tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post9024837764014610589..comments2024-03-27T15:57:45.646+11:00Comments on Set Apart In Christ: An Exercise in Self-DeceptionAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11729367092929790809noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-81103376398783478082016-10-05T19:50:33.423+11:002016-10-05T19:50:33.423+11:00Nailed it! "A March of Presence" - makes...Nailed it! "A March of Presence" - makes much more sense :-)Johnnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07253627576634506407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-34740062948105984642016-09-24T12:53:24.472+10:002016-09-24T12:53:24.472+10:00Some good things to consider. Thanks for setting ...Some good things to consider. Thanks for setting them forth.<br /><br />More and more resources of all kinds are expended on activities and ministry that focuses inward, rather than reach those we are called to reach with "soup, soap and salvation". Maybe it is not the same everywhere, but enough that it begs some questions.<br /><br />Just for your own consideration . . . maybe you have this covered:<br /><br />Does the reality of your ministry and service match up with what you tell the donors? Not in fine print legalese, but in plain meaning. If not, why not? If not, fix it now.<br /><br />Is there any aspect of your local ministry you would be hesitant to have published on the front page of your local paper? Are you pursuing your calling with integrity and purpose?<br /><br />Do you and your Corps welcome the Whosoevers of your community as Jesus would - or are you concerned that "too many of those people would upset the Corps"?<br /><br />Are there any contracts, agreements, programs, commitments, etc., etc., you have entered into on behalf of the Army, that suffer from a lack of transparency or integrity? If so, how can that be the kind of witness that draws people to the Lord?<br /><br />We must collectively do better . . . unless you happen to have this all worked out; well then you can help the rest of us!Dana Libbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871468700318288757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-66839380112517916682016-09-24T09:01:15.603+10:002016-09-24T09:01:15.603+10:00...however Matt Kean, it is my very point that The......however Matt Kean, it is my very point that The Salvation Army has isolated itself from the community by retreating into it's military-mimicking subculture and also by calling anyone outside of it a "sinner" and presuming that they are "dying." Jargonistic language, such as that which you have used is just further evidence of the cult-like nature of people in the organisation, and proof that The SA has a long way to go to reconnect with a community that does not feel that they are either sinners or dying. Instead the SA should give opportunities to those members of the community that can, to volunteer in SA facilitated programs that assist the core groups that it does help, which is those in need. And to stop calling those potential volunteers and those who receive help "sinners who are dying." Redmond Shieldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037002866487297551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-77663815146757902982016-09-24T01:39:52.009+10:002016-09-24T01:39:52.009+10:00Well said! Not being privy to the workings of the ...Well said! Not being privy to the workings of the Salvation Army down under I can't say how that March of Witness was organized. I do know the March of Witness last summer at the Congress/150 year Anniversary/Boundless participation was by "invitation" only. All others were encouraged to line the route. Perhaps it was the same thing here? Yet that brings up even more questions perhaps discussed at a another time.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11902481372366330778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-59730085071388661922016-09-24T01:39:36.224+10:002016-09-24T01:39:36.224+10:00Well said! Not being privy to the workings of the ...Well said! Not being privy to the workings of the Salvation Army down under I can't say how that March of Witness was organized. I do know the March of Witness last summer at the Congress/150 year Anniversary/Boundless participation was by "invitation" only. All others were encouraged to line the route. Perhaps it was the same thing here? Yet that brings up even more questions perhaps discussed at a another time.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11902481372366330778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-50082738081524477822016-09-24T01:17:18.316+10:002016-09-24T01:17:18.316+10:00Very very well said.
Thank you!Very very well said. <br />Thank you!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13773694613737353329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-80711812574342007622016-09-23T21:34:23.026+10:002016-09-23T21:34:23.026+10:00Maybe overstating the significance of this being c...Maybe overstating the significance of this being called a march of witness, more like a March I did many times in the military showing a presence in a particular town/city. Love the idea of bands marching people out of the building, of course to do that you will need a band!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04725353301428578057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-86594918844530280512016-09-23T21:28:16.738+10:002016-09-23T21:28:16.738+10:00Good job, Mr. Couchman. I absolutely and wholehear...Good job, Mr. Couchman. I absolutely and wholeheartedly agree. We could have used this opportunity to proclaim the Gospel boldly to the public. Sadly, I think we've forgotten that sinners are dying.<br /><br />Capt. Matt KeanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-45762775433818020132016-09-23T18:14:18.164+10:002016-09-23T18:14:18.164+10:00Yes. The Salvation Army has missed many opportunit...Yes. The Salvation Army has missed many opportunities to connect with the public and this women's hat issues has again presented as evidence that The Salvation Army members so often behave in a manner that is cult-like, rather than in a community-engaging manner. <br />When The SA had full exposure as the beneficiaries of a comedy benefit show a over 15 years ago, Norman Gunston had the brass-band break into INXS' Suicide Blonde, and a uniformed young woman removed her bonnet - to the delight of the public, but to the horror of other woman Salvationists. The bandsmen and this young woman were disciplined for their actions (arranged BTW by the SA's own public relations department.) However it was the young woman who received abusive letters claiming she had let the SA down, and consequently she wants nothing to do with the SA today, having been the victim of such unfair treatment from the leaders and the general membership. <br />This was the defining moment when The SA lost the connection with generations X, Y and the (future) Millennials, add to this the scandalous showing of how The Salvation Army was revealed to have acted in the recent Royal Commission into child sex abuse, and these social groups, who do happen to support (other) charities well, now choose NOT to support The Salvation Army. <br />I feel its time that The Salvation Army owned up that this uniting of territories is a financial decision as much as anything else that they may be promoting as the reason. It's also high time that The SA stopped believing in the many myths that it has propagated over many years, and realise that it has lost the support of the public:- church closures and poor Red Shield Appeal takings support this, and that in general and for all the effort, not many people actually do want to join the SA at full soldiership commitments. Also, for all the cost, very few people actually do join the SA in any one year. Billy Graham is reported to have said over 40 years ago that the back door of the SA (letting people out) is wider than its front door (letting people in.)<br />I'm glad that you use the word "deception" because the general membership of the SA has been deceiving itself on its own methods and effectiveness of what it still likes to call its evangelical mission, and it's time the SA in Australia re-invented itself to become a strong, confident community-based organisation again instead of the insular, self-serving, comfortable social-club one that it has become.Redmond Shieldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037002866487297551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-77034949843154815362016-09-23T17:49:51.084+10:002016-09-23T17:49:51.084+10:00So good. Totally agree. So good. Totally agree. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12531431454401628572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-1845954288951566112016-09-23T16:52:43.488+10:002016-09-23T16:52:43.488+10:00Eerily similar to my thoughts at the time as I wat...Eerily similar to my thoughts at the time as I watched the livestream and saw the pictures posted on facebook with commenters celebrating the march of witness. I fully agree with your thoughts, in regards to #hatgate - I could imagine Booth challenging Salvationists: "if I could get one more soul saved by wearing the tallest, strangest hat I could, then I would wear it!"... of course he did wear the biggest top hat in The Salvation Army and quoted something quite similar (and more absurd), but the emphasis was on the passionately innovative spirit, not the act itself. If we're going to do a march of witness, it should be the most excellently exhuberant witnessing to the gospel we can possibly muster... or not done at all.<br />Keep up the prophetic challenge, it fires up passionate debate - which is far better than an Army sleeping complacently. ��Jo Brookshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00864030986969904958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-31095790696929712082016-09-23T16:51:18.999+10:002016-09-23T16:51:18.999+10:00Eerily similar to my thoughts at the time as I wat...Eerily similar to my thoughts at the time as I watched the livestream and saw the pictures posted on facebook with commenters celebrating the march of witness. I fully agree with your thoughts, in regards to #hatgate - I could imagine Booth challenging Salvationists: "if I could get one more soul saved by wearing the tallest, strangest hat I could, then I would wear it!"... of course he did wear the biggest top hat in The Salvation Army and quoted something quite similar (and more absurd), but the emphasis was on the passionately innovative spirit, not the act itself. If we're going to do a march of witness, it should be the most excellently exhuberant witnessing to the gospel we can possibly muster... or not done at all.<br />Keep up the prophetic challenge, it fires up passionate debate - which is far better than an Army sleeping complacently. ��Jo Brookshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00864030986969904958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-30863244117406525942016-09-23T16:39:10.927+10:002016-09-23T16:39:10.927+10:00Well said Adam. Thank you always for your thoughtf...Well said Adam. Thank you always for your thoughtful and well presented thoughts. I was privileged to be part of this March, and can I tell you, many of the general public stopped to watch and listen. Even some workmen up on a scaffolding beside a building were capturing it on their phones! As I marched, my heart felt good and I thought "why do we complain when we are asked to do this sort of thing?" People often comment to me that they don't see the army out in the streets much anymore and they miss it. You have definitely provided "food for thought"Amanda Holleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-46412298205984163932016-09-23T16:33:08.537+10:002016-09-23T16:33:08.537+10:00Yes, we re called, by God, to work on a battleship...Yes, we re called, by God, to work on a battleship not a luxury liner. Hence the armour in Ephesians. We are to proclaim the gospel, preserve the gospel and live the gospel. I fear that is why we think that we need something new because not many are studying the word of God according to 2 Tim.2:15 and are falling into the trap of seeking the counsel of the ungodly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-7831162238738241632016-09-23T16:24:59.576+10:002016-09-23T16:24:59.576+10:00Well said! We're making efforts to take our wi...Well said! We're making efforts to take our witness to the streets in north Seattle. It's beyond time for us to move outside our citadels and back into the neighborhood. Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08779132735147344559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2458185836486141916.post-1990074075178254822016-09-23T16:05:22.818+10:002016-09-23T16:05:22.818+10:00Yes! I love it. Thanks Adam for you challenging, b...Yes! I love it. Thanks Adam for you challenging, but wise and prophetic words to us. We must be internally inspired to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world, and find new ways to reach people in today's day and age. <br />God has a new history to forge with The Salvation Army. I'm loving the fact that I get to be a part of it. Praise Jesus.<br />God bless you mate.Pete Brookshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12224890269580671566noreply@blogger.com