The Hope of the Believer . . . Restoration Review, Vol. 31, No. 10, December 1989 Visiting Other Churches: New
Series, No.10... SALVATION ARMY: "TO LOVE THE UNLOVED" Love must not be a matter of words or talk; it must be genuine, and show
itself in action. —
1 Jn. 3:18 (NEB) This
verse is a kind of motto of The Salvation Army, and it captures the spirit of
this organization all the way back to William Booth who founded it in 1865. Booth was a dedicated Methodist minister who started a mission
for the wretched masses in the slums of London. When he was opposed by the
established middle-class church, he resigned and started the first corps of
what he eventually named the Salvation Army. Booth and his army declared war
against sin, hunger, and degradation. Although they suffered abuse and death
threats, they grew rapidly into a worldwide army. Today they serve in 91
countries speaking 121 languages. They have over 1,000 centers of operation in
the U.S. and 14,000 worldwide. Since from the outset their aim has been to
minister to the body as well as the soul, their mission has been described as
"soup, soap and salvation." Booth,
who was authoritarian in his methods, gave his organization a quasi-military
character. He named himself general. His ordained clergy, which from the
beginning included women, were officers with the rank of either captain or
major. Administrative leaders are colonels. Rank and file members are
soldiers. Borrowing from the imagery of Scripture, Booth saw the church as an
army at war against the sinful world. His magazine was called The
War Cry. All members are encouraged to wear uniforms. They fly their own
flag. When
you see a Salvationist (the term they use) in a uniform trimmed in red, you
can know that he or she is an officer. A man and wife often work together, and
they have the same rank, for when one gets a promotion the other automatically
does. That should keep peace in the family! But the two draw but one paycheck.
The workers are "adequately paid," as the Army puts it, but the
incentive has to be a desire to serve suffering humanity. An officer is
expected to marry another officer. If he doesn't, he must resign as an
officer. Leaders are trained for two years at Schools of Officers' Training,
four of which are in the U.S. While officers serve as pastors of
congregations, they are not selected by the congregation but by their superior
officers. The
Army may be the only church (and they make it clear that they are
a church) that has never made
the slightest distinction between the sexes. Women do everything that men do
and always have. The present general over the entire Salvation Army is a
woman, who is by the way very impressive in her snow-white uniform with its
touch of red. It was mostly women that brought the Army to the U.S., beginning
in New York in 1880 Booth
was a master communicator who was a pioneer in religious advertising. Unlike
any other church of the 19th century, he was able to communicate with the poor
masses of Europe. This was often resented, causing Booth and his officers
(including women) to be terribly abused and persecuted. In 1882 alone 642
officers were assaulted and sixty Army buildings damaged. They were accused of
catering to the whims of a jingoistic nation with their militaristic mien, and
even the just Lord Shaftsbury saw the Army as the work of the devil that was
making Christianity look ridiculous. All
that most of us see of the Salvationists is their presence on a street corner
at yuletide with their famous "Christmas kettle," soliciting
donations for the poor by blowing horns and clanging cymbals. While a high
percentage of the soldiers do have musical skills and use them in fundraising,
their ministry is much more far-reaching than what the public sees during
holiday season. Their theme of "People Helping People" is expressed
in many ways. They have day care centers that serve 26,000 children in the
U.S. each year. They have l7l self-contained mobile canteens that serve in
times of disaster. In the event of floods, hurricanes, fires, and earthquakes
they are always there. They operate 113 adult rehabilitation centers with
11,000 residents. Their service centers care for over three million people a
year, mostly transients in need of food, clothing, and shelter. They have
extensive ministries to prisoners, alcoholics, drug addicts, and AIDS victims.
Each year some 23 million attend their worship services, which are simple,
informal, and evangelical. Theirs is a simple creed centered in loyalty to
Jesus Christ as Savior. They are vigorously evangelistic and gain thousands of
converts yearly, mostly among the down and out. When
General Eva Burrows was asked what her Army was doing for AIDS victims, she
said that this crisis had been made number one on their agenda. She noted that
in some African countries one in every 10 persons is afflicted with this
disease, and that she has told her officers, "People will be coming to us
for help. Let us not be judgmental. Let us love and help them." This
well describes the spirit of the Salvation Army. They do not judge people, they
serve them! Longtime readers of this journal may remember an article I did on
"They Went Back to the Salvation Army" (January 1968) in which I
told of a Salvationist couple that we had converted to the Church of Christ,
people I knew personally while I was at Harvard. They liked our doctrine and
believed they had found some new truths, but they could not bear an atmosphere
that judged people more than it served people. So they returned to their first
love of "people helping people." But this is an indictment against
all traditional churches who are more concerned for promoting their own
interests than in giving themselves to the need of others. I recently listened
to a tape of one of my old Harvard profs, Krister Stendahl, who said that the
traditional churches liked the Salvation Army because it ministers to the
people that they don't want to mess with. We don't have to be bothered with
"those kind of people," he said, for we can send them to the
Salvation Army! We talk about love while they practice it! While
there is no Army center (church) in my hometown of Denton, there is a service
committee that makes pickups of donations for the poor. But there is lots to
see when one visits the impressive facilities in Dallas, which show how
progressive they have been in recent years. There are eight community centers
throughout the city, which also serve as churches, including the massive $15
million Carr P. Collins Social Service Center, which is their largest
facility. It offers nine specialized services: material aid, accommodation,
detoxification unit and alcoholism therapy, child care, family violence
victims' shelter, pre-release unit for both men and women prisoners. Its
budget for 1987 was over $10 million. That is the Dallas center only. While I
visited this facility I was not permitted to visit the Adult Rehabilitation
Center for drug and alcoholic abuse, for the patient's identity is protected
by law. When
other churches show some concern that their facilities are used only a few
hours a week, they could take a lesson from The Salvation Army, for when it
builds a chapel (their term) it builds a service center for the needy around
it! Since
the Army is a poor man's church one may wonder where they get all their money.
Most of it comes from non-members who believe in the work they do. They are
also aided by thousands of "volunteers" who, while not members of
their church, serve in their various ministries. Community leaders from
various churches serve on their Advisory Board, including some from the Church
of Christ. The Army is an excellent example of Christian unity at work. They
draw no doctrinal lines and emphasize unity in service to needy people. They
even have the image of not being a denomination, their non-church name lending
to this. Many
people think they are only a service organization and not a church. But they
are a church with eleven articles of faith that are typically evangelical
Protestant, though they practice neither baptism nor Communion in any form.
This may be their most serious weakness, being an unbaptized, non-communing
church while claiming the Bible as their rule of faith and practice. They,
along with the Quakers, are the only churches in Christendom that reject these
ordinances. They have a dedication service for children, but without baptism.
Members are accepted by a profession of faith in Christ. They have three types
of membership: officers, soldiers, and adherents. The first two are expected
to accept their creedal statement, while adherents are described as
"persons of good standing and character who by attendance and financial
support consider The Salvation Army to be their place of worship." They
are so dedicated to helping the oppressed and so free of sectarianism that
people of all faiths or no faith at all are pleased to donate to their
efforts. One
of the most impressive facts about the Salvationists is that during World War
II they operated 3,000 service units for the armed forces, and they led in the
formation of the USO. I am also impressed that they have 4,600 centers in
India, including a full service hospital with 50 buildings, and this in one of
the most poverty-stricken nations in the world. Oddly enough, in Paris they
maintain a barge on the River Seine to provide food and shelter for the
homeless. The Army told its story some years back in a Rose Bowl parade, the
theme of which was "Life's Greatest Adventure." Their float, which
was modest in comparison to its elegant competitors, featured the theme that
"To Love the Unloved" is life's greatest adventure. Their
Mission Statement says that the motivation of the Army is "love of God
and a practical concern for the needs of humanity." It refers also to
"spiritual and moral regeneration and physical rehabilitation of all
persons in need regardless of race, color, creed, sex or age." In a
recent interview General Burrows was asked what word she had for those under
her command. She replied, "My challenge to them is to know Christ, to
live Christ, and to make Christ's teaching the guideline for their lives. We
don't have to struggle to be what Christ wants us to be if we allow the Holy
Spirit to indwell us. He gives us power to live that kind of life." She
went on to challenge her people to think beyond themselves to the whole world.
She said her motto is "Christ for the world," and she urged them to
work and pray together to bring Christ's kingdom to this world. I
am
sometimes asked of all the churches I have visited which one would I join if I
left the Church of Christ. Well, I am not going to leave the Church of Christ,
and if I were to be kicked out I would be back the next day trying to get them
to take me back. But if I had to leave my own church I would be pleased to
work with the Salvation Army as an adherent member. My reason for this is that
one doesn't have to leave his own church or compromise any conviction he holds
in order to work with the Army in serving others. Besides, it would be
something else taking orders from a woman general! Working together in the
name of Christ in order to alleviate human suffering, regardless of
denominational loyalties — isn't that where Christian unity can at least
begin? — the Editor (This
ends my 20-part series on visits to churches, which began in January 1988.
From the experience as a whole I draw two conclusions: First, we all have far
more in common than we have been willing to acknowledge; second, in spite of
differences we all have a great deal to learn from each other. We can make no
serious claim to be interested in unity among Christians if we continue to
have little or nothing to do with each other. In the January 1990 issue I will
begin a new series on some of the reformers of the church through the
centuries, well known and lesser known, which I believe you will appreciate
and find compatible with this series that _________________ |