BEYOND SALVATION TO A MATURE FELLOWSHIP Part -3-

It was 1991 and we had just moved to Leningrad to open fire. The National Capital Band, Washington D.C. would soon visit Tallinn, Estonia assisting the Finland Territory to expand into what was once a part of their command.

Tallinn was a short 6-hour drive plus 2-3 hours at the border, and well worth the trip to be a part of that historic re-entry. Plus with my good friend Steve Bulla, their B/M and other good friends and family in the band it was a no brainer.

Following a well-attended open-air concert we marched off through narrow cobble stoned streets to the cathedral for a well publicized concert. The cathedral had been abandoned for many years with the KGB taking command of the high steeples- perfect for installing radio broadcast and reception and other equipment.

In that I spoke a smattering of Russian I was asked to officially introduce the band and therefore selected a seat in the 2nd pew. Seated next to me was a young boy of perhaps 7 or 8, obviously excited about what was to take place. He was wearing a SA guernsey which signaled he was probably attending the newly established Tallinn SA outpost.

As the band marched in, resplendent in their festival tunics it was more than the young lad could handle. He’d joined this very same army, albeit if only a wee part of it, but he jumped to his feet and shouted with glee, Это мой собственный Армии спасения! “That’s my own Salvation Army ! And indeed it was… although from my perspective my army was very different, yet the same. It’s our army, and we are its soldier servants.

I believe that sometimes our myopic, immature and possessive attitudes are what bring conflict.

PART 3

We need to move from a managerial mindset focused on maintaining the status quo and doing things rigidly by the book, to a leadership mindset that values entrepreneurial thinking and is more concerned with doing the right things at the right time; beyond simply reworking the familiar. “Most organizations say they want strong people, but they don’t know what to do with them. What they’re really looking for are people who’ll go along. They think go-along types will be better at teamwork, but this isn’t true, because people who don’t have strong beliefs don’t have that much to contribute. They lack a sense of urgency, of commitment.

If your soldiers, friends and local officers are unwilling to embrace the realm of the radically unfamiliar and even the unknown you are probably rooted in the 19th century organizational style where an insufficient number were educated and trained to explore, create and effect the organizations to become highly maneuverable by empowering individuals to exercise competence in line with their strengths.

I adapted these from a Leadership article ( 2006?)

The leader innovates
the leader develops
the leader focuses on leader on people (NOT SYSTEMS)
leaders inspire trust
the leader has a long-term perspective
leaders have their eyes on the horizon
leaders are inductive
leaders originate
leaders challenge the status quo
the leader is his own soldier
leaders are proactive
leaders do the right thing
leaders focus on effectiveness
leaders are flexible
leaders embrace risk (not rules)
leaders use their imagination
leaders embrace failure’s value


If you always do what you always did you’ll always get what you always got.

In order for change to be meaningful, sustainable and making a difference it must be Spirit-led, timely and in some circumstances radical, pushing us beyond our comfort zone, the status quo. And be aware that those unwilling to get on board are likely not to be Spirit led enough to see the Lord’s leading in having placed His choice officer in the leader’s role. If this occurs we may need to reanalyze the organizational model itself, perhaps even scrap it and move to a networking model. If the precious time volunteer leaders commit to leading the corps are wasted by bean counters or pencil pushers quoting long since irrelevant rules and regulations deal with them separately explaining the new streamlined system.

This means empowering gifted individuals, soldier, adherent, or friend to naturally bring about needful change to breathe new life into a slumbering fellowship. In some corps it is a change long overdue, and if it’s not done amalgamation is certain to follow.

I look at our own situation. There are presently two vibrant sections that sustain our worship programs led by highly committed individuals. New initiatives will be scrapped as there aren’t capable trained leaders ready to step in. Other LO are in need of training and mentoring to become truly effective. More than one local officer has shared that they have never counseled any one at the Mercy Seat, another said “we don’t do Bible study” (don’t attend) and another has never set foot in the homes of their section members, One senses that their unwillingness to get on board with Major Glad’s visionary program was a combination of the demands being placed on them, and with all respect, their inability to fully appreciate that it was the Spirit’s expectation of them as leaders.

I’ve learned a great many things since coming to Hamilton. One is that there exists a wide gap in the understanding of SA theology, and that the large majority of our congregation are keen to ‘get into the Bible.’ Each Sunday I am faced with believers, new and those with years of study behind them sharing their excitement in discovered truths that may require some insight or confirmation. Three feet away a soldier laments the Major’s decision to implement a new Alpha course, but under whose leadership? The change was imminent but… And when the CO lends expertise in heading up soldier recruitment programs, a key responsibility, locals feel slighted for not being handed this most crucial responsibility, rather than rejoicing in what the Lord is doing, triple the number of recruits seen for many years.

I’ve learned there is a great difference between what shouldn’t have been said and things said that people weren't ready to hear. Should one speak out or let the corps move toward a certain demise…

Twenty years ago I met and was well challenged by seminar lectures by Gordon MacDonald. In his ‘Who Stole My Church?’ written 3 years ago his novel deals with a church wrestling with entering the 21st century. Its theme is that businesses have to reinvent themselves in a time of furious change. He uses the term paradigm shift, and in so doing requires going back to zero.

Some months ago I shared in a Soldiers’ Meeting the ‘state of the corps; it was not what many wanted to hear, yet, far from the state of many others in our division. But, within days some locals shared verbally and in written form that the situation was, in their view, very much better than what I reported, doing so by using ‘magic formulas’ that in truth served only to make matters worse, in that our folk were lulled into a state of self deception. A new system of measuring corps membership had been invented, and others exaggerated the corps' recent history; one former YP local announced that when in 2002 we moved into the new hall there were 100+ in Sunday School, twice the number the space allocated could accommodate.

Gordon MacDonald tackles the difficult topic of older, less visionary church members having difficulty adjusting to newer ways of doing things, such as using contemporary music instead of traditional hymns, using band or CD accompaniment instead of piano or organ, relaxed dress codes, and so on. In frustration, one member asks, “Who stole my church?” It's my church!

Most in our corps have a deeper understanding of what church is all about but can’t fully understand that there's been a massive historical change. And to tackle the shift effectively will mean strong leadership, mature faith, total commitment to TSA’s mission, a commitment to participate in the corps’ spiritual regiment, in other words, for many, a total reinvention. In effect you examine everything you do to see if it still works and ask what you should eliminate, programs, priorities and persons (shift in responsibilities).

As a SA officer I was given assignment to lead 2 historic corps, resurrect 2 different corps, consolidate three, and to ‘open fire’ in three countries and to plant corps. When my wife and I first stepped on to Red Square in 1991 no army presence in that city of 9 million had been seen since my grandparents with other Salvationist left town 70 years earlier, in the middle of the night fearing for their lives. Was opening fire, starting the work in Russia from scratch difficult? No more so than changing the direction of a corps set in its well-worn ruts. It was a matter of leading a Spirit-led group forward, all committed to a common goal; get people saved, trained as soldiers and trained in discipleship.

When speaking with friends shortly after moving to Hamilton the subject of church growth came up, and he remarked; “our corps may have been the greatest contributor to the church growth movement in this division. Scores of former Hamiltonians have migrated to other countries but also to corps in local communities”.

For a brief 5 months this sad history was reversed. Recurring negative patterns, outburst, walk-outs, gossip, and infighting were becoming less frequent; they had become less obvious and systemic. While some jokingly referred to them as reminiscent of clannish attitudes, we called these patterns what they were: sin.

Instead of the corps bringing glory to God, we had repeatedly shamed the reputation of Christ, and folk commented on it. Immediately on Major Glad’s arrival she met with scores of corps folk, and some that had departed the fellowship. Motives and vision were questioned and more than a few tears were shed in shame and frustration. How had the devil managed to damage our corps to such a degree?!

The conclusions were obvious, as they always are in these situations. I referred to them in an earlier article; (1) Arrogance, boastfulness, and pride, (2) Glossing over sensitive issues- sending them underground, (3) Gossip, and (4) Gracelessness, a lack of the meekness and gentleness of Jesus. Issues had been dealt with only superficially, allowing fear, weakness and denial to rule our direction.

I read recently the reminder that "Repentance is an ongoing process, it is not an event. We need to re-learn how we live and how we think; we need to repent from top to bottom and vigilantly watch out for the reoccurrence of sinful attitudes or habits.

In many organizations there is a gap in terms of what the culture is as stated and what the culture is as actually lived. I spoke on this subject; the sanctification gap. The best way to measure it is to actually look at the way people behave – not what they tell you, but what they do.

What kind of an army will you hand over to your next CO ?

It's 6:15 PM and Major Glad is out visiting her 2nd couple today, new to the corps, trying to convince them not to 'walk'...

Dr. Sven Ljungholm