Armybarmy Blog

Jesus in the Surf...

We've returned from our 614 camping trip / War Room field trip. It was an incredibly rich time of community, corporate prayer, reconciliation, breathing and surfing. We had representatives of multiple generations, multiple cultural backgrounds, and every War College session (including Incendiary, the one coming in this year). God was, and continues to be, very gracious to us.

At one point a few of us went down the to the beach at night to sing and pray. We had a little lamp and a guitar. As we were singing pretty much every drunk or stoned person on the beach wandered into our circle to see what we were up to or to join us for a while. One guy said he could see our "huge fire" from the other end of the beach (again, we only had a lamp) and that he had to fight many demons and evil forces to make his way over. He was kidding around, at least he thought.

We ended up singing a lot of songs with these guys, including "Going to the Chapel" (by request).

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We learned at last night's Knee Drill that Jesus' strategy for mission is to send us as lambs unto slaughter amongst the wolves (Luke 10). Wow. Are we ready?

Speaking of Knee Drill, there is a warrior who has been here for three years, and it was his last knee drill last night before going back to Australia. God has poured into our community many, many blessings, encouragements, and exhortations through this warrior. Praise God!

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The name of the LORD in the War Room today is "Name above all Names".

Grace,

Aaron

August 31, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(hb2JM/wvh)

I have a young friend in another city who must be six years old and she has been telling a friend of hers about Jesus. The other day he said he thinks he's 'startin' to believe in God kinda'. Hallelujah!
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I was asked this question yesterday: How has Holy Spirit manifested through your life in the last 24 hours? (hat tip KJack) And so I pass it on (a good follow-up to our old standby - how's your soul?).
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I read today that part of The War College requirements go like this:
* living both sacrificially and incarnationally (Luke 14:33, John 1:14)
* living simply and by faith that God will provide (Matthew 10:9-10)
* giving extravagantly and from our own pockets and closets and refridgerators (John 6:8-11)
* having eyes to see what Jesus sees (Luke 10:33)
* learning the practical application needed to “Do Something” (Isaiah 58:6-7).
It sounds pretty harcore (hat tip HD).
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A couple of days ago we blogged an article from NYT Magazine called 'Challenging The Generals." In case you haven't had a chance to read it yet, here are some of the article's humdingers:

1. The cause of this tension is the war in Iraq, but the consequences are broader. They revolve around the obligations of an officer, the nature of future warfare and the future of the Army itself. And these tensions are rising at a time when the war has stretched the Army’s resources to the limit, when junior officers are quitting at alarming rates

comment: I don't know that this applies in our Army today more than at other times in history. Certainly, worldwide, resources are stretched. I don't know that people are quiting at higher rates than other points in history (that would be interesting to know). What applies is the line-up of the consequences of the tension: officership, future warfare, and the future of The Army. We might revisit these in a separate blog.

2. it spelled out the issues and the stakes; and it located their roots in the Army’s own institutional culture, specifically in the growing disconnect between this culture — which is embodied by the generals — and the complex realities that junior officers, those fighting the war, are confronting daily on the ground.

comment: I'm not sure how applicable it is. One solution, if it is a problem, is to cross-appoint leaders to corps. I advocate that. The bigger disconnect in many cases is between officer and soldiers or officers and the real world. This, in some situations, is scary, as officers are treated better than soldiers and are tempted, insome cultures, to enjoy privilege (and a sense of entitlement beyond that even of soldiers).

3. “It is unreasonable to expect that an officer who spends 25 years conforming to institutional expectations will emerge as an innovator in his late 40s.”

comment: the challenge is to train people to be innovative leaders and to cultivate an environment that celebrates innovation and leadership. Ideas are welcome.

4. “Everyone studies the brigadier-general promotion list like tarot cards — who makes it, who doesn’t. It communicates what qualities are valued and not valued.”

comment: I'll restrict comments to history:

episode 1. About a decade ago a senior UK officer travelled across Canada and was asked how it compared with the UK Territory. The reply? It seemed like a snapshot of the UK in 1965 (he over-reacted!). Well, what happened in the 60s? The innovative (later) General Arnold Brown left Canada (where he started popular radio and tv shows, etc.) for UK (which quickly benefited from his creativity). Brown is the fastest promoted officer we know of, going from PR secretary to Chief of the Staff in a few winks.

episode 2. (later) General Rader gained credibility in Korea. He went hard and fast in USW and brought some guys along with him. A very innovative Joe Noland was one of those guys. He shot up pretty fast and then accelerated the advancement in leadership of other innovative people. The result is still being felt in the next generation but also in the size and health of his last command (you'll have read in this blog of 'the Noland Effect'). Hallelujah.

5. “The best way to change the organizational culture of the Army is to change the pathways for professional advancement within the officer corps. The Army will become more adaptive only when being adaptive offers the surest path to promotion.”

comment: Stories of Brown and Rader are nice. But their significance in impact is judged by how the system has changed. There isn't space here to evaluate that now. Suffice to say, they were both generals. And Larsson and Gowans were both seen as innovative leaders promoted to general. Innovativeness was admired in those four cases (and more).

6. “Guys like Yingling, Nagl and McMaster are the canaries in the coal mine of Army reform,” the retired two-star general I spoke with told me. “Will they get promoted to general? If they do, that’s a sign that real change is happening. If they don’t, that’s a sign that the traditional culture still rules.”

comment: praise God. I don't want to mention active officers in this context but praise God for examples of this. May they become the rule more than the exception.
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Let's try to get some people saved today.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Ezekiel 12-14 (see c13 for a lambasting of false prophets!); Revelation 5 (excellent Pray The Bible text - a foundational one).
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

August 30, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(hb2JM/JG)

You'll enjoy reading Rob Dolby at the Firecrest blog at right. I promise. He's talking about a brand new concept called 'recycleship'.
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And Anthony Castle brings some light to the raging debate on a certain liberal Anglican theologian in his blog, at right. The key to his blog is that he has actaully read most of this person's books.
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Commissioner Noland corrected me and confirmed that I AM his PR Secretary (his blog is at right - and it must be what they call 'additional responsibility'*). Now, he makes allusion to the fact that he doesn't have a real one anymore. And I'm wondering, why not? Why don't senior leaders carry with them into retirement (I hesitate to use the word because General Gowans decided that only generals retire and everyone else goes on reserve, but no one seems to have picked that up except when it comes to little (R)s after their names) a staff? I know that heaps of 'retired' officers to excellent warfare - some preach, some evangelise, some counsel, some shepherd, some visit, some take temporary appointments, some teach, some write, and so on. Praise God. But why don't people like Noland (you mean there is someone else like Noland?) still have staffs to help? What Noland was spinning and creating at age 64 didn't stop at age 65. If we resourced people like him with staffs I expect that their productivity could increase beyond that of 64 since they're freed up fromthe massive burden of territorial administration. Take a look at joenoland.com and see the creativity and productivity without a staff. And then you'll see what I mean. Surely a territory can see the possibilities of appointing a few warriors to help (soldier/active officer/reserve officer...).
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* someone phoned me yesterday and informed me that on his call display my number identified me as 'spare executive'. He encouraged, 'at least you're an executive. You just haven't made the first team, yet!' It sounds like my football career. But maybe it is prophetic, because spare can mean 'thin and fit' (I'm checking dictionary.com). Or maybe it is 'more than is needed' - which makes me the agent of superabundance? Or, possibly, 'not taken up by scheduled activities' - meaning I've got a lot of free time on my hands, or, to put it more respectably, I have autonomy in my actions (or 'free for other use')? Or, 'lacking embellishment or ornamentation? Hmm. It might be worth some prayer and fasting (hat tip Merle).
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Ezekiel 8-11; Revelation 4.
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

August 29, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

I saw a photo of some Revolutionists at a War College graduation. Three were some faces missing so I investigated. It turns out DM was missing because he was outside evangelising someone. Classic.
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Commissioner Linnett made up OWSOMS (One week's salary on mission overseas) - a classic tag that every territory might want to pick up for Self Denial campaigns. It raises a lot of money (compare in your Year Book - the Year Book doesn't lie!). That is the challenge for the rest of the world. But for Australia, which has been blessed by this challenge for a generation, something more is needed. How about 2SOMS (two week's salary on mission overseas)? (this could easily be followed next year with 3SOMS, and so on)
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To adapt an African proverb, it takes an incarnational community to raise a warrior (well...).
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Jonathan Evans is piecing together a training course for soldiers and local officers that is based in the experience and system of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. It looks like it is going to be a highly practical and valuable instrument. Stay tuned for more details.
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The armybarmy archives are a veritable expository repository (hat tip NM, who didn't say this, but could have).
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I was trying to describe The War College to someone recently and came up with this- 'non-stop Christian camp in a slum'. It isn't the best description but it gives you an idea (those of you from North America who get the SA camping allusion).
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New York Times Magazine has an article on Challenging the Generals that you might like to read from a Salvo perspective and see what fits (hat tip GS/RM):
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/magazine/26military-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
We may talk about this more soon.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Ezekiel 4-7; Revelation 3 (v19 - I am the One who corrects and disciplines those I love).
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

August 28, 2007 (updated).
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

I met a guy last week who memorised the Handbook of Doctrine while in training college. After leaving, he realised it might be better to memorise Scripture, so he forgot the HoD and slammed back some shorter books of the Bible (hat tip CE).
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There is a gruesome video that shows the formed body of an aborted baby that you might not want to look at:
abortionno.org (home of the GAP signs that get used in Vancouver).
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http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki_ihc.nsf/vw-sublinks/43872DCFB10757AF8025704C0030CA12?openDocument

This is a list of the sessional names over the years. Do you notice a shift from militancy to advocacy? We go from Conquerors and Greahearts and Victory to ambassadors and messengers and proclaimers. Does it reflect the change in The Army or did is help cause it? (The War College sessional names are Death and Glory, Martyrs, Holy ____, Revolution, and Incendiary).
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Incarnational test #2 (hat tip John D'Alton) - can they tell you are a Christian or do they think you are a groovy spiritual version of them?

Beautiful.
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Some people refuse to sing songs that express emotions or conditions to which they don't testify (e.g. middle verses of Boundless salvation that suggest doubt and waste and sin and fear). The deal with that is this: you sing it as part of the congregation, testifying, as Daniel identifies with the sins of his people, with your people's sins. It is all very prophetic.
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new blog - Major Daryl Crowden - overseas development officer for NZF and a CO in Auckland who is also a zonal disaster relief guy, which gets him to some very hurting places in the world.
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David Collinson has a good take on covenant in his I WILL post (blog at right).
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Response to yesterday's blog:
Stephen: Why don't you wear your uniform to work/school? (not every day, else you might respond with answers such as laundry or dry cleaning)

Cory: Why not buy an extra? Then you don't have to miss a day while it is being cleaned.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Ezekiel 1-3 (wow- amazing text in a few places, but one is 1:26-28); Revelation 2 (also classic text).
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

Classic (renew my covenant)
1.
When from sin's dark hold thy love had won me,
And its wounds thy tender hands had healed,
As thy blest commands were laid upon me,
Growing light my growing need revealed.
Thus I sought the path of consecration
When to thee, dear Lord, my vows were given;
And the joy which came with full salvation
Winged my feet and filled my heart with Heaven.

Chorus
By the love that never ceased to hold me,
By the blood which thou didst shed for me,
While thy presence and thy power enfold me,
I renew my covenant with thee.

2.
But my heart at times with care is crowded,
Oft I serve with weak, o'erladen hands,
And that early joy grows dim and clouded
As each day its heavy toll demands.
Have I ceased from walking close beside thee?
Have I grieved thee with an ill-kept vow?
In my heart of hearts have I denied thee?
Speak, dear Lord, O speak and tell me now.

3.
By the love that never ceased to hold me
In a bond nor life nor death shall break,
As thy presence and thy power enfold me,
I would plead fresh covenant to make.
From before thy face, each vow renewing,
Strong in heart, with purpose pure and deep,
I will go henceforth thy will pursuing,
With my Lord unbroken faith to keep.

Will J. Brand (1889-1977)
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and now with a new tune.
grace
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birth of an idea; birth of an Army.

"Excuse me Mr. Booth. what is it that engages your thoughts so frequently and protracted as you pace the garden?" Mr. Booth, with face all ashine, answered, "My friend, I am thinking out a plan, which, when it is implemented, will mean blessing to the wide, wide world." (J. Edwin Orr. THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING. 1964. p68)
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Come on! Preach that! God, give us each faces all ashine and plans that will help us to win the world for Jesus!
grace
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August 27, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

First up, Lincoln Hawk has a new anthem for the Salvos that you can watch and lift for your own use here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JERjhRIOqzs
Check it out. This is live at Western Youth Institute last week. I think it will catch on - do your part (you'll note some prominent salvos on stage and at the mike there - MC, vocals, keyboard, guitar, etc.).

Second, Eric Himes has a bunch of new SA music resources available from his blog (right side US blogs). Avail yourselves of them and build your salvo muso repertoire.

Coincidentally, both musos are featured on the new BOUNDLESS volume 2 SA worship compilation album, Lincoln singing his catchy appeal song, "Take All Of Me", and Eric and The Joy Strings blessing us with a rendition of Ephesians 3, "That You Love Me". It is a very strong album.
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Why don't you wear your uniform to work/school? (not every day, else you might respond with answers such as laundry or dry cleaning)
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Believe it or not, I am not Noland's PR Secretary. But he keeps pushing the buttons. In his newest blog he tells us what he would change if he was to do it all over again. Check out his blog (USA - at right).
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Anthony Castle has part 2 of that prophecy (Oceania blogs at right).
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I hooked up with a couple of hardcore warriors this week. One of them is headed to The War College next month in Vancouver. The session is incendiary, and we trust it will be all of that.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 52; Psalm 143-144; Revelation 1 (those not sure if we should fear God might want to read Rev 1 and see how John, one of th emost intimate friends of God, responded to the glorious appearance of Jesus; on a related note, I saw a couple of people fall face-first in a salvo meeting this month, which is rare, in my experience. Usually people seem to fall backwards).
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

614 is Going Surfing!

Now that grad is done, a number of us from Vancouver (about 35) are going camping and surfing in Tofino. We're taking the War Room with us as a kind of Tabernacle thing, reserving a tent for its use and scheduling 5 daily times of prayer, monastic style.

I should mention that there is one member of our crew who has never been camping before, and was worried about how we would get food. She thought (seriously) that we may have to hunt squirrels. Out of the city and into the woods!!!

Grace,

Aaron

August 26, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(ha2c/j)

As you know, we should engage the demonic (and all evil) in the opposite spirit. I have decided that the 'spirit of cheap' is redemptively the 'gift of thrift'. I know some people don't believe in demons and angels but they have so much missed the boat that about all I can suggest is that they read the Bible.
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There is a great blog by a Revolutionist in the Charlotte campus of The War College on the calling to soldiership. You can read Jesse Green here:
http://answerthecalling.blogspot.com/2007/08/facing-reality.html

My take on the blog is this: if you've been a soldier long enough that it doesn't make sense, then you've possibly been a soldier too long. She obviously takes the covenant very seriously. We probably all ought to have a soldiership calling testimony (certainly one that is better than, I signed up so I could go on the band trip to Pittsburgh (no offence to Pittsburgh) - that is not my testimony but one of a couple of guys at my corps back in the day). Have you a good soldiership calling testimony?
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We have a whole day to get some people saved. Let's go hard for souls (salvation, sanctification, healing, deliverance, calling, anointing...).
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 50-51; 3 John (which, from the several mentions in the short missive, seems to be a lot about the truth).
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

Campolo on the Hour...

There is a show on CBC called The Hour which takes on a lot of the current social, political and cultural issue of the day in a very modern (or post-modern) way. I found this clip on youtube where the host interviews Tony Campolo. The host is not normally sympathetic to Christianity by any means, but this interview is great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m584z5aE4Uc

Grace,

Aaron

More for a Saturday
(do read the last post)

I've seen Corps Officers described in different ways on official docos (websites and business cards). Here are a few: chief story teller; journey guide; apostlic overseer. John D'Alton was teaching some officers recently and showed his card - Dream Facilitator. Nice. And he followed the TC in the preaching line-up, who basically described a key component of his role as Dream Facilitator (he didn't use the phrase but emphasised that he is about unleashing the vision/s that God is giving us, his soldiers around teh territory). I'm happy to add DF to the list of CO descriptors (and DC and TC) as soon as someone can confirm it for me (revolution @ mmccxx . net).
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People like to slam the fundos but yesterday's blog listed the five fundamentals, which are key. You have to believe those five. If you don't like the political and spiritual accretions to historic fundamentalism, then you might describe yourself as a primitive fundamentalist. But you cannot criticise the five (and be, say, a solid salvo).
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The aforementioned John D'Alton also taught that for the Orthodox Church things like denying the divinity of Christ and the humanity of Christ are heretical (as are some of the positions taught by those alluded to in yesterday's post). But he added that for the Orthodox Church it is also heretical to communicate the Gospel in a means other than incarnational.
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That last one is worth a pause.
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grace
sec

August 25, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(congratulations to the Revolutionists, graduated today)

Here is something my friend asked for this morning - it might be useful to more of you (from a 2004 blog):

How do you keep a cloak of humility on?
ß Resist the devil
ß Draw close to God
ß Wash your hands
ß Purify your heart
ß Let there be tears for the wrongs
ß Let there be sorrow and deep regret
ß Let there be sadness and gloom
ß Bow down before the Lord
ß Admit your dependence on Him
(James 4:7-10)

How do you pray fervently?
ß Take the sword of the Spirit
ß Pray at all times in the power of the Spirit
ß Stay alert
ß Be persistent in prayers for the saints
ß Be a servant of Jesus
ß Ask God to make them strong and perfect, fully confident of the whole will of God
ß Agonize
(Colossians 4:12,13)

How do you create a new container?
ß Fast
ß Find new wine
(Matthew 9:15-17)

How do you disciple nations?
ß Christomorphosis
ß Get adopted
ß Get the keys
ß Ask
ß Entrust reliable men
ß Give your life
(Galatians 4:19; Psalm 2:7; Matthew 16:16-19; Psalm 2:8; 2 Timothy 2:2; Isaiah 43:4- NRSV- 'Nations in exchange for your life')

How do you go global?
ß Have the Holy Spirit come on you
ß Receive power
ß Be faithful locally
ß Follow God’s plan
(Acts 1:8)

How do you do signs and wonders?
ß Believe
(Mark 16:17)

How do you challenge in a godly manner?
ß Do nothing by yourself
ß Only do what you see Father doing
ß Train your eyes
ß Do whatever you see Him do
ß Listen to Him
(John 5:19,20)

How do you go from glory to glory?
ß Minister righteousness
ß Use great boldness in your speech
ß Turn to the Lord
ß Abide with the Spirit in liberty
ß Live with unveiled face
ß Behold the glory of God
(2 Corinthians 3:9-18)
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God is here.
SA Daily reading: Psalm 79; Jeremiah 37-39; 2 John (v6 emphasises something we like to emphasise, that you can find love without obedience in the grave next to faith without works).
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

Spiritual Grad...

Just finished the Revolution Session spiritual Knee Drill Grad (and I mean just finished, I'm still sweating!)

Wild worship, mad, beautiful dancing, huge crowd, songs from the session mates, slide show, Major Winn Blackman bringing the message, an incredibly hot War Room, a prophetic act of surrendering crowns, and Donny M and I rapped. There's a video of this somewhere which my grandkids will eventually make fun of me for.

It is so intense to graduate and commission a group of warriors whom you love, especially knowing that they are commissioned unto death. They are aware that the fight, the trials, the revolution has only begun for them, and that they need to advance with holy boldness and humility.

The formal grad is happening tomorrow. Might not be as fun, but still important.

Grace,

Aaron

Clarification on Invoking blessings The Army way (just in time for Sunday)

A blog a few days ago has been changed regarding this subject. Here is a clarification:
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"What Oliver Clark was saying that the Founder said was that we should use "May..."

"Pontifical blessing (wrong, because evidently conferring something only special people can confer) - The blessing be with you...

Salvation Army blessing (right, because it's a prayer and we're all in the same boat here)

May the blessing be with us...
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Hat tip Major Harold Hill.
Much grace
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August 24, 2007 (updated).
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Praise God for the report of 30 conversions on Andrew Stringer's blog (read it for yourself). And there is an intriguing report of some homeless salvos (in connection with the JustSALVOS response to national homelessness week) by Anthony Castle (read it for yourself).
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This weekend in Brisbane is UNLIMITED - salvo conference that usually gets a nice visitation from God. The line-up is solid and it promises to be a God-glorifying, delegate-edifying experience. If you are in state, you will want to check it out.
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Now, some on the blogosphere fear to make statements of truth or opinion in case they lose readers. No fear, here. We trust the barmy army to take it like warriors.

In 1910 the US Presbyterians outlined the five fundamentals: the miracles of Christ, the virgin birth of Christ, the substitutionary atonement of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and the inspiration of Scripture.

Though I've been described as the guy who put the fun back into fundamentalism (I buy those five points, though we could discuss the word 'substitutionary'), the fundos (hat tip John D) of today could probably never accept me because I'm not a dispensationalist, not a cessationalist (so I think all gifts operate today), not a complementarian or wrongheaded 'headship' guy (I'm a biblical egalitarian in that I think women and men are to have equal access to leadership roles), not a literalist (I believe the Bible is God-breathed and inerrant in original mauscripts but I don't think you should necessarily poke out your eye if you lust), not a replacement guy (I don't think you can always replace the word 'Israel' with the word 'Church' in the Bible), not a sacramentalist (you can check the current JAC - top right - for my position on that issue), etc..

Not surprisingly, these are all Salvationist positions. Hmm. Why mess with truth? Especially when there is a war on? (I'm a primitive salvationist - charismatic-flavoured, mission-focussed heroism).

Tragically, too many people topple in the other direction from the fundamentalists, into unbiblical liberalism.

This week in town thousands of people, including not a few salvos, dropped $25 to hear someone, renowned as an extreme liberal, speak. The weekend previous, a few dozen people dropped $25 to hear two Salvos present papers at a theology cafe. Now, don't get me wrong, $25 for a sermon or two sounds like a rip off in both cases, but why does every wind of doctrine tend tickle the fancy of thousands of people?

One friend (PF) asked an attendee of the big event if the preach was a tic or a cross. The answer was 'a question mark'. PF responded that any preach that left you with a ? was a cross (cross being an X). He said that if you preach the Word and people leave with ?marks, you failed. This is true if you are trying to mobilise people to great commission or great commandment action. But if you are trying to tickle their fancies, maybe ?marks are the goal. By the way, if you want to look into this bad fad (I can't say latest because it is a generation past its 'use-by' date and I'm a bit shocked people even perk up and take notice) here is the site on wikipedia:
http://www.christian-apologetics.org/html/Whats_wrong_Spong.htm (I don't agree with everything in this article but it points out enough flaws for those sitting on the fence).

Whew! There you go. Will armybarmy lose a few thousand loyal readers from this post? I doubt it. Even if we disagree, we can fight together, and while we're fighting I'll keep trying to convince you of the truth.

:-)

(I'm not a lot of other isms, too, but that might be for another blog)
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Psalm 74 (try v11, especially in NLT); Jeremiah 33,34; 1 John 5.
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

August 23, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(hb2MH/MW/NH)

We saw a Gowans video yesterday. He did three vides on doctrines when UK TC. They are classics. Someone whould throw them all up on youtube and tell me so I can tell you. Anyway, it was the holiness one and it was gold. Here are some Gowans' takes:

- Holiness goes to the desperate;
- It's the work of a moment; it's the work of a lifetime;
- it is the privilege of all believers to receive the power of the Holy Spirit; it is the resonsibility of all believers to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit;
- God's generosity is legendary/
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Hallelujah.
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If you are anywhere near Vancouver you'll want to hit the Thursday night Knee Drill. It is The War College grad knee drill and it has quickly grabbed a hot spot on the spiritual calendar. God really likes it, I think. You'll love it.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 31 (v3- I have loved you with an everlasting love); Jeremiah 32 (v13-15 J appreciates the confirmation of the prophetic word - now I know that the message I heard was from the Lord!); 12 John 4 (have to love v17).
Much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

August 22, 2007 (updated/corrected).
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

I heard a great one this week: a corps, just starting, in a famous aboriginal area, exploded when a Salvationist came to town the aboriginals sensed God on the Salvo. Because they sensed a divine aura coming off of him, that he was 'God's man', they all came to the meeting - a hundred of them to start with (and more than that, now). Hallelujah!
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We've blogged this before but it came up again this week (hat tip XC and Harold H). Pay attention, those who 'do' benedictions in meetings. In The Army, theologically, we do NOT invoke blessings to people with terms such as 'the LORD bless YOU'. We add MAY and change the YOU to US. Anything else emphasises the demonic clergy/laity divide. So, please, straighten that one out on Sunday.
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I heard recently Commissioner James Knaggs state that The Army is not only a movement of God but is also a movement OF GOD.
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I also heard this week of an officer who has had 17 appointments in 19 years.
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Don't forget to read the JAC@50 issue and pray for the General at lunchtime.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 28-30; 1 John 3 (nice to note that the context of the famous 29:11 is prophecy of 70 years of exile and captivity; also 28:15-16 - don't mess with the prophetic or the prophets!).
much grace,
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posted by Stephen Court

don't read the McAlister blog (if you want to avoid a punch in the stomach)
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August 21, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

The ALPHA blog has raised some interest. Here are a couple of comments:
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from one prominent salvo: "
(1) Just read your blog on ALPHA. Interesting - we ran it at our previous corps for a few cycles and God used it awesomely. If it's of the Spirit it's gotta be good, right, no matter who 'owns' it to begin with. But, I completely agree with the non-Salvo 'buddy'. The Army doesn't need something new in this generation. We just need to do what we've been given to do from the beginning...in the place we've been told to do it. Incarnational living on the margins of society. Obedience over reputation. Priority for the poor. Expansion of small, mobile units. Concern for the number of soldiers mobilised out of the building, over the number of people we're attacting into them. If we regained our distinction, we wouldn't need our own 'ALPHA'.
----
from one prominent salvo: Sorry to disagree with your non salvo mate but TSA did come up with Alpha and most of the over modern evangelical tools used by the church today.

We were using the ward system long before cell church poked its head out of the womb! As for Alpha our system for making and following down recruits (welcome sergeants, recruiting sergeants, rolls, visititation sergeants, recruits classes, Soldiership classes) as used prior to 1950 surpasses anything Alpha has to offer! Add to that that directory and Corps Cadets, open-airs, pub booming, slum and gutter brigades etc and there is very little the contemporary church has 'discovered' that wasn't used by or even initiated by TSA. We were doing 'Café church' and offering a sandwich alongside Salvation before cafes had been invented - Railton mentions
salvation tea-parties in 'Heathen England' in 1877! As for the '4 spiritual laws' how many tracts beginning with 'How to.... Get saved... find holiness... win souls' etc did the early SA publish? Our problem is not that Salvos spend "too much time asking why they didn't come up with good stuff rather than using that time to actually come up with the good stuff". Our problem is that we stopped using the good stuff we'd already come up with and even today continue to discard that good stuff because we think it is past its sell by date.

When TSA has the guts to be TSA and stop trying to imitate other churches we might actually notice that other churches have been imitating us and borrowing our ideas for years!

"Salvationism is a clear and well-defined quality that represents
distinctive features of doctrine and service which distinguish it from all
other organizations and makes of it an entity entirely apart, incapable of
being blended with any other people. Any attempt to harmonize it with
methods employed by other religious bodies destroys its effectiveness and
renders it incapable of achieving its purpose or continuing to develop its
special characteristics." (Edward Higgins - When Chief of the Staff 1n 1928)
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So, what do you think?
----
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremish 21,24,27; Psalm 118 (v21 - thank You for answering my prayer and saving me); 1 John 2 (hardcore).
much grace,
StephenC
posted by Stephen Court

feedback on the ALPHA blog
(and hb2the mightyMC)

This is from my buddy (not a Salvo):
----
Your follow-up Blog on ALPHA is interesting in light of the props you had just given the day before on C-cubed. Why didn't the Sally Ann come up with the Jesus Film or the Four Spritual Laws? The answer to these questions is the same as for ALPHA, which you begin to move towards in your closing, but to get there I'll answer for you (feel free to share with those who have inquired)- WHO CARES!?!

These proven, quality, evangelistic tools have not come from the Angilcans or Crusade or any other church or para-church organization, but through faithful, God-fearing folks. The fact that the SA didn't come up with it should be of absolutely no concern. Here's a bulletin worth posting; there are MANY outstanding Christian movements, tools, traditions, revivals, articles and books, speaches and events that
have not come out of a Salvo camp. In the same vein, the SA has certainly made its contributions to these aspects (numbers aside) of the global Christian community.

Maybe the reason the SA didn't come up with ALPHA is because there are too many Salvos spending too much time asking why they didn't come up with good stuff rather than using that time to actually come up with the good stuff...
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We've been told.
grace
sec

God Has Given Us a Mandate!

(this is the vision delivered by Commissioner Joe Noland in 2000 in his book, NO LIMITS TOGETHER (Vission 7007- perfection, prayer, possibility, purity), particularly to USE (but read and learn and emply, even if you're not fighting there right now):
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God has given us a mandate …
to reclaim the Army value of participatory prayer.

God has given us a mandate …
to call Salvationists back to a life of holiness.

God has given us a mandate …
to reaffirm the Army value of aggressive and adaptive evangelism.

God has given us a mandate …
to aggressively and flexibly plant new corps, with a focus on the fellowship of believers.

God has given us a mandate …
to reach out with new Army expressions to those living on the edge.

God has given us a mandate …
to reach out evangelistically to the recovering community.

God has given us a mandate …
to reach out to teens and young adults.

God has given us a mandate …
to corps revitalization.

God has given us a mandate …
to recruit and cultivate candidates.

God has given us a mandate …
to provide greater opportunities for midlife ministry.

God has given us a mandate …
to make appointments based on congruence with core values and performance, not protocol.

God has given us a mandate …
to create channels and opportunities for ideas and information to move freely throughout the territory.
----
We've blogged in broad strokes on this vision in 2007 (the fruition date of the vision). But we might unpack this a bit more for you in the days to come.

Much grace,
sec

August 20, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

We're we go...
----
I heard from an officer some requirements for officership today:
- loyalty to our leaders
- adherence to our doctrines/theology
- adherence to our ecclesiology (including freedom from liturgical/ceremonial sacramentalism)
- support of our distinctives
----
This is a good test for all salvos (not just all officers). Try it out.
----
And the biggie of the day we'll post separately.
----
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Psalm 67; Jeremiah 48-49; 1 John 1 (v7 is big on social holiness - try it - we're cleansesd from all sin the context of fellowship).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 19, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

I've heard it asked in a few different places why The Army didn't come up with ALPHA. It is an interesting question. There could be other factors than that there are multiples of Anglicans more than Salvos (77 million to 1.5 million, according to adherents.com). The biggest evangelistic innovation of which I've heard in The Army in this generation is music-based: Baby Song.

Have we invented ALPHAs in the past? Sure - We refined open air evangelism in the early days to reach tonnes of people. Limelight Studios created the first films and heaps of people got saved. Commissioner Gunpei Yamamuro wrote The Common People's Gospel and sold millions (the purpose driven life of Japan, a century ago). (later)General Arnold Brown broke through radio and television with the gospel.

But we lack an ALPHA in this generation. Has it hurt us? Well, this blog has posted one year conversions in USA SA of 153,000 a couple of years ago. So God is still saving more people than most of us can shake a stick at through The Army. Could we have reached more. Yes.

But does it hurt that we're using Nicky G's ALPHA? No. Maybe it forces ecumenism.

If the Anglicans have 50 times as many people as we do, they might be 50 times more likely to make up ALPHA. They have more money to pour into video stuff (I don't know of many corps that pull off pro-quality weekly video). That helps. But there is also a certain malaise in some places in The Army that lowers our likelihood of creating ALPHA. Remember that Holy Trinity Brompton (birthplace of ALPHA) was also the landing pad for the Toronto Blessing in the mid-90s in England. So you have to factor Holy Spirit into the equation - at which point we sort of run out of arguments.

Praise God for ALPHA. I know of all kinds of Salvos who have been rejuvinated (maybe, in a couple of cases, regenerated) through it. Hallelujah.
----
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Psalm 105; Jeremiah 45-47; John 21 (in the midst of a prophetic conversation with Peter, Jesus twice says, 'Follow Me'. That is the way to respond to the prophetic is to follow Jesus. Simple).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 18, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

We have a saying in our community that 'luck is for pagans'. A youngster I know this morning said something was lucky and the 'corrected' himself - 'luck is for penguins'. Close.
----
I had some formative years with Campus Crusade for Christ at UofT. Here is a ten list of that:
a. getting discipled by Brad Thompson - we're very different guys (he's caring and thoughtful...) but God used him to deposit in me some skills and disciplines and MO that have been enormously helpful in the years since (and I pray verses like John 16:8 and 2 Timothy 2:2 and so on, as he did);
b. win build send (the Crusade MO) which, has been adapted for our purposes to capture train deploy;
c. the level of action - my peak year I had seven discipleship groups going each week (and that implied doing random evangelism with the guys and all) and the grid had more than a hundred people involved in discipleship;
d. the zeal of some of those guys (the same DNA that created the Jesus Film and the Four Spiritual Laws, the two most effective evangelistic tools in history that we employed regularly) was contagious and was consistent with what I'd read about in SA history;
e. we started Athletes In Action with the football team and had 20 guys or so out of 70+ in discipleship groups and some good crowds to pre-game chapels;
f. we did come cool events, packing four-digit crowds at places like Convocation Hall to hear our guys (famous Christian speakers/apologists) tackle famous sinners in debate on issues like the existence of God, good and evil, abortion, who is Jesus... (and, inevitably, demolish them);
g. lots of people got saved;
h. I made a couple of great friends through it, and the leadership group I was in at the end consisted of guys who are in vocational Christian leadership (or voluntary);
i. I once tied Jim M in a spaghetti eating contest at a Crusade function (though I puked it all up on the front lawn on the way home);
j. classic evangelistic opening lines with Brian G at parties on on subways (e.g. says Brian - 'I can't help but notice that you are smoking, in violation of the TTC bylaw. I wonder, have you heard of the four spiritual laws?' And that one actually worked - not for conversion, but for the Gospel!);
----
This could mark the end of the ten lists, at least for awhile until I live somewhere new for long enough to compile.
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 25,35,36; John 20).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

Another ten list
Etobicoke Temple Corps
a. the mighty 523rd (Cub Pack with Jack Burch and crew in the gym. "We'll do our best...";
b. Corps Cadets - heaps of them with Don Mitchell;
c. the big corps anniversary (look closely in the background of nearly every photograph and see if there might be a familiar head);
d. pancake breakfast for Easter in the gym;
e. Major Robertson singing a sermon from the piano;
f. Marion Braund singing "Humble";
g. my mom on the piano during any prayer meeting (which, for those who don't go to a corps with one, is the time following the preaching - the most important part of any SA meeting - during which we transact business with God);
h. our wedding was there - packed house and good times (a lot of it is a bit of a blur);
i. the legendary Etobicoke Temple Youth Band and its many and varied spring break band trips (Florida, California, Pennsylvania, NY, Ohio, etc.);
j. learning to write 'a' - the kind with the hook over the ball - from Doug C's scribbled notes on the music in band practice; nailing the start of Call of the Righteous at Roy Thompson Hall; playing a whole piece upside down with Brad N in a concert at Scarborough Citadel (the old one - sorry bandmaster).
Praise the Lord.
(look, hat tip to Dovercourt Citadel, where I was dedicated, and Earlscourt Citadel (with the red and black high collars) - but I left them by the time I was 6 and, barring Sunday School class, Singing Company, the band marching up the street from open airs, the classic Jesus-knocking-on-the-door painting at the entrance, Bandmaster Brian Ring (feared and fabled figure), and musicales (seemingly all the time) I don't think I can put together a ten list)
grace
sec

August 17, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
----
Here is incarnational warfare modus operandi in a nutshell:
Galatians 4:12- I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you.

Paul became like the Galatians. But he doesn't leave them as they are. He exhorts them to become like him. He changes culturally so that they will change spiritually. You can quote me on that.
----
Do you sponsor a child? If not, why not sponsor a child through The Salvation Army (none better)? You can usually catch on at the front page of armybarmy.com or at your nearest THQ site.
----
Romans 8:16,17 and Galatians 4:1-7,19.
(Ro8)"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

This matches with Galatians 4:1-7,19 regarding the witness of the Spirit at sanctification. See for yourself.
----
Read JAC and tell ten friends.
----
Let's all try to get someone saved today!
----
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 23,25; John 19 (23:29 - God's word is like a hammer that smashes a rock to pieces - is a good one for those who don't buy the August 12 blog post below).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

disciple > apostle

I was doing some rations with a youngster who pointed out that the apostles were disciples before they were apostles. He is right. You have to be a disciple before you are an apostle. Does it only follow, then, that you have to be a disciple before you can be the other Ephesians 4 types (prophet; evangelist; shepherd/teacher)? If so, we'd better start discipling people.

grace
sec
(PS read JAC@50)

August 16, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(hb2WE/JB)

The last couple of ten lists have garnered a testimony of conversion at COW and a connection with a convert from more than a decade ago. Nice. It is great to hear that God is faithful. What stuck with my old friend? Here are a couple of things:
- How's your soul?
- are you electrified? (an old preach)
Praise God
----
Another ten list? (not TOP ten) How about training college? Some of these weren't in the 'schedule':
- some excellent friends and many intimate times (for those who follow, we connected with the Gills here - several years before opening fire in Vancouver);
- discipleship groups (many of my accountability guys were found there) and early morning daily prayer meetings for revival (we thought it was only our prayers that were answered when the Toronto Blessing kicked off January 20 1994!);
- Friday night open airs (4 1/2 hours on Yonge Street most weeks preaching the Gospel) (followed by a crazy wake-up hour because Doug Hammond's grandfather said 'anyone who ever did great things for God woke up early to pray!);
- war cry routes (encountering squalor first-hand for the first time?);
- starting a campus ministry at a nearby college; or, that unforgettable CASSETTE album - SOUL PURPOSE (of more cadets than you can shake a stick at);
- SoulBusting (a series of youth events God used to get a bunch of people saved...);
- renting a big tent for a week-long evangelistic campaign in March only to have nearly record cold spell and freezing out most in attendance (we had to thaw the movie projector with the van heater);
- Navigators and the groups it spawned on campus (Denise not believing the Nav guy really knew all those verses filling the shoe box and proceeding to grill him - he nailed them all);
- Commissioner Harris (TC then) told us to pay for our own stamps;
- John N and I filling the pages of THE OFFICER as cadets (and the never-ending BUT preach).
----
Praise God (sorry about the tent campaign). And people say I'm not personal.
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 22; Psalm 112; 2 Kings 24; John 18.
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 15, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

The ten lists continue today with Campbellford, a place I soldiered for a year in the 90s:
- pubs with Captain Miller PtG (he dominated pubs - he'd announce his arrival, plop down on a piano, and start playing honky-tonk Gospel tunes. He'd completely take over bars);
- discipling new converts in the living room of the quarters (which was attached to the hall; if you walked out the door off the platform you'd enter the quarters kitchen - very convenient);
- the can-do mentality (a bunch of teens got saved and painted the unfinished basement to make it a youth hang-out; then some ladies, including new-borns, decided they'd put together a community meal down there regularly; plus a new congregation; band; Walk-Thru The Bible; climb out of debt; etc.);
- basketball;
- driving to some youth event with our one Junior Soldier early on, she asked me what the point was; I told her the point was to make her dangerous (to the enemy) - she looked at me as if I was crazy;
- weekly forays with a vanload of locals to catch meetings in Toronto at the Airport;
- Home League (single guy officers get involved in that! Tuesday night (Home League) and Sunday morning were the only times I turned on the heat);
- media - The Army became a media player - with a daily and weekly radio show and pervasive news coverage (small towns are screaming for content);
- youth stuff - from the Holy Spirit Party (packed hall full of glory fits) and daily lunch breaks from school for prayer ministry to Blood Fest and Boot Camp (sleeping in a barn) - some good things happened (hat tip EmilyT/M);
- 'Do You Love My Jesus'? signs and the big shield on the hall wall, matched by blaring music onto the main street on Sunday mornings (trying to draw a crowd); today I'd change it to OUR Jesus; and, it didn't work to well - early on I started a meeting with no one there - I got a quarter of the way down the order of meeting before one man wandered in (stats for the day - 2);
- there were 11 churches in town (if you count us - I know, not exactly church) and 9 of the leaders got saved in The Army.
----
Praise the Lord for all of the good things He did there.
----
God is here.
SA Daily Reading; Psalm 93; Jeremiah 18-20; John 17 (26b suggests that we love Jesus like the Father loves Jesus).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 14, 2007 (updated).
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

A whole blog disappeared. But it said something like this:

See SALVATIONIST (bottom right) for a tribute to Colonel Alida Bosshardt, a great warrior promoted to Glory.

See James Thompson's blog for a great story of spiritual warfare. See Anthony Castle's blog for a hard core interpretation of a dream (reflects on The Army).

Then, another (not top) ten list. This time for Williams Lake (a place I soldiered so storied that on topic at a conference in another hemisphere was titled The Williams Lake Way):
a. loyal local officers (hat tip to Dina K! God bless you);
b. unity in the Body (unreal things happened because Christians were so united in mission);
c. housemates (we had heaps of them over nearly seven years and tonnes of stories, good shabbats, foot washings, etc.);
d. initiatives (we tried everything and almost anything - new outposts, new cell-based congregations, halfway house, camp, JAMs, The Offering Plate, drop-in, Battle School, SALVATIONISM 101-301; JAC started here; PSN (Primitive Salvationist Network); BE A HERO (actually born over a milkshake at Denny's after ACC with Wesley Campbell, though finished post WL); almost a chain of drive-through coffee stops and a dry cleaners; etc.
e. after warning an unruly teen in Corps Cadets I catapulted over the table and gave him a dose of muscular salvation! (Matt is 24 now and huge so it is good I got him while relatively, well, not so huge).
f. cell leaders and corps council set a goal for 365 converts one year and we failed miserably, landing at 153 (coincidently the number of fish caught in that Biblical net).
g. WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE DOING? - an enormous map on the wall in ou rhall that highlighted the growing impact of a bunch of salvos in a small town (miraculous).
h. Salvo Songs was born there - including the first album- LIVE FROM THE CARIBOO (those who were there will smile), AWAKEN THE GIANT (recorded in living rooms, bedrooms, and campsites), SOUL CANDY (you can't forget the album release party), and more CDs.
i. armybarmy is here because of Williams Lake - a guy was sent to us for community hours. I grabbed a mop but he said he could make us a website (this is 1995). He did, and the WL Corps website won the first and only international SA internet competition for best site (read about it in a year book of that era, strangely enough). Anyway, that holy man, Curtis Cartmell, when not collecting old vegetables, learning punjabi, and getting people saved and discipled, morphed it into armybarmy.com. So if it wasn't for Williams Lake we wouldn't be talking like this today.
j. councils. For such a small town we had big speakers and worship leaders. And we had annual Council of War and Aggressive Christianity Councils that blew the doors off of comfortably Christianity with gusts of Primitive Salvationism.
----
All glory to God for what He has done! Hat tip to the Williams Lake warriors!
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 16-17; Psalm 96; John 16 (love v7,8 - Holy Spirit comes to US and convicts the world).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

Did you know...

- that The Salvation Army (in the USA) is a part of Christians for Biblical Equality? I didn't (but WHO ARE THESE SALVATIONISTS confirms it on p229). You can see what we're a part of here: http://cbeinternational.org/new/index.shtml
I'm in favour.

- that Dawn Marie Paulson has some gems on her blog over the last little while (see BC blogs at right)? Read up on the Tale of Three Kings, for example.

- that Kirsten Ivany has a nice prophetic prayer post on her blog (also BC blogs)? God blesses when we go armed into battle.

- that General Shaw Clifton counselled 55 personnel secretaries; 'Try not to move officers with children who are between 13 and 16 years of age'?

- that blog is sounding a bit like The War Cry (or Canadian Salvationist)? :-)
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grace
sec

August 13, 2007 (updated)
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Here's the news: Acacia Walters-Wulfing started bloggging. You can catch her here:
http://www.xanga.com/uknowatreebyfruit
----
Now, as part of a deal, she had give a top ten list (following the ever-influential Rob Dolby) of her time in Vancouver. Please enjoy it. A funny one regarding AW-W is that she lived a whole year in Vancouver and no one ever heard her sing (not even in congregation). Her mom was a delegate at BTI the first year and was talking about how great Acacia could sing and everything, how they were moving to Nashville to record, and about record labels and all. I thought this was the classic example of the deluded mom. I mean, 'Acacia doesn't even sing, let alone sing well' - was my thought. Her last week in Vancouver, during Pray The Bible, I found out her mom wasn't nutty - Acacia was in a corner praying in song - and it was pretty heavenly. Her 'band' is Kumi and it is sweet music. She contributed 'Yahweh' to the new Boundless volume 2.

As the other part of the deal, I'm meant to do the same as Acacia. I'll try to avoid too many kleenexes. I don't like doing it because it leaves so much out. But, in no particular order - a ten list (not top) of some current memories of the war in Vancouver:
----
a. the pioneers (Rob, Michelle, the Gillinghams, and the Evanses). Starting from scratch - I salute them. Rob could write a book on it all.
----
b. first class at The War College (someone had stolen all of our chairs in our borrowed space in a SA emergency shelter so we sat on the floor. Shimei went off, something like this: "Lordy, Lordy, they will not believe in Atlanta that I'm at The War College sitting on the floor of an emergency shelter!").
----
c. Carla burning her lip/nose - in our first cell, a guy came with socks that absolutely reeked. So Rob suggested that we light some incense and pass it around (he made up something about us wafting in Holy Spirit). Carla was so desperate she inhaled strong enough that live embers flew up and burned her. From then on, guests left their shoes on.
----
d. The War Room - hub of the corps and the war. The first week was fantastic, as God prompted a bunch of us to keep going (it is still going - praise God). But the hard summer and Christmas season were heroic. And it birthed so much great stuff (e.g. mmccxx).
----
e. early knee drills in our living room (actually, there are a few top ten lists of knee drills). eii. "release the grease; slather the lather; boil the oil..."
----
f. Pray The Bible - one day a THQ filming crew flew out to catch the spirit of the corps (I guess) for a promotional thing. God chose that morning for one of the Death and Glory Session to go the full half hour with full-on birthing manifestations (on the floor, legs splayed, screaming). The camera guys surrounded her for half the time, curiously filming each screech, like some Westerners doing a National Geographic thing in remote Africa in the 60s. For some reason I haven't seen that one on SA tv ads.
----
g. street combat - good times (and other evangelistic forays).
----
h. rites of passage - Senior Soldier Enrollments; weddings; graduations (I have never experienced anything like them). You have to love The Warrior Academy, too!
----
i. the sacrifice of so many and the intimacy of community. It proved, daily, that the fellowship is in the fight (it is a very difficult front on which to live).
----
j. the model. We had great DCs, great DHQ support, great encouragement from Salvos throughout the division, a great corps council, great cell leaders, great soldiers.
----
Hallelujah.
God is here.
SA Daily reading: Jeremiah 13-15; John 15 (v14 - you are My friends if you do what I command- hardcore. And, the popular song - "I am a friend of God" becomes a testimony of righteous obedience).
Much grace,
stephenC
posted by Stephen Court

August 12, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Sometimes Christians get Psalm 19:10 wrong. We misread it and end up regarding God's Word as sweeter than gold and more precious than honey. This happens in at least a couple of different ways:

1. sometimes our ears get tickled by brutal takes on Scripture that imply it isn't authoritative (see Ephesians 4:14; James 1:6; Jude 1:12; Hebrews 13:9; 2 Peter 3:17). Some people seem to think it is cool to doubt and question and disregard. That is bad enough. But when they teach others, they'd better be careful, as they face a sterner judgement (1 Timothy 1:7; James 3:1; 2 Peter 2:1-3).

2. sometimes our ears are blasted by loud sounds of the world, the sinful nature, and the devil, and so we shut out the truths of the Bible, or give the Word only lip service, or reduce it to one of many voices, or keep it on our shelf but not in our heart. And we look for teachers who will affirm this rebellion (2 Timothy 4:3).

Both mistakes are quite condescending in their approach to Scripture.

This is serious stuff. And you sometimes find it in the most unlikely places. Be a good Berean (Acts 17:11). Submit to the Word. Crack open an older version of the Handbook of Doctrine (1940 and previous are my faves). Read it. Be prudent as to what you engage (CDs, radio teaching, preaching, books). A wise man reminded me that many people lose their faith studying theology (classic example is Charles Templeton - google for details).

God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 12 (see v5 for a little OT trash talking); John 14 (v15 - love=obedience).
Much grace,
stephenC

August 11, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Some are on about covenant again (good thing!). Here is a bit I blogged on it last year in the context of transformation:
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Our Father delights to give us the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God consists of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, but also of the wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit. He can most vibrantly delight in giving us the Kingdom when He can most confidently trust us with that Kingdom. Now, Rob Dolby says, "You can't earn God's love, but you can earn His trust." He's describing the impact of covenant. As we, in The Salvation Army, embrace soldier's covenant, we're positioning ourselves so that God can entrust us with the ingredients of the Kingdom and delight in the giving. And the ramifications of all of us embracing covenant should be globally transformative.
----
I received an email this morning from someone who sums up Revelation succinctly:
----
"I'm up Revelation 12 and I have no idea what it is all about other than the end times will be bad but triumphant."
----
:-)
----
And hear is Noland again (from his 'irreverent' blog), this time, on Sunday worship:
----
Without going into a lot of detail, the congregation is small, aging and friendly in an “arms length” sort of way. The pews (of 18th or 19th Century design) are hard and uncomfortable, but we are no strangers to this. A lulling organ prelude of, “The Old Rugged Cross,” is followed by a long litany of announcements, already carefully laid out in the printed program, typos and all. We sit unfazed.

Then comes twenty minutes of ultramodern 1980’s praise songs, words reflected on the screen, with each verse lagging about ten seconds behind, and everyone coerced to stand, clap and sing spontaneously. Oh, the electricity in that sanctuary is simply spine-tingling.
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Olivia Munn (right side) has a sweet blog on Vancouver - if you want a taste of the beauty of the place, read it.
----
General Larsson said officers need to be scholars and dynomos (hat tip Greg M). Nice. I don't know about the scholar part, but I like the dynamo.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 7-9; John 13 (v34 - love one another).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 10, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

A young guy I know usually prays for 'Blood and Fire', as that short prayer covers most requests (hat tip JT).
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Here's a new one (We think) for the vocabulary - GodSpam (we'll share it with LR).
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General Bramwell Booth called the training college a, "manufactory for the making of men" (hat tip WH).
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He also pumps up, "the teaching of Holiness to which, undoubtedly, we must ascribe much of the vitality and vivacity which distinguish many of the oldest as well as the youngest Corps of The Army" (from Servants of All).
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On training, he thinks the ultimate is the training of the heart. But he clarifies, "I am far from depreciating the value of the book-teaching that goes on there. It is all good, and so also are the drills, the instruction in the great facts and doctrines of the Bible, the public-house visiting, the dealing with the sick, the fighting in the streets, the praying with the people in the dark, dark slums and homes of filth and vice – it is all good, it is all proper to equip the men and women of God for their great work in the future, and without it they would often be of very little use."
----
Sounds a bit like The War College.
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While we're on training for officership, the soon-to-be Training Principal in Pakistan indicates that there is one main qualifier - that a person has intellectual firepower, the capacity to mediate change; and there is one disqualifier - that a person carries unresolved psycho-pathological or spiritual baggage (hat tip GW).
----
Did you know that MOM upside down spells WOW?
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 5-6; John 12 (how about trying to kill Lazarus, too, because som many were getting saved by his testimony?).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 9, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Now, really, how many of you have read all of JAC@50? Did you read the dead-raising bit? How many of you have downloaded the whole enchilada - every article in every issue of JAC all in one handy file (for free, on the front page of JAC)? Knock yourselves out.
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We're psyched to report that THE UPRISING: a holy revolution?, a holiness book for teens by Olivia Munn and me, is officially SA-approved now (after much editing) and we're in the publishing process. It features a teen-to-teen reading club guide and everything. Start saving your shekels.
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I extracted this great bit from a Walter Kaiser book on Old Testament mission:
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Adonai Yahweh is a rare rendering of God's name. And yet it turns up five times in 2 Samuel 7:18-19,22,28-29 - Davidic covenant. It is also used also in context of the promise to Abraham of a 'seed' in Genesis 15:2,8 (it is used also in Deut. 3:24; 9:26; Josh 7:7; Judges 6:22; 16:28; 1 Kings 2:26;8:53).

There is a close relationship.

2 Samuel 7:19 - "And this is the charter for humanity, O Lord Yahweh" (Kaiser's translation, which he asserts is way more accurate than normal ones).

What is the charter? The Seed. How classic is that? Old Testament Gospel in a nutshell. The charter of all humanity is The Seed (that's our Jesus, in case you are reading this right out of bed, or mid-afternoon at the office!).
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There is a fast-growing corps in one territory, and as is my inclination, I asked the secret (e.g. in Vancouver the secret would be primitive salvationism, the war room, and bi-vocational/incarnational ethos). The answer? APLHA and Cleansing Streams (e.g. they got them saved and delievered - good model).
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 3-4; John 11 (powerful stuff, and rehabilitates MArtha a bit from her normal sermon casualty).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 8, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen

The post on the Noble Three Hundred (which also included the Hall of the Mighty Dead!) had this reply from Xander Coleman (who blogs at right):
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The noble army, men and boys,
The matron and the maid,
Around the Saviour's throne rejoice,
In robes of light arrayed;
They climbed the steep ascent of Heaven,
Through peril, toil and pain;
O God, to us may grace be given
To follow in their train!
[SASB 701/R. Heber]
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We've preached on 300 before but never the Noble Three Hundred. Stay tuned...
----
And, we have it on good authority (don't you love those armybarmy 'sources') that the Philadelphia contingent at the 1975 North American Youth Congress was chock full of Broad Street Bullies fans. (Soon) General Brown introduced Gowans' and Larssons' Burning Burning, apparently ad infinitim (coincidently, AUS's Soteria Music and USS's transMission have both covered this hit on their newest albums).

You will know that one of the lines is "Burning, Burning Fire within." However, if you were sitting anywhere near the Philly contingent, after many repeats through the weekend of this new song, you would have heard "Bernie, Bernie, Flyers will win" (Bernie Parent being their standout goalie in that era). The things you pick up at a youth congress. Scarring, really.
----
The Australian Government just released the results of its Social Trends survey:
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4102.0?OpenDocument
The intel on Aussie religious activity is here:
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/fa58e975c470b73cca256e9e00296645!OpenDocument
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Jeremiah 1-2; John 10 (Jesus expects people to believe because of the miracles. Some do).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

Bv2 update.

People want more details on Bv2 contributors. Well, here goes (all songs copyright of contributor):

RISE UP by Grounded, groundedworship.com (Canada)
REVOLUTION by transMission, cdbaby.com/cd/transmiss (USS)
ARMOUR by Revolution Project (Ingle Farm), myspace.com/revolutionheadquarters (Australia)
JESUS, LET ME SIT HERE AT YOUR FEET by Karyn Baker, blog at right (Canada)
TAKE BROKEN ME by Electralyte, electralyte.net (UK)
THAT YOU LOVE ME by The Singing Company, thesingingcompany.com (USC)
SING FOR JOY by Nik and Emma Pears, therattling.com (UK)
I KNOW A FOUNT (remix) by Marty Mikles and transMission, cdbaby.com/cd/transmiss (USS)
ALL I HAVE by Joshua Ivany, armybarmy.com (Canada)
TAKE ALL OF ME by Lincoln Hawk and Jeni Berea Wallace, cloudyhousemusic.com (USW)
HERE AM I by Erin Wikle (USW)
BLESS OUR ARMY by Danielle Strickland, armybarmy.com (Australia)
YAHWEH by Acacia Walters-Wulfing, myspace.com/bandkumi (USS)
AS WE BOW by Mark Hood and Jeni Berea Wallace, cloudyhousemusic.com (USW)
BE A HERO by Phil Laeger and transMission, beahero.org (USS)
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All in all, a classic line up of salvo worship. Buy their albums. Enjoy.
much grace
sec

The War College extra

We've heard from people interested in starting campuses of The War College. We're interested in that, too. Here is how it goes.

There are three conditions:
1. you have to be in relationship with us (implicitly, we support it);
2. it has to be among the poor;
3. it has to be corps-based.

Anything other than that doesn't get The War College seal of approval and the Board of Reference featuring a few generals and some commissioners and others. And you can't really even use the name. We're pretty wrapped up in protecting things along these lines and so we have reissued a statement from the early days:

"The leaders of The War College assert proprietary interest in the name, website, and symbols of The War College. This means, among other things, that no one can use the name, website, and symbols of The War College without the expressed written consent of the founders, leaders, and Board of Reference of The War College."

I hope this helps. Meanwhile, pray about attending The War College as part of the Incendiary Session.

Lots of information is available at thewarcollege.com.
Much grace,
sec

August 7, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Well, BOUNDLESS volume 2 is NOW OUT! (unlike the last post this is not free!)

It features all kinds of SA worship types from UK, USC, USW, USS, C+B, and AUS! It is a very strong album, a compilation of contributions (by contributors who still hold the copyrights) aimed at spreading good SA worship and raising lots of money for self denial and SA missions. This is where you come in. You can buy yours directly from revolution @ mm cc xx . net until it is available at the armybarmy store (soon). $15 cdn plus shipping.
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This is SALVOS SONGS #11 (Bv2). It follows Live From The Cariboo, SoZo, Awaken The Giant, Soul Candy, Salvo P.O.P., And Can It Be? Sounds of The Revolution, The Army of the Lord, General's Choice, and Boundless volume 1 (some of these are prayer CDs and one is a preaching CD). We're talking five digits of sales here, and heaps of cash for missions. Praise the Lord.
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Simon Robertson (AUS) had his design for The Army's International Day of Prayer accepted by http://www.istockphoto.com/design_spotlight_details.php?ID=12226
Why is this good news? Well, for one, if you are involved in this event, and if you are a Salvo you will be involved in this event, you now have a pro design for a poster to promote it. And, second, it is nice to see Salvo designers leading the way in the field.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Zephaniah; John 9 (v4 is another blow to the Sabbathists, as Jesus, in the context of breaking the Sabbath again, testifies that we have to keep on working while it is day...).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

The Name of the LORD in the War Room today is...

Light of the World.

If you don't know, every day we honour the name of the LORD in The War Room, our 24-7 prayer room in the heart of 614 Vancouver. This has been an instruction for us from right near the beginning of our 3 and a half year (so far) prayer vigil. We are to honour the name of Yahweh in a world that dishonours and blasphemes his Holy name. We are to remember his name, to declare his fame, and to make it the central point of our prayers and our lives.

We have been focusing on the Light of the World as Yahweh's name / description since Thursday. It's a good one to meditate on. You don't need to light a lamp in a lighted room. You need to shine light in the dark, in the darkest places. And darkness flees. Do we really believe that the light will defeat the dark? Are we really living our lives like that? Or are we afraid of the dark?


Grace,

Aaron

JAC@50 Birthday Collection now available

It is FREE! Download it at JAC (hat tip Don Grad). It contains every JAC article ever! Whew! Now, scroll down and catch up on the posts...
grace
sec

August 6, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Alright, in my bio of Arnott and Arnott's cookies, I left out one brand - SAO. The story goes that SAO biscuits stands for 'Salvation Army Officer' and that the first Arnott made them for his son when he went campaigning.
----
James Hay's autobio continues to feed good stuff. He pumps the great hearts in the following ways:

1. The Hall of the Mighty Dead, in which he salutes 63 pioneers who by 1951 (publishing date) had been promoted to Glory ( I Could list them...?);

2. He describes the Noble Three Hundred - these were the key leaders of William Booth's day, his men and women of "talent, of strong minds, and vigorous character who became the phalanx of strength, courage, and daring so much required in the rapidly-growing Army with its great revivals and almost unparalleled expansion of newly-born Christ-like men and women." Of the Noble Three Hundred, William Booth said, "I seem at times to think that I might count up the actual burden-bearers we have - those men and women on whom I can implicitly place my confidence, that, come what may, will endure to the end." "These three hundred who carry the weight without complaining carry the disappointments as well as the victories" (p103);

3. He gives a great nod (and surprising, giving the time it was published) to, "that splendid company of leaders, who, though not in Officership until the end, nevertheless did magnificent work for Salvationism, and whose sacrifices are not forgotten" (going on to mention by name a bunch of commissioners...).
----
Well, we can't be in group one (well, maybe the extension wing). We want to avoid group three. But let's aim to join the Noble Three Hundred, implicitly loyal, burden-bearing, strong, courageous, and daring!
----
Boy, would I like to scare up 300 students over various campuses of The War College so that we can call the session The Noble Three Hundred! :-) (by the way, you can apply to The War College at thewarcollege.com)
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And, it gets better... Hay doesn't leave the list in the past. He concludes this section:

"I would appeal to younger Salvationists - men and women alike - let us do more than admire or give respect to those who have, under God, made this Army. Why cannot you do as they did? You have an Army functioning, throbbing with life. You have a world almost chaotic for lack of Christianity. You have souls hungering for gratification but who are daily seeking until poisoned wells. You have a grand challenge to win men for Christ. Are you ready to respond as we did? Souls won for Christ is eternal work; give your life to it." (p105,106)
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Remember, this is a greatheart who shaped or helped shape The Army in Australia, Southern Africa, Nz, Canada, Scotland, and England.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Habakkuk (2:2 for the prophets and writers); John 8 (strange that Jesus believes in demons but some Christians don't).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

Holiness (v. Abortion) - from First Things (May 07)
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William J. Abraham, the Outler professor of theology at Southern Methodist University, and one of the most influential Methodist voices in the country. We live, he says, in the “market state” brought about by changes in communications, technology, and globalization that have undermined the nation-state and reordered the world according to the delivery of goods by means of the market. This is the context in which we must make the case for the culture of life against the culture of death. His reflection is published in a fine newsletter, Lifewatch, put out by pro-life United Methodists. Abraham writes: “The state does not kill us. It is milder and smarter in its actions. It sanctions the slaughter of the innocents and wraps its evil in a cloak of rhetorical deceit about freedom of choice. The court chaplains of this holocaust, of course, are all too ready to provide spurious justifications for such evil. We long ago saw through their deceit and complicity. In this time and place we are irrevocably committed to a life of holiness. This is not a passive holiness. It is an active holiness that seeks to bring an end to the shedding of innocent blood. Not surprisingly, this is also a holiness that provokes vicious opposition. In response to such opposition, we will keep our nerve, for we are also called to strive for peace. Striving for peace is a complex practice. Striving for peace calls for intentional immersion in the life of God. We begin there with a peace ‘which passes all understanding’ (Philippians 4:7) as we move out into the political arena. Striving for peace in that arena requires joining hands across Christian churches and across other religions in defense of the life of the unborn. Striving for peace in that arena also requires active engagement in the political order informed by the deepest intellectual resources and skills we can muster. Happily, our current political arrangements permit such striving for peace. The grace of God makes possible such striving for peace. The evil of abortion makes imperative such striving for peace.”
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grace
sec

August 5, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(hb2rc)

Strangely, until last week I had not heard the Founder's exhortation, "Every hour and every power for Christ and duty" (at least to my recollection). And last week Commissioner Morgan mentioned it in a teaching session and Commissioner Hay mentioned it in his autobiography. Hardcore, as you might expect.
----
On Hay, who is nicknamed 'Bricks and Mortar' by some, for his penchant to buy property and build corps (often with the same structure): his autobiography is revealing (AGGRESSIVE SALVATIONISM). By 18 James Hay was leading a corps with 1,600 each Sunday (and led a few that large). Thousands were getting saved in his experience (this was during the historic SA revival in the 1880s). Speaking of the bricks and mortar, in Australia he built 426 SA buildings (and opened 98 corps in the decade of his leadership - as well as breaking the territory into NZ, AUE, and AUS). He was president of the first High Council. And so on. He's under-rated (mostly, I think, because he shut down Limelight; he should be rated higher for his fruit in souls and legacy in stregnth of Army in several territories. This is a good example of youth in leadership - he had serious leadership roles at a young age - most did in that era - and then grew older and made the following appointments big because he was big. The Army can only be a youth movement if it is expanding).
----
One of the reasons Hay (and Herbert Booth earlier) could do all he did is that Colonel Arnott was raising cash hand over fist. Arthur Arnott is famous in Australia as son of the founder of a massive cookie company (they make Tim Tams and many other brands). He was also famous for his compassion for the smelly, dirty down and out. But outside of Australia, he is more well-known for SASB entries such as;
Jesus, thou art everything to me,
Jesus, thou art everything to me,
All my lasting joys are found in thee;
Jesus, thou art everything to me. (chorus of 705);
791 (which, in the online version, suggests he lived 134 years!);
663;
903: We're on the homeward trail, we're on the homeward trail,
Singing as we go, going home.
We're on the homeward trail, we're on the homeward trail,
Singing, singing, singing, singing, going home. (a song I used to sing all the time growing up);
and his other classic, 829: Christ for the whole wide world.
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Hallelujah!
----
Lucy AikenheadRead's blog (rightside) has a great subtitle: "IT WOULD BE SACRILEGE, IT WOULD BE DESECRATION, IT WOULD BE WRONG, UNFAIR, UNJUST IF DIVINE POWER WERE GIVEN ON ANY OTHER TERMS THAN ABSOLUTE SELF ABANDONMENT." Kate Booth 1878.
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Try to get someone saved and sanctified today!
God is here.
SA Daily Reading: 2 Kings 23; 2 Chronicles 35; John 7 (you have to love Josiah).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

Top Crazy List from Vancouver

Vancouver champion Rob Dolby, now kicking in Charlotte with Heather and crew, blogs his top ten Crazy List from Vancouver. For those who have fought on that front it will be a good laugh and reminiscing. For those who haven't yet had the privilege, it might give a taste to offset the top ten list we produced recently. You can read it at the Firecrest blog at right.

grace
sec

August 4, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(hb2hg)

40 people got saved in one War College Revolutionist's summer assignment last week (see Holly Warren's blog July 28). HALLELUJAH!
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Here is some press on the Old Orchard Beach Pier initiative:
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=124953&ac=PHnws
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AUS busted its Red Shield record with $69 million from generous donors: http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/SALV:NEWSRELESE::pc=PC_61933
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AUTHENTIC HOLINESS FOR ORDINARY CHRISTIANS, by the Webbs, was officially book-launched yesterday on the top floor with the panoramic view in the imposing Training College in Melbourne. It is the first of a whole run of books to be published by AUS, which, it seems, is jumping out to take the lead in the global SA publishing field (hat tip Laurie Robertson).
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JAC@50 - read Major Hammond's dream - it will blow you away. Read Lieutenant Bussey's Me, MySpace,and iPod - thinking deep. Read Captain Maynor's valedictory address to all the cadets commissioned this year. Read Major Ayanam on signs and wonders and dead raising. Read the whole issue.
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For those interested in hiring Christians, see John Norton's CHRISTIANS ONLY NEED APPLY in JAC issue 16 or (now) General Clifton's WHO ARE THESE SALVATIONISTS.
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For those interested in abortion, see issue 4 of JAC.
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For those interested in officership, there is a defence in issue 6.
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: 2 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 34; John 6 (that whole bread section starts with them asking what God requires and Jesus answering 'believe' and ends with Jesus knowing that some didn't believe - the whole 'hard teaching' section is about belief).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 3, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Wow. There are some great things happening. I'm getting updates from all over the place. People are getting saved, sanctified, healed, called, anointed, and delivered. Yahoo! Here is a bit of a story to stir you up, about some salvos, fighting in July:
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"... the whole group (about 60) caught in the middle of a shoot-out between the police and the gangs in a favella (ghetto), praying and praising with the community kids in the corps while bullets richochetted off the outside walls; a police-raid (complete with semi-automatic rifles and sirens) through the open-air meeting in a community while the teams were talking with drug-dealers (armed with even bigger guns) on the streets; chatting with the homeless in small teams and being harassed bythe cops - implicated in a drug-deal inadvertantly - to leave 'these people' alone... they weren't worth the help - only to have one guy get saved, ask for a Bible, and ask if we knew how to deliver him from a curse, and addiction to drugs! Plus a teen prostitute - likely newly traffficked into the area - asked whether she could leave with us. Big prophetic outpouring - high grace, with not one misplaced over-enthusiastic Word even though most were total beginners at hearing from the Lord. Lots of personal presentations of the Gospel and requests for prayer from the public - and invitations to come back - literally people walking up to the teams and asking for ministry." (hat tip RC)
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There is a war going on right now. If you're not fighting, what are you doing? Go and try to get someone saved today!
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Oh, Aug 2 post went up a bit late, so feel free to read that and other recent blogs before dipping into JAC@50!
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Nahum; John 5 (Love 5:17 - blows away trad sabbath types - if you're not convinced search the blog for 'sabbath'; and 5:19 - one of the most powerful texts for me).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court

August 2, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!
(hsd/sec)

Those who were stirred by Shaw Coleman's sanctification testimony a week or so ago will want to get the update at his blog (on right roll)- praise God.

General John Gowans (on The War College Board of Reference, by the way) has a classic set of videos on doctrine that everyone should watch ('renew the passion' I think), done while UK TC. The guy is a master communicator. Anyway, there were some great take-away lines, such as;
- if we really believe that 'everyone who wills may be saved' everything we do will be immersed in mission;
- when we begin to take care of the corps instead of taking care of the lost, the light goes out;
- soul-winning has always been an expensive business;
- if the salvationist kept silent that would be blasphemous - sacriligious!

God is here.
SA Daily Reading: 2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33; John 4.
Much grace,
StephenC

The Message (MSG)
God, Creator of the heavens— he is, remember, God. Maker of earth— he put it on its foundations, built it from scratch. He didn't go to all that trouble to just leave it empty, nothing in it. He made it to be lived in. This God says: "I am God, the one and only. I don't just talk to myself or mumble under my breath. I never told Jacob, 'Seek me in emptiness, in dark nothingness.' I am God. I work out in the open, saying what's right, setting things right. So gather around, come on in, all you refugees and castoffs. They don't seem to know much, do they— those who carry around their no-god blocks of wood, praying for help to a dead stick? So tell me what you think. Look at the evidence. Put your heads together. Make your case. Who told you, and a long time ago, what's going on here? Who made sense of things for you? Wasn't I the one? God? It had to be me. I'm the only God there is— The only God who does things right and knows how to help. So turn to me and be helped—saved!— everyone, whoever and wherever you are. I am God, the only God there is, the one and only. I promise in my own name: Every word out of my mouth does what it says. I never take back what I say. Everyone is going to end up kneeling before me. Everyone is going to end up saying of me, 'Yes! Salvation and strength are in God!'"
Isaiah 45:17-19

August 1, 2007.
Greetings in Jesus' name, friends.
He is risen!

Happy birthday JAC! JAC@50 is now out (hat tip DG). Here is the table of contents (we took representative articles from issues 11-40 and added a few new ones):

Issue #11 - 'The King's Gifts and the Emperor's Clothes'
Captain Stephen Court

Issue #12 - 'Change and Challenge'
Commissioner Wesley Harris

Issue #14 - 'In Darkest Ambiguity and the Way Out'
Captain Matt Clifton

Issue #16 - 'The Officer Women Leader - A Husband's Perspective'
Major Richard Munn

Issue #17 - 'Dream Army'
Captain Doug Hammond

Issue #18 - 'Pilgrim's Progress'
Captain Stephen Poxon

Issue #19 - 'Why help the Poor?'
General Eva Burrows

Issue #22 - 'Chosen to be a Soldier'
John Cleary

Issue #26 - 'Five Life-Shaping Books'

Issue #32 - 'Interview with Major Friday Ayanam'

Issue #36 - 'Warfare Manifesto'
Lieutenant Rowan Castle

Issue #37 - 'Leadership in The Salvation Army'
Major Harold Hill

Issue #39 - 'The Salvation Army as a Prophetic Movement?'
Major Geoff Ryan

Issue #40 - 'The Unofficial Sacramental Position of the JAC Editorial Board'
Captain Stephen Court

Issue #50 - 'Heralds of the Good News Valedictory'
Captain Pamela Maynor

Issue #50 - 'Me, MySpace, and iPod'
Lieutenant Steven Bussey

Issue #50 - 'Parade Ground Army'
Graeme Smith
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Enjoy. Thanks to the loyal JAC readership over the first 49 issues. Feel free to invite everyone you have ever met to read this festive issue.
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Meanwhile, the Crus News (quarterly newsletter of the fabled Crusaders for Christ session in Toronto - hat tip EC) had a ten year run. I'm told that is unheard of. Now you've heard it.
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Also, Commissioner James Knaggs (mighty warrior) dropped some gems on some Captains this week:
- I think The Salvation Army is the best church in the whole world. I think everybody should come to The Salvation Army.
- I'm thoroughly convinced that God wants you to exercise your vision.
- If there are more of us, we'll reach more of them.
- OPEN ALL THE CORPS YOU WANT. (yahoo!)
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God is here.
SA Daily Reading: Psalm 62; Isaiah 65-66; John 3 (wow).
Much grace,
sec
posted by Stephen Court