THE FELLOWSHIP: FRAGMENTED, FRAIL… Part 2 of 3

Shortly after a corps was opened at Grimsby (January 1880), several skippers and fishermen were converted. They wished to hoist the Salvation Army flag and hold meetings when out at sea, so flags, fourteen feet by six, were made for four of the smacks. Did holiness teaching follow? 

(from part 1) 
Paul’s pastoral goal is the same as that echoed by every effective, competent Salvationist leader.  His longing was to move his new converts beyond evangelism to discipleship and to present everybody mature in Christ.  (Colossians 1:29)  That is the same spiritual motivation that is expected to be reflected in every local officers’ personal mission statement; present others, new converts and old, mature in Christ.  Paul used the word teleios and applied it to everyone in that spiritual maturity was available and attainable to all. And so it is to this day. -


Part -2-
The word TELEIOS does not mean perfect in the sense of never being wrong or without flaw.  In classical philosophy it means a constant conscious moving toward a goal; discipleship.  In the thirteenth chapter of I Cor. Paul instructs that love (agape) is the supreme gift and the supreme grace; our goal. Paul highlights here that love will outlive all things to which it can be compared, namely prophecy, tongues and knowledge, gifts deemed necessary in the infant church. Verse 10 indicates that something would make these gifts unnecessary, and they would become outgrown, discarded and replaced. Something was coming, not someone!

1)            The Written Word of God

2)            a well instructed church.

It is not necessary to be a Greek scholar or to have PhD added to one’s name to understand the will of God, however, as Christians ever striving (teleios) to become TELEIOS, (full-grown) we must take advantage of the study of others to help us achieve our goal. And this 2nd lesson comes to us through the Holy Spirit’s leading of Paul and those who help us struggle, bend and shape us each to become disciples, not simply ‘saved’ Salvationists.

Teaching on how the New Testament came to us, and four lessons on Paul’s Christology were shared in lengthy Bible lesson some months ago by me.  The studies served several purposes including highlighting that:

1. The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate. “Nothing is more important for mature Christian discipleship than a fresh, clear, true vision of the authentic Jesus.” John  Stott, (The Radical Disciple) How else can we speak with others about what we believe?

Many denominational factions and various groups claim Dietrich Bonhoeffer as their spokesman, I’ve used his famous ‘cheap grace’ reference twice in the 4 messages I’ve brought since arriving in Hamilton. He has said much about the Christian life as it pertains to community (the topic of the last blog article). The last two years of Bonhoeffer’s  life were spent in a Berlin prison before his execution in1945. During the time that Bonhoeffer was in prison he wrote a book titled ‘Letters and Papers from Prison’ and contain Bonhoeffer's consideration of the secularization of the world and the departure from religion in the twentieth century. In Bonhoeffer's estimation, the dependence on organized religion had undermined genuine faith; weekly attendance and sharing in the programme is not enough to grow disciples.

His major work, not incidentally on the list of the corps’ book club for reading in 2011 is, ‘The Cost of Discipleship’, written in 1939 in which he calls for radical living, if the Christian is to be an authentic disciple of Christ. Bonhoeffer's major concern is ‘cheap grace’. This is grace that has become so watered down that it no longer resembles the grace of the New Testament, the costly grace of the Gospels. It’s a doctrine without a real transformation in the sinner's life beyond salvation, or as one long-time Hamilton saint termed it; ‘eternal Sunday School minds’.. It is the justification of the sinner without the growth that should accompany the new birth.

Bonhoeffer says of cheap grace:“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

‘Cheap grace’ as it concerns the army, you and me, is that it answers our desire to be saved, but to do so without ever becoming a true disciple. Our O&R and doctrines, lists acceptable behavioural codes and can too easily become a substitute for the indwelling of the eternal Christ, and cheapens the meaning of discipleship.

A more recent voice, Henry Nouwen, speaks of discipleship as being authentic only when we make discipleship choices. It’s when we look critically at the many thoughts and feelings that fill our minds and hearts, and we come to the horrifying discovery that we often choose, envy, anger, resentment, greed, lust, vindictiveness, revenge, hatred---what I term the ‘floaters’, those remaining, nasty, un-rejected characteristics of our former life. We take them for granted as being normal behaviour because we never excluded them, and instead allow them to be there to do their destructive work. The short-list of non-discipleship words include; ‘they’, ‘did you hear’, ‘you didn’t hear’, ‘can you believe’,  ‘I never’. etc. God, in offering us a life of discipleship offers a new style of living where we choose to be a blessing; a transformation. This choice requires an immense inner discipline. It requires a great attentiveness in seeking tenderness to dominate our thoughts, desires and resulting actions.

For the last few days I’ve pondered a new year’s resolution.  The ‘give up chewin bacco’,  or ‘take over the early morning walk-the-dog’ routine don’t apply. No tobacco habit and Glad won't permit me to add a 2nd 'Sven's best friend ! One that does apply though, and needed in large dose if people are to believe I’m trying to close the sanctification gap, is a spirit of meekness and tenderness in my personal dealings. Both represent to me the indwelling of Jesus.

Whether people depart one fellowship for another based on substantive reasons such as a geographical change in one’s work or home, altered family make-up or relations, some within a fellowship may use such changes as the springboard to exert their status. And some in the new fellowship may use selective truths to guard their position of strength. These ploys are regrettably not foreign to SA corps. I wonder if a spirit of meekness, reflecting the indwelling of Jesus was evident in recent behind the scenes comments, deliberations and threats. If they had been I doubt that there would be 'farewell orders'.

The Hamilton Temple Corps has a long God-honouring history that is widely known primarily due our former impressive musical forces and outreach beyond our local borders. However, there came, as in many corps, a time of retrenchment, reanalysis and consolidation for many Scotland SA units, including the Hamilton Corps. Sadly though our corps has earned the unenviable reputation of being ‘difficult’; not a setting anyone would want to move in or return to, certainly not as the officer in charge. The walk-outs, outburst in rehearsals and public meetings were the topic at morning teas and office water coolers far beyond greater Glasgow.

Some years ago I conducted a study in conjunction with an article series written for The Officer journal. The statistics referencing TSA in the UKT were alarming then (1990) and even more so today.  Fifty years ago there 3,110 SA officers serving in the British and Scotland Territories, and in 1990 they totaled 1,760, and today just 1,300. It costs TSA approximately 50,000.00GBP to train a cadet in our 2 year program, and with the current attrition rate of 50% within a decade of their commission, the cost runs in excess of 1,000,000 Pounds lost per annum. Not the ROI (return on investment) any organization would accept readily.

In a study I conducted in May-July of this year amongst 400 former officers it was revealed that most hold college/university degrees (they are highly desired as employees/recruits). It was further learned that 24% feel discouraged in their appointments, and 81% shared that their commitment to their call and the hours and time (much of it unknown to the corps fellowship) is treated with less concern and appreciation than expected. (‘the corps’ folk don’t show any concern’).

Last week a woman stopped me on the high street as the band played carols and asked me, “where is the band from?” I somewhat proudly responded, ‘that’s our own Hamilton corps band “Oh, I didn’t realize The SA was still in Hamilton!” Well, to a certain extent that’s true, we are no longer what we were in numbers, and 2 fewer as of tomorrow...

I must close for now… two from our fellowship are coming up our walk-way; souls newly returned to the corps dependent on their CO’s love and care. And they’ll receive it without measure, today, and beyond tomorrow’s farewell as long as needed. Those already seated in our living room, our visitors from home and Major Glad’s previous appointment, will simply have to wait for their breakfasts.


Sven