayers and words onto a screen so that
they pray these prayers and reflect on the words given.
Not only is this a great idea, but it is an idea that many of us
can steal! Why not pray into it and see what God has in store
for your Corps on Founder’s Day? At the least, why not pray into
this and offer them a prayer, a blessing, a prophetic word, or
whatever God gives you. AND, you can ask them to pray for your
front as well!
posted by Stephen Court, June 15, 2003.
June 14, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
I am sorry to retread an old subject but it is in the news
again. The Ontario Court of Appeal has approved gay marriage.
I don’t know who gave them the right to change the definition of
the word.
It is a travesty of judicial activism, or parliamentary
legislative abdication, of political cowardice, and of
etymological fancy.
Some of our Europeans have tackled this issue already (or been
tackled already), and our American readers are on the verge of
it (with or without the passing of the Federal Marriage Act).
While a complex case, it seems to have a couple of effects.
Unless the federal government appeals by month’s end, it becomes
law across Canada. It is unlikely they will appeal. Even if they
do, I am led to believe they will lose.
An interesting side decision directly addresses the religious
aspect of marriage. The cross-appeal by the Metropolitan
Community Church of Toronto (which argued that being restricted
from marrying homosexuals to each other was an infringement of
religious rights guaranteed by the charter) was strongly
rejected.
The upside for the Christian Church in this country is that the
decision by the judges plainly restricted its effect to the
civil aspect of marriage, avoiding the religious side entirely.
In the words of the judges,
[53] In our view, this case does not engage
religious rights and freedoms. Marriage is a legal institution,
as well as a religious and a social institution. This case is
solely about the legal institution of marriage. It is not about
the religious validity or invalidity of various forms of
marriage. We do not view this case as, in any way, dealing or
interfering with the religious institution of marriage.
The bottom line here is that there are now
two kinds of marriage in Canada, civil and religious. Now, this
is not new, as many people get married by justices of the peace
already. It merely expands the purview of the civil marriage
into the sanctuaries of some apostate ‘churches’.
The upside is that it more clearly demarcates boundaries between
the world and the Bible-following remnant in the country, and
emphasizes our alien role in this warfare.
We are in a war. Let’s take some captives (lots of them)
posted by Stephen Court, June 14, 2003.
June 13, 2003
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
The current TIME Magazine quotes a graffiti slogan on a wall in
Iraq:
“To die a martyr is to inject blood into the veins of
society.”
The blood of the martyrs in the seed of the church. Those
greathearts who go down fighting inject their blood into the
veins of the Church. However, those who die for ungodly causes
inject contaminated blood, or poison, into the veins of society.
They infect the society with whatever sin drove them to their
unhappy demise.
May God restrain such poisoning. And may He continue to raise up
martyrs who will seed the growth and victory of the Church.
posted by Stephen Court, June 13, 2003.
June 12, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
The governor of New Hampshire is prepped to sign a bill
requiring parental notification if daughters under the age of 18
apply for an abortion. This, of course, is causing an uproar
with abortionists. In response to their protests, Governor Craig
Benson commented, "We require parental notification for children
to get their ears pierced, to take an aspirin at school" — why
not to get an abortion?
Amen. But even this law is probably acceptable to abortionists
if not pleasing. You see, the law will require parental
notification, not parental consent. And abortionists may expect
that many parents, when notified, will consent.
It is another example of the importance of the struggle to
protect unborn babies. They are created in the image of God.
With the big case in California of the double murder of mother
and unborn child, the press is all over this issue again. We
need to take the natural opportunities presented by the
newscasts to present the Godly position to our friends and
co-workers.
posted by Stephen Court, June 12, 2003.
June 11, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
I am in between cultures where I live. When I am not in uniform,
I am misidentified regularly. Several times while trying to
bank, I’ve been mistaken for a scamming, unemployed, homeless
person. And usually when I walk down the streets people think
I’m a cop (it doesn’t help that I wear a SA crest around my
neck, which, I guess, looks a bit like a police badge).
It makes me wonder how many times I’ve misjudged a person based
on their appearance. I try to see through God’s lenses,
recognizing that the person in front of me is a creation of God,
so important that He died for him/her, so special that Jesus is
interceding on his/her behalf right now, and has been dreaming
up exciting futures for him/her since the foundation of the
world. But sometimes I miss all of that and catch the odour, the
appearance, the words, the actions, and the attitude.
Of course, we Christians ARE in between cultures. We are not
citizens of this world. It is not our home. We should look out
of place (not like me in the bank and on the streets, mind
you!). If we don’t, we need to ask questions.
One strange way I don’t seem to fit in struck me the other night
while one of the quieter 614 warriors and I were engaging in
street combat. We met a Christian who noted our SA garb and
mentioned that she heard there was a “new radical group of young
Sallies” in the neighbourhood. Then she looked at us, and added,
“That must be some other group!”
It seems I don’t even fit in with my own crew!
Posted by Stephen Court, June 11, 2003.
June 10, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Bill c-250 goes to final reading tomorrow in Ottawa.
Everyone out here is getting very exercised about this bill. I
think that the Church is mis-reacting. The bill proposes to add
to an existing law, ‘sexual orientation' to a list of
identifiable groups against which it is a crime to 1. promote
genocide of, and 2. promote hatred of.
Now, we are all against the genocide of homosexuals and against
the hatred of homosexuals. It’s a bit silly that the law
explicitly lists any specific groups.
If we were on the ball we wouldn't be reactionary - appearing to
the public to be anti-homosexual, as we are now. Instead, we'd
come out in favour with our own modification proposal. We'd say,
'let's add not only sexual orientation to ethnicity and religion
but also age.' Then we could argue against the ongoing genocide
of the unborn and change the flavour of the debate.
For the second part of the law (anti-hate) there is already a
religious defence included in the law.
We look a little fanatical on this one.
posted by Stephen Court, June 10, 2003.
June 9, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Here’s a thing I just read from David Frum (nationalreview.com)
on the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth:
Had the queen reigned 25 or 30 years, her
tenure would have to be reckoned the most disastrous of that of
any monarch since maybe Charles I. Through the years from 1953
to 1977, the British economy declined relative to almost every
developed economy on the planet – British society seemed to be
careening toward class strife, ethnic violence, and militant
ungovernability – and on the battlefield the victors of World
War II seemed to be fading into nonexistence. The second half of
her reign, by contrast, shows maybe the most impressive
come-from-behind performance the British have posted since
Elizabeth II. The British economy is now definitively larger
than France’s or Italy’s. And the British military rivals
China’s as the second-most powerful on the planet.
What strikes me is that we should never throw
in the towel. I wonder how many great works of God never
occurred because people only stuck it out halfway. How much more
persistent ought we to be, knowing as we do tha we win in the
end?!
Frum adds a caveat: “Of course, very little (zero) of this is
the queen’s doing.” And this brings me down to earth. Even
if/when we do hang in there until the end, very little (zero) of
the credit goes to us.
It hits me more than you, probably, because of my experience. I
feel like I have the Forrest Gump anointing. You’ll remember
that Forrest wanders naively through life, being blessed beyond
measure. He finds himself in the thick of things, even though he
doesn’t understand the significance of what is happening.
Posted by Stephen Court, June 9, 2003.
June 8, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Happy Pentecost! I know ‘happy’ sounds a little lightweight, but
the disciples acted and sounded pretty giddy on the first one.
And how should we fare, a couple of thousand years later as we
celebrate the initial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, the
blessing of the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the Church?
Happy indeed.
posted by Stephen Court, June 8, 2003.
June 8, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Thanks, by the way, for writing to me. I appreciate the feedback
and arguments.
I’ve been on about email signatures and the like. Here is one
from my friend, Heather, who cut me up on that Memory thing from
yesterday’s post, which is worth repeating:
"A warrior is someone who starts wars. A soldier is just
someone who takes orders. A warrior is a revolutionary. A
missionary. A zealot. Being a warrior involves a rough, tough
authenticity." Kirsten Campbell
Sweet, eh!
posted by Stephen Court, June 8, 2003.
June 7, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
My friends pointed a hole in my argument in a short article
called HISTORY MEMORY ETERNITY.
She noted a verse in Isaiah suggests that there will be no
memory in heaven.
Good point. However, I was thinking about this and overheard
Bill Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ, an excellent great
commission ministry with which I had the privilege to be
involved heavily in my college days) talk about doing whatever
we can to bring as many people as we can into heaven with us.
This is reminiscent of the Army salute. Salvationists will know
that the right index finger points to heaven in the SA salute.
I’ve heard that this is a rude gesture in some Middle Eastern
countries but I cannot confirm it. However, Salvos know that it
is a short form of a larger, more important message: “I’m on my
way to heaven and ‘m doing everything I can to get everyone I
can to join me!”
Whew! It is a mouthful. And a ‘lifefull’.
But, and here is where I was thinking (!), the people we bring
with us will be our memories. Just as the Corinthians were
Paul’s letter of recommendation written in the flesh, so the
people we see saved will bring back joyful recollection of God’s
mercy and grace during our warfare here.
At least it seems plausible to me.
Posted by Stephen Court, June 7, 2003.
June 6, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
To clarify yesterday’s post…
Much of the money invested is now gone.
By investing in Coke (representing all companies) Christian
organizations are demonstrating faith in the mission of Coke.
The opportunity costs of investing in the mission of Coke in
investing in their own great commission mission.
In other words, such groups have indicated that they have more
faith in Coke’s mission than in their own. They have more faith
in Coke’s ability to accomplish its mission than they have to
accomplish theirs. And, they consider Coke’s mission more
important than theirs.
I think that had we invested those (b)illions in our mission
we’d be well on the way to winning the world for Jesus.
Posted by Stephen Court, June 6, 2003.
June 5, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
With investors still reeling from the combined tumbling of the
.com crash and the World Trade Center fallout, Christian
organizations must be wondering what might have happened had
they invested their millions and billion in the great commission
instead of Coke?
I do.
posted by Stephen Court, June 5, 2003.
June 4, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
The NBA finals start tonight. The Western play-offs have been a
road of injuries. Many people give the Spurs props but question
whether they’d still be alive if it weren’t for injuries to
Chris Webber, Rick Fox, and Dirk Nowitzki.
Some Christians have an anti-Christian theology that called
Fatalism. They figure that if God wants it to happen, it will
happen. Conversely, if it doesn’t happen then God didn’t want it
to happen.
This isn’t Christian at all. Christian theology recognizes that
God generally doesn’t get His way. After all, He is in favour of
none of the sins that most people commit regularly. AND, He
desires that none shall perish. Yet, perish they do, every day.
So the Christian fatalist is an thoughtless or thought-free
person.
The reality is that sometimes things don’t work out. Kobe will
tell you that it was meant to be that the Lakers won their
fourth straight and pulled out of the shadow of the 1990s Bulls.
Vlade and Nash might tell you that the Mavs and Kings were both
destined for victory this season. But all of them are wrong. You
have to play the games. And sometimes it doesn’t go according to
plan.
God has specific plans for all of us. But just because He has it
in mind, that doesn’t mean it is guaranteed to happen. We screw
up sometimes. Sometimes others muff up the implementation of His
plan. It is not guaranteed.
We’ve probably all had unexpected setbacks like the injuries to
champion-hopefuls this season. But rather than throw in the
towel and fold up like a lawn chair, succumbing to an
anti-Christian fatalism, we need to dig our heels in, draw a
line in the sand, scuff up our knees while praying, and fight
all the harder.
Why should Jesus fail just because we’re pathetic?
posted by Stephen Court, June 4, 2003.
June 3, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
Navigators is a great discipling movement with which I had the
privilege of being involved a little bit years ago. They have a
wheel that portrays the keys of a healthy Christian life. Spokes
go up and down between God and me, and then back and forth
between people and me. If you lack one of the spokes, the wheel
will crunch under the weight.
We’re working on intimacy here on our front. We need more
intimacy with God. And there is no substitute for time. Time
alone with God, all repented up, and listening and worshipping
and reading is indispensable. But we also need to get more
intimate with each other.
And while I know that sometimes God grants grace for old friends
to pick up where they left off, I think it is safe to generalize
that there is no substitute for time. I always relate impact
through contact regarding discipling. But it goes for other
Christian relationships as well. We need to hang out together
doing something other than staring at a screen. I’ve always said
that there is fellowship in the fight, but it is also helpful to
pray together and seek God’s face. 1 John 1:3 is all about that
(there’s a NAV verse for you). We share fellowship as we
experience God.
posted by Stephen Court, June 3, 2003.
June 2, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
So we had our first corporate gathering for 614 Vancouver,
yesterday. We’ve been in cell life here for eight months and God
is blessing us with expansion. We felt it time to join together
to worship. It was a closed meeting. In other words, you weren’t
invited unless you are in a cell (the idea being that these days
our concentration is on cell life and we don’t want people
turning up for a nice show on a Sunday and not being plugged in
to community- part of the reason for this is that our net
evangelism occurs within the cells).
We borrowed the Harbour Light Hall a block away from my place.
The music was loud. The crowd was raucous. In other words, we
had a good time. Banners hanging and flags waving, we made an
interesting spectacle to the passers by. Elaine Gillingham
preached from Isaiah 61:4 (!). She lit it up.
We’re not going to do this every week yet. We need to get much
bigger before we contemplate a weekly public meeting. We also
need to tap into that elusive authentic Christian community that
will protect us from considering Sunday the ‘be all and end all’
of 614 Vancouver. As long as we don’t have Sundays, people won’t
be so mistaken.
I think we’ll probably do this occasionally, though, as it will
help us to develop a larger sense of community and keep the
members of various cells on the same page.
posted by Stephen Court, June 2, 2003.
June 1, 2003.
Greetings in Jesus’ name, friends.
I had a letter to the editor in this week’s (May 24)
SALVATIONIST about songwriters. It seems that the Army has been
a bit short on Army songwriters who have contributed to the
larger Body of Christ in recent generations. Below is the letter
as it appeared (with two small changes), and the letter as
written (more details).
•JOHN COUTTS is right that no Salvationist songwriters seem to
have transcended the genre in the last couple of generations.
Was Sydney Cox the most recent to do so? However, there are
several Salvationist composers who are on the cusp of such
popularity.
Nathan Rowe has written a widely used song in Australia called
‘Lift up Your Eyes’, and in the USA Mark Hood has written a
handful of songs which are sung regularly by many churches.
Others, such as Michelle Kay in Australia, Andrew Grinnell in
the UK, Tom Freeman and Tony Baso in the USA, and Danielle
Strickland in Canada, have also written great songs which are
increasingly used by various congregations. Salvationists need
to use these songs and buy the albums which feature them. They
are songs full of Salvationist passion and mission, and enrich
our experience.
Dear Editor:
John Coutts is right that no Salvationist composers seem to have
transcended the movement in the last couple of generations. Was
Sydney Cox the most recent to do so?
However, there are several Salvationist composers who are on the
cusp of such popularity. Nathan Rowe, with PLANET SHAKERS, has
written a widely used song in Australia called LIFT UP YOUR
EYES. There are more where that came from. In the USA, Mark
Hood, who was for awhile a HOSANNA INTEGRITY songwriter, has a
handful of songs that are in the regular rotation of many
churches outside of the Army (I'VE GOT FAITH, GOD IS HERE, GOOD
TO BE IN THE HOUSE, DANCE LIKE DAVID, etc.). Others, such as
Michelle Kay (Australia), Andrew Grinnell (in England, with
ALLIANCE songs such as HOLY IS YOUR NAME and RAIN DOWN), Tom
Freeman (in USA, with INTEGRITY songs such as YOU KNOW ME),
Danielle Strickland (Canada), and Tony Baso (USA), all have
great songs with increasing use in various congregations.
We need to use these songs and buy these albums to promote our
own songwriters. They can write of Salvationist passion and
mission like no others. Their success will enrich our experience
as salvationists.
Grace,
Stephen Court, etc.
Coutts was decrying the lack of song composers. My point is that
our guys can write on Salvo passion and mission like no one
else. They are on the inside. Meanwhile, they scrape together
enough funds to put out an album, hoping maybe to break even.
And the rest of us in our corps merrily sing along with the big
names. And I love the big names- don’t get me wrong. But God is
birthing music our of OUR calling and OUR experience and it will
enrich our warfare if we embrace what He is doing through these
and other salvo songwriters.
posted by Stephen Court, June 1, 2003
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Captains' Blog is a regular feature on
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