A charge to the Reflectors of Holiness

BY SHERYL TOLLERUD, LT. COLONEL

A charge to the newest Salvation Army officers from the Service of Appointments, June 11 at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

Good afternoon, lieutenants! Ready to take on your first appointment as officially ordained officers of The Salvation Army and ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ? I wonder where you will be going…and so do you. Before you go, though, I would like to share a simple charge I hope you will remember in, at least, your first year of officership: Love God. Love God’s people. Teach and preach God’s truth.

1. Love God

2 Corinthians 3:18 was the life verse of a very important and influential officer in my life, my mother. It says: And all of us, with unveiled faces, reflecting like bright mirrors the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same likeness, from one degree of radiant holiness to another, even as derived from the Lord the Spirit.

I’m sure you know this is a reference to Moses coming down from Mt. Sinai, his face glowing brightly from being in the very presence and glory of God. As God gave Moses direction and appointed him to lead the people through the wilderness, Moses responded to the Lord, “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Ex. 33:15). Lieutenants, I hope this is your prayer as well. Do not take any step forward without first stepping into his presence, and then know with full confidence that God goes before you, will be with you and must be in you. Above all—Love God!

The candlepower of a lighthouse is dramatically affected by the size of the reflector, the type of oil used as fuel, the maintenance of the lamp, the polish of the reflector, and by other factors such as the clarity of the air and the alignment of the reflector with the horizon. So fuel your souls with the clarity of Scripture, maintain a light of integrity, polish your heart with mercy, align your ambitions on the horizon of humility, and reflect the love, sacrifice and grace of Jesus Christ—which only comes from spending time in the presence and glory of God. Rather than asking God to step into your day, step into the day and appointment he has planned for you with the light of his glory. First, Love God!

2. Love God’s people

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And just who are God’s people? Genesis 1:26 in the Message says, God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature...” It is quite clear who are God’s people— everyone! Every human being, every person is specially, lovingly created by God in his image and designed to reflect his nature…but not everyone knows that…perhaps, until you reflect God’s love and grace into their lives.

In photography, a reflector has a specialized surface used to redirect light toward a given subject or scene. In your officership you will come across many different “subjects” and “scenes,” which are the lives and life stories of the people you meet in the corps and in the community. You will encounter the saint, the sinner, the sick, the suffering and the scorned. You will work with people who are pretty, plain,

Belonging

is a fundamental human need, and one that is linked to many of the most complex challenges of our time.

Without it, individuals and communities suffer.

But with it, we thrive.

connection. caringmagazine.org/belonging

Hill to be World Secretary for Women’s Ministries, effective Aug. 3.

The Chief of the Staff is appointed by the General to be second-in-command of the international Salvation Army.

Commissioned in June 1993, in the USA Western Territory, the Hills began their shared ministry as officers in Leeward, Hawaii. They later served as divisional youth leaders and at the training college before serving as Corps Officers of the Pasadena (California) Tabernacle Corps from February 2002 to June 2008.

The pair was next appointed to lead the Hawaii and Pacific Islands Division before being appointed to territorial roles in June 2012, as Territorial Secre- powerful, petty and peculiar. And your calling and covenant is: “To live to win souls and make their salvation the first purpose of [your lives].” This is a high, honorable and very holy responsibility only possible by loving like Jesus.

This means that God is asking you, as a Reflector of Holiness, to love every person you come into contact with—those who are friendly, helpful, cooperative and listen, as well as those who are unkind, opposing, difficult and what I’ve come to call “awkward saints.” This will enlarge your understanding of grace, because shining Jesus is not easy…but it is worth it as you are stretched beyond your own skills and understanding, as you share compassion when you don’t feel it fully, when you learn to forgive, extend grace and are surrendered to God’s ways, even as you feel overwhelmed, tired, or as your heart is broken again and again. This isn’t politics, sociology or a project, this is Jesus in you. Allow your heart to be transformed into the same likeness of Jesus. It will hurt, it will be hard…but through this God will make you holy and help you to love his people.

3. Preach and teach God’s truth

Now when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, he radiantly reflected the holiness of God, however, he came to a group of people who had lost hope, direction and their hearts for God—much like the world around us. If ever there was a time in history and in our world when truth is needed, it is today. God’s truth, God’s Word is timeless, relevant, unchanging, inerrant and powerful! Titus 2:7 says, And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Please, please—teach, preach and live the truth.

You may know that the moon has no light of its own. It only reflects the light of the sun onto the earth, which depending on the positioning of the sun, earth and moon will have varying degrees of light. During different phases of the moon, the symbiotic relationship between the sun, earth and the moon affects tides, the seasons and the cycle of life throughout the earth in a powerful way through gravitational pull. This is the power God’s truth will have on the lives of people who are, as Isaiah says, “walking in darkness.” You are to study, learn, grow, teach, preach the Bible as the only truth, not popular psychology, in every place and work God appoints you to. You will hopefully develop to give wise counsel, compassionate support and sacrificial love, but it is God’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit that saves, guides, helps and transforms the lives of the people entrusted to you. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path (Ps. 119:105). Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life (Phil. 2:15-16). So hold out the Word of Life. Teach and preach God’s truth.

A lighthouse has internal glass prisms, which change the direction that light is traveling in so all the light exits the lens in the same direction. The prisms in a lighthouse do this by refracting, or bending light and then reflecting it. Indeed, this is the calling you have as Reflectors of Holiness. So, I charge you to 1. Love God 2. Love God’s people and 3. Teach and preach God’s truth.

Now, go light your world with the joy of the Lord! NFC tary for Program and Women’s Ministries Secretary, respectively.

In July 2016, the Hills moved to the Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar Territory as Chief Secretary and Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries. Further international service took them in November 2018 to the Canada and Bermuda Territory as Chief Secretary and Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries.

In May 2021, the Hills assumed responsibility as zonal leaders for the Americas and Caribbean Zone, based at International Headquarters in London. In these roles they have served in various capacities: Edward Hill is a SAITCo Director as well as a member of The General’s Council and International Appointments Board and Shelley Hill is a member of the International Finance Board, The General’s Council and International Appointments Board as well as taking the lead in the zonal department on all mission and community projects and Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Response.

Edward Hill holds a Master of Christian Education and a Master of Divinity, and Shelley Hill is a graduate of the Arrow Executive Leadership Course.

The first Chief was Bramwell Booth, eldest son of Salvation Army Founders William and Catherine Booth. Commissioner Edward Hill will be the 28th Chief of the Staff. NFC wonderful endorsement from the members of the High Council, and I receive this as from the Lord. I will serve, and I’m grateful because Bronwyn is right there with me. We will share this ministry together, and we’ll try and serve the Lord and serve The Salvation Army. And yes, actually, I’m a little bit excited about the opportunity.

We know you as a family man—a dad and a granddad and, very recently, a new grandbaby. Have you had time to connect with them? How do they feel about this?

You know, the amazing thing is that my family is 11,185 miles away from this venue. So they’re a long way away, physically. But in a little room off the side of the chamber I could FaceTime with them. So it was the middle of the night for them, but they were all awake and we’ve had an opportunity to share with both my son and daughter-in-law and my daughter and son-in-law, and the grandkids.

I just thank God for them because they have been so positive. I mean, we’ve already been away from our homeland since 2013. So you know, we’ve already done a decade. They have been so supportive of us in fulfilling God’s calling in our lives. And so to be able to see them on the screen, and have them go, ‘Go, mum and dad!’ It’s just been absolutely wonderful.

We were also able to connect with Bronwyn’s parents, lifelong Salvationists, now in their 80s, they were still up in the middle of the night, ready to receive our call. And of course, they were also, you know, overwhelmed and, naturally, very proud.

Tell me a little bit about how you came to faith in Christ and how you were called to officership.

When I was about 6 or 7 years of age, my parents took me to a Salvation Army congress. And at the end of the meeting, somebody from the platform said, ‘If you would like to meet Jesus, come down to the front.’

So, I went down to the front, fully expecting to meet Jesus. I knelt at the mercy seat. After a little while, there was an arm around my shoulder. And I thought, ‘This is Jesus.’ When the person started talking, I said to myself, ‘Sounds like my Uncle Wes…’ So I took a look—and it was my Uncle Wes! And, although I was only 6 or 7 years of age, I was disappointed, because I’d gone with an expectation that I was going to meet Jesus. And what I got instead was my uncle.

And so it created a little bit of doubt, in a small boy’s mind. And from then on, I was a child who was sort of going through the Army ranks and going through the motions. I became a junior soldier. I even became a senior soldier. But I don’t think I would be able to testify at that point that I had any real experience of my own.

That changed for me on August 12, 1979, as a 17-year-old at a youth council. It was in that meeting that the realization of God’s love for me in the person of Je- sus Christ absolutely came alive. I mean, I just burst with this understanding. It was more than just mental. It was in my heart, it was emotional. I was full of repentance, I was full of sorrow, I was full of joy. It was like, ‘It is real! It is for me!’

So I made my way down to the mercy seat. And it’s a strange thing. I was crying and I was laughing. And I had all of these emotions going on at the same time. The love of God burst into my heart. That’s what happened for me.

And I came into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and, I believe, an experience of the Holy Spirit. And so impactful was it for me that I didn’t wait to be called to be an officer.

Before that meeting was over, I signed a little candidate's covenant that you tore in half and kept for yourself, and gave the other half to the candidates’ secretary.

I still have that piece of paper in my Bible.

One of the things that will be very important in your role is to be an inspiration and an influence. Who influenced you?

I have had so many influences that it would be difficult for me to name them, but I would say faithful Salvationists who took an interest, who took time to listen, who were honest as I was growing up, local officers that put an arm around and said, ‘Come on, get back into line.’ They were very, very helpful in my upbringing.

My own parents I would have to give testimony to—my officer parents who loved us and trained us in the ways of the Lord. A huge influence. These are people the Lord sends along to help us in our spiritual journey, and our discipleship maturing. They shape us, you know, and I’m grateful.

There have been many, many influences. And I thank God for every one of them.

I asked some of the young people from my corps what they would like to ask the General-elect. This is what they wanted to know: What would your school teachers say if they could see you now?

They would not believe it! I think that, even if my father was still alive, he wouldn’t believe it either. So I think I will have confounded them, because I was not a good student.

By necessity, your speech to the High Council is kept private. It’s not shared with The Salvation Army world. What one thing, though, would you want to share with your Salvation Army family today?

I think one thing that I would feel very confident in sharing—because it’s not confidential—is that I expressed my love for what I call the three big ideas of the movement.

By that I mean, one: We are a people that love to talk about Jesus. We want people to know that God loves them and that Jesus is the ultimate proof of that love.

And so I love the fact that The Salvation Army has always been about recognizing our responsibility to share the Good News of the gospel, that God loves them, that Jesus is the proof, and that welcome is available through him.

Another big idea of the movement is that we think that practical demonstrations of the values of the kingdom of God are as impactful as talking about them.

I would pray that Salvationists all around the world would find it very natural and easy to be able to speak to others about their personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the transformation that he has made in their lives.

That’s a big idea of this movement. We want people to know the Good News that there is a life, there is purpose and there is hope and there is eternity, through faith in Jesus Christ. And if we could get excited about that, around the globe, think about the impact of that.

Another big idea of the movement is that we think that practical demonstrations of the values of the kingdom of God are as impactful as talking about them.

And so the sleeves rolled up, the caring for the needy, the helping the vulnerable, the being the voice for the voiceless, the advocating for justice, the going after the things where people are being in some way tortured or separated or rejected. That we as a movement go to those places, we put our sleeves up, and we say, ‘We don’t want to just talk about God’s love. We want to show you guys the soup, soap and salvation that has been our history.’

And I would love it if Salvationists would get this idea that, actually, I can do that. I can knock on a neighbor’s door and say, ‘Is there any way I can help you? Is there any way I can serve you?’

And the third thing that I shared was we are a holiness movement

We think there is some value in the world to being salt and being light. We value the indwelling Spirit that makes us clean and free and whole and joyful. And I think that when we are walking in the Spirit in such a way that it’s the love of God that’s bearing fruit in our lives, we underestimate the impact and the value of that in the world.

You are our first New Zealander. You’re going to be going around the world making history. What most excites you about the role of General?

I think it’s the privilege of being able to encourage and inspire and facilitate The Salvation Army mission around the world. My own love for the Lord has to be used to communicate to Salvationists around the world. So I think I am very conscious that I’m being afforded a wonderful and privileged opportunity to speak into the lives of Salvationists around the world about our mission and our purpose in the world. And that’s a huge privilege.

What can we be praying for you in these days?

When we were at the Welcome to the High Council and Farewell to General Brian Peddle and Commissioner Rosalie Peddle, we were invited to fill out prayer cards. I wrote on one: Grace, peace, wisdom and courage. If I was asking The Salvation Army world to be in prayer for myself and for Bronwyn, those would be the things. I think it’s probably not inappropriate for me to say that if you could spare a prayer for our family, that would be wonderful. NFC

Find more from the 2023 High Council at sar.my/highcouncil.

Weekend event brings 60 people to the Crestmont Campus.

BY SUMMAR BUSSEY

Colors and shouts filled the chapel on the Western Territory’s Crestmont Campus in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, April 28 as a group of about 60 individuals joined in worship. Coming from as close as down the street to as far as Brooklyn, New York, attendees used egg shakers, ribbons and colored scarves to fuel the celebration.

The gathering marked the beginning of the inaugural Adaptive Retreat, a weekend specifically designed for young adults with disabilities and their chaperones to provide a space for all to feel welcome.

Territorial Disabilities Ministries Director and Spiritual Formation Resource Officer Major Nancy Helms organized the weekend to not only include but celebrate those who are sometimes pushed to the sidelines.

“It was exciting to plan and implement this necessary gathering,” she said. “It is the first time the Western Territory has provided a retreat specifically for young adults with varied cognitive, neuro and physical needs, where they were welcomed and belonged to something their typical peers experience regularly.”

The weekend was filled with activities aimed for attendees to experience joy. On Friday night, delegates sang campfire songs and roasted marshmallows, faces lit by a toasty fire pit. Saturday morning, each attendee received an award for participation in a field day—accompanied by a Kona Ice Truck, face painting and yard games. Saturday night, the campus Terrace Room was transformed into a movie premiere, where individuals were interviewed by the “paparazzi” and participated in dancing and karaoke.

Rachelle Wigen, who has volunteered in the Ana- cortes (Washington) Corps food bank for 10 years, participated in the retreat along with her mother. She said the best part of the weekend was meeting new people and “getting dressed up in a ball gown for the dance where I was treated like a celebrity—I got to walk down the red carpet.”

Also from the Anacortes Corps, attendee Sonja Erlandson said her favorite part was the dance and karaoke. “I like to sing about Jesus and make new friends,” she said. “Everybody was so kind to me. I hope I get to come next year, too.”

Erlandson was invited to the weekend by her corps officer, Lt. Shane Ingram, who made all of the arrangements for her and her friend, Rachelle, to attend, said Donna Erlandson, Sonja’s mother.

“The Adaptive Retreat at Crestmont was a time of renewal for Sonja’s faith,” Donna Erlandson said. “She commented on how special she felt during her time there. The Salvation Army has been and continues to be a blessing to our family in times of need, and in celebration.”

In the planning process, Helms highlighted a desire to bring unique and exciting activities, especially as many attendees never had the opportunity to experience them before. The delegates from New York, who had never been outside of the state, even got to experience Universal Studios, thanks to their corps officer.

In addition to the activities, the weekend considered its theme, “Find Joy,” and its meaning in a Christian context. Salvation Army cadets—officers in training—led three worship services throughout the retreat, using the letters from the word “joy” to represent Jesus first (J), others second (O) and yourself last (Y). The cadets used skits, object lessons and games to convey the messages. Additionally, the retreat created spaces for accessibility by providing earplugs, fidget toys and a calm space for escape.

Cadets and staff from the College for Officer Training at Crestmont led worship accompanied by two delegates, who joined with guitar and cajon. In each song, the audience brought passion and dancing. One delegate was asked to join on stage to share the lyrics of each song in American Sign Language (ASL).

“At every opportunity, cadets and officers were available for assistance or just a smile and a kind word,” said Donna Erlandson. “The genuine feeling of God’s love was truly present.”

In the final worship session on Sunday morning, Helms emphasized how the church often allows for archetypal style to become more valuable than the assurance of belonging for the people in attendance.

While many may feel creating a space for individuals with disabilities to belong is difficult, it’s clear through Scripture that it’s a commandment.

Jesus calls Christians to live a life of love, which means putting others above yourself, she said. Making the church accessible is essential to the mission of a Christian. Finding ways to love all people, including those with differences in ability, is a requirement. Change, while uncomfortable, is essential for growth. The church must look at its current state and critique its understanding of an “invitation to all.” When the term all is used, is it true?

“We hope and pray the retreat was a catalyst for change in The Salvation Army, and that more and more opportunities become available for individuals with varied disabilities to find a place where they can thrive and belong,” said Helms.

She noted that not only should the church want those in its congregations to feel welcome, but there should be a desire for discipleship and growth. This does not change when the attendee has physical, cognitive or neurological differences.

Many who attended or supported this event left with a full heart and desire for change. The hope is to see a church with the heart of Jesus, finding ways to highlight and value everyone. Austin, a delegate from Northwest Division, put it best when he shared in the final session, “Why haven’t we been doing this my whole life?” NFC

DELEGATE SPOTLIGHT: SONJA ERLANDSON

They call Sonja Erlandson the “Energizer Bunny” because she “keeps on running.” Since she started middle school, Erlandson, 35, has been running throughout her hometown of Anacortes, Washington, and beyond. To date, she has run seven 50k (32 miles) races, 21 marathons, 20 half marathons and many 5 and 10k races.

Erlandson is a longtime member of The Salvation Army Anacortes (Washington) Corps, beginning when she attended services with her grandparents, Jim and Darlene Bergeson. Her grandmother, Darlene Bergeson, was the first recipient of the Others Award in Anacortes.

Erlandson has been a food bank volunteer and bellringer and was part of the corps’ Home League until her work schedule interfered. She has even visited Home League meetings while vacationing in Hawaii and Arizona.

As a child, Erlandson was diagnosed with multiple disabilities that have never stopped her from persevering in whatever she wanted to do. After beginning her running career on the middle school track team, in high school, she was a varsity athlete in 11 out of 12 seasons—participating in cross country, earning the Most Inspirational award; bowling, eventually becoming co-captain; and track. Additionally, she has earned Special Olympics medals in track, swimming, bowling, bocce ball, basketball, ice skating, speed skating, volleyball and baseball.

She has worked at the local Safeway store for over 12 years and is currently president of the local Aktion Club (a Kiwanis Club for adults experiencing disabilities). The Aktion Club partners with the senior center during its annual fundraising for Meals on Wheels, and this year Erlandson raised $5,547 to support those in need. In the last decade, the Aktion Club has raised over $150,000 for Meals on Wheels.

Erlandson, a people person, is always ready to lend a hand to someone in need. She loves going to the movies, having coffee with friends, music (karaoke), playing the Wii, her cat, Sheena, and hanging out with her boyfriend of 18 years, James Walker. NFC