The Salvation Army 2014 USA Salvation Army Conference for Social Work and Emergency Disaster Services 25 to 28 March 2014, Orlando, Florida GLOBAL TRACK SESSION 2B
“How can we make our voice heard and speak prophetically from our experience?” Colonel Geanette Seymour Director of the International Social Justice Commission International Headquarters In the book “Called To Be God’s People”, the report, implications and challenges of the International Spiritual Life Commission, the following statement appears: “The ‘healing of a hurting world’ and the need for prophetic witness in the face of social injustice’, as advocated by the Commission, must be seen as more than wishful thinking. We who have received complete love from Christ are called to give transparent witness to justice, peace, equality and holiness through actions which redeem and re-order the world.1” “The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine”, chapter 8, as it explains and expands The Salvation Army teaching on justification, grace and faith as they pertain to our salvation refers to The Salvation Army social action and advocacy for social justice as a “consequence of our salvation.2” “A prophetic witness in the face of injustice.” “Advocacy as a consequence of our salvation”. How do we make our voice heard and speak prophetically from our experience? If the Salvationist, individually, is called to this purpose, then it follows that The Salvation Army, organisationally, is called to this task. In the context of our organizational heritage, we continue to follow the principles of William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army. Paul Bollwahn analyses of the principles put forward by Booth in 1890 to guide the development of our social service ministries. These underpin the practical application of our social mandate but, I believe, are applicable to all Salvation Army ministry: Programming must lift up and facilitate change at the personal level, whenever matters of character and conduct are at the root of individual or family dysfunction. 1.
1 Street, 1999, pp. 69-70 2 Handbook of Doctrine, 2010, p. 176
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Effective intervention must include strategies that alter social circumstances and outside forces as they contribute to suffering. 3. The scale of the intervention must, by design be commensurate with the human outcomes and life changes sought. 4. Effort must be sustained over time, sufficient to support long term growth. 5. Efforts must be specific, measurable, realistic, feasible and motivating, yet practical in every sense. 6. Intervention must not unintentionally injure those it is intended to benefit; 7. While assisting one individual or population our intention must not negatively impact the well-being of others.3 2.
Note particularly, the second of the seven principles. To William Booth, advocacy for change in social systems was an imperative to his vision. William Booth initiated the mandate for system change, explaining in principle that responding to initial need only begins the recovery. Altered conditions are required to sustain it. Still today The Salvation Army understands that charity and goodwill are simply not enough. Effectiveness for the Army requires that conscience and conviction spur us to social action, where mercy meets the cause of justice in the world. A world where the wealthiest 1 per cent have income equivalent to the poorest 60 per cent; where more than 1 billion people live on less than US$1 per day. A world increasingly crippled by poverty of hand, beat down and bruised by poverty of spirit. One Salvation Army General, Arnold Brown, spoke of this global experience: “The front line of The Salvation Army must always run through the agony of the world.” Therefore, The Salvation Army, whether it is the local worshipping community or the international administration, social justice is rooted in faith and characterized by action, particularly on behalf of the oppressed. It must have a voice our voice. We have a unique capacity to speak prophetically from our experience. The Salvation Army historically is known for showing practical concern for the needs of suffering humanity and its solid reputation in the countries in which it serves make it particularly well suited and placed to speak prophetically on issues of concern. So what does it mean to speak prophetically as The Salvation Army in our age? “The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish and invoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us. 4”
3 Booth, 1890, pp. 107-111 as quoted in Communion with the Poor by Paul Bollwahn, ISJC Speak Out online Conference, 2012 4 Brueggemann, 1978, p. 13
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If we, The Salvation Army, are to speak prophetically, we will take the contradictions we know exist from our experience of life and ministry and challenge the existing perceptions that continue to alienate people on the basis of gender, colour, age, wealth, education and poverty. We will, while understanding through wisdom and empathetic conversation the cultural norms that hold a group of people together, challenge the cultural practices that ostracise, damage or demean. We will challenge unjust practise including our own, ensuring that not only do we offer a high quality of service provision but we ensure that there is clarity about why we offer the service and therefore a resultant congruence with social justice practise and purpose that is inclusive and values participants as our brothers and sisters. Not a service that just “serves the poor,” a distinctive and separate group of people, a people separate from ourselves, classified by their service need homeless, hungry, domestic violence, addict. By ensuring congruence of service and purpose we create a capacity to advocate “with” the world’s poor and oppressed and not only speak for them, thus in some cases exacerbating their alienation and powerlessness. Instead we create environments that allow the poor and oppressed to speak on their own behalf, influence service provision offered and so begin to change their circumstance and impact the sustainability of the service outcome, community capacity and lives of individuals. The Salvation Army will be speaking prophetically when it not only responds to human need compassionately with high levels of professionalism and effectiveness but also responds to the circumstances that create the need for effective social service response whether based in corps or institutionalised Salvation Army practise. The prophetic voice will speak to or create understanding that: Addresses issues of injustice • Name the injustice specifically Designs strategies to alter systems • Name the system(s) that need altering if current injustice is to be undone, and sketch the ways that system relates (or those systems relate) to other social structures presently. Values vulnerable people as agents of change • Name the categories of people who are victimized by the present injustice. How could they be discovered and engaged? Offers expertise to implement objectives • Name the kind of expert knowledge and skill that will be needed for success. Who in the group has that knowledge and/or has the capacity to acquire it? What do we know that we can share? Convinces power structures to alter policies • Name the political, business, cultural and/or other social leaders who are presently in charge of the systems identified under D above. What do we know about them? Who 3
are their chief staff people? How do we make contact? What does the conversation sound like? Accesses like-minded people to join the cause • Name other groups local, national, global that are on record as having a passion about this issue or related issues. How could they be contacted? Who will contact them? Changes perceptions, practices and behaviours • The point of advocacy is not making noise or making headlines, it’s making change in the lived experience of victims. Name what will constitute success of an advocacy campaign: itemize “key indicators” that will provide evidence of success. Yearns for justice that leads to sustainability • Nurturing and monitoring long-term system change requires long term commitment by advocates. Have people commit in some practical way to the next step in their activism. Do not give up quickly be a team. For many of us, even thinking about addressing situations of injustice or speaking prophetically is intimidating. The issues seem insurmountable: • Lack of education • Inaccessible healthcare • Poverty • Addiction • Climate change/Global warming • War • 25,000 children a day dying needlessly • Unsafe water The issues are entrenched and complex: • Racism • Gender inequality • Crime and violence • Unemployment • Family dysfunction • Political/Organisational corruption We feel inadequate, overwhelmed and often helpless. We respond through The Salvation Army to the presenting demand but what do we do about the causes of that demand? When hurricanes, earthquakes, fires strike we rally. When disaster strikes our neighborhood or community we rescue. When other parts of the world need our help to respond to crisis we go. We spare no effort to respond to the trauma of the short-term crisis. Our individual and collective actions are commendable. The challenge to maintain that same sense of urgency in response to the longer-term justice predicaments in our unjust world is overwhelming. There are a myriad of reasons. The problems are too enormous, too far away, too complex, inequities are inevitable, 4
people have created their own problems, it is too hard, I am only one person, we don’t do that, we would have to change too much to engage that way! No one re-orders the shape of society by their own might. Our world is made up of social structures and organisational networks. We are connected. Mechanisms exist that allow us to think big and implement what needs to be done to move toward a more just world. Organisations, denominations, religious alliances, community service agencies, ethnic groups, media consortiums, NGOs all have social power, whether our advocacy is with government, business, volunteer community groups or within our own organisation or team, the essence of the messaging, our prophetic voice needs to be clear, intelligent, factual, consistent and insistent. A voice of wisdom. A voice geared to the audience it is addressing and willing to be part of the response, not just the demand for change. Jesus demonstrated His vision of mission. He creatively translated his theory of living into acts of mercy that created sustainable change. He related to others with aspiration for their spiritual and physical wholeness. In his teaching, in his preaching and his actions, Jesus created opportunities for people whose existence was curtailed by life-denying forces. Jesus envisioned what did not yet exist. He championed freedom from oppression, exclusion, inequity, sin and injustice. The Old Testament demands: “Shout out, do not hold back! There is no time to speak softly. The risks are too high, the people of Israel are on a dark path, their postures are pious but their deeds are evil. The prophet Isaiah blows his trumpet ‘God’s people are pretenders, they fast in public to feel good in private, they parade virtue but practice vice, their form of godliness is drowned in their hypocrisy.’ Then the prophet takes a deep breath and changes his tone ‘There is still time to worship and pray and be still, but true Godliness breaks out of the prison of self-interest. Fasting is converted into feeding the hungry, prayers are translated into shelter out of the cold, worship inspires the work of lightening the load of the poor, the oppressed are given keys to unlock their restraints.’ The light of justice breaks into the dawn of a new day. And the God who waits for hypocrisy to subside and injustice to be defeated whispers, ‘Here I am.’” (Isaiah 58:1-9a, paraphrased) We are not alone we have each other. We have a mission that must go beyond the immediate response. We need to be agents for change willing to spend some Salvation Army organisational collateral. We need to and have capacity to and information available to speak prophetically. Can we be silent?
A response by Lt Colonel Davidson Varghese 5
India National Secretariat When we think of how our voice can be heard, social identity is an important concern from the multicultural perspective of India. Top level political intervention is felt essential in our context to make our voice heard. The weaker sections of society are constantly and deliberately chased out to the peripheries of society. William Booth’s seven principles are still true in our current situations. In the sixth principle ‘intervention must not unintentionally injure those it is intended to benefit.’ The place like India it is true that the efforts taking to support in long term growth would come to an end by a criticism that “it is related to the conversion and religious benefits’. Colonel Seymour quotes General Arnold Brown: “The front line of The Salvation Army must always run through the agony of the world.” However, sometimes today the front line is not fully supported by the other supporting administrative levels. The voices are never spoken out or heard as they should be. Our prophetically speaking Army is expected to create a wider space to hear the reality from the oppressed and vulnerable at ground level. Our prophetic Salvation Army is required as a first step just to speak the issues and challenges rather than keep them under wraps. On behalf of the oppressed we must have a voice, a prophetic word to the right authorities to have the justice to the poor and oppressed. As Colonel asks, what does it mean to speak prophetically as The Salvation Army in our age? I believe speaking prophetical means bringing changes in the existing systems, especially in the sphere of human trafficking, castism and untouchability, education and unemployment, domestic violence, sex trade, and poverty. • • •
Christ and Caste (serving Caste and Christ) Caste and politics (not to vote but vote to caste) Inequality in opportunities
Through the above issues people are alienated from the mainstream life and neglected by the minority rich and the corrupted politicians. Raising the voice to these groups seems very difficult in the country like India. We cannot reorder the shape of our society by our own experience. We are connected with other groups and organisations. It also includes the collective intervention of the local political leaders, and the community leaders (includes religious, local administrative, political). We The Salvation Army need to have capacity to and information available to speak prophetically. 6
We say thank you to Colonel Geanette Seymour for her presentation for discussion in this conference.
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The Salvation Army 2014 USA Salvation Army Conference for Social Work and Emergency Disaster Services 25 to 28 March 2014, Orlando, Florida GLOBAL TRACK SESSION 2B
“How can we make our voice heard and speak prophetically from our experience?” Dr David Nku Imbie Medical Director of the Department of Health of The Salvation Army Democratic Republic of Congo Speaking prophetically is the “dreamed” Initiative - a workshop for creative, innovative thoughts on pursuing wisdom, justice and virtue in the human experience. A space for conversation about what it means to see the big picture and seek wisdom in pursuit of the common good. In an age of clutter, noise, distraction, addiction, and consumption, there is now more need than ever to think through what it means to communicate wisely as part of a holistic transformation for a more virtuous world. The prophet is one who begins with a message of doom, but ends with a message of hope. The late General John Gowans and the Retired General Linda Bond challenged the whole Army in setting the pace for a global Salvationist culture which stands on three legs, “Save Souls – Grow Saints – Serve Suffering Humanity” (John Gowans), “One Army – One Mission – One Message.” (Linda Bond). To make our voice heard our communication must be born of convincing experience, a concept well defined. What is our experience as Salvationists in these three areas of our conviction? -
Where we come from – the way travelled so far
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Where we are – Our presence and testimony today
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The way forward – where we go from here
What do we know about The Army in its primary mission? Is the Army still orthodox to its primary mission today, what are the strengths, weaknesses, and how do we address this?
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How do we go for the expansion of The Army as a militant movement (church) in mission around the globe? What have we learnt through the century; are early strategies still working? Are there any new discoveries, adjustments? (Romans 10:14) Are we still this evangelical part of the universal church? As an Evangelical Movement, is our message still relevant? Are we addressing people of our time the way Jesus would do if He was physically here vigorously leading the Army. Acts 1:8 We should be an Army… To save souls we need to go boldly and decisively where the Spirit of God is leading us …To grow saints we need a convincing message born of personal experience of being born again, lead and kept by the power of the Holy Spirit … To serve suffering humanity we must exemplify Christ’s compassion and love without discrimination of race, gender, colour. Where do we go from here? In this time of vertiginous changes we have not to lose any opportunity; using all ways and means that God allows us to use (for example social media). Today we can make our voice heard starting from the pulpit in the church, through conferences, to media such as television, internet, You Tube, Facebook etc. The Christian Church is called to recover from the Evil all the best tools to make our voice heard. The three SSS’s (Soup, Soap, and Salvation) trilogy in the early days of the Army is very significant in the life of any human being. In terms of salvation, they go together. This is the single quickest way to define the holistic gospel. So, the Church needs to show interest in the socio-economic needs of people. Jesus was concerned with the rights and well-being as a whole. Social programs have affected all aspects of human life. It is clear in His mind that the gospel is not complete if it does not embrace the work of salvation in the entire area of human life. Christ asks us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Therefore, our spiritual salvation must be seen through our social relationship as well. During his earthly ministry, Christ did not limit his spiritual mission to just one area. We believe that Christ in his mission is the model of the Church; therefore, the mission of the Church cannot be limited to teaching about one sided “Kingdom of Heaven” message. Many Salvation Army Generals have described The Salvation Army as a bird with two wings; (spiritual and social) without both it cannot fly. This means we must also contribute to the welfare of the poor of the earth. We cannot practice the religion of Christ without the social gospel. The letter of James 1: 27 states "pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." Therefore,
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preaching the gospel of Christ means to be concerned with the spiritual and social well-being of man. Most recently, the sense of mission was carried by the gospel to other nations. Things have changed, and the overall mission has become increasingly common. Churches are showing more and more interest in emphasizing the unity that should exist between evangelisation and other areas of Christian mission, such as its socio-economic aspects. The Scriptures clearly speaks of a new heaven and a new earth already. It is a way to see the Christian mission through holistic dimension. It is our responsibility to share the Good News of the Lord, but it must be done completely. William Booth had his heart broken to see unemployed men who could not take care of their wives and hungry children. He faced opposition at the beginning of his ministry but he was not deterred in his mission to support those that society did not. He not only spoke of his love for others, but he went to the trouble of ‘doing’ it. He preached the gospel holistically showing compassion to those who were poor and less friendly. He did not work for his own glory, nor expect any personal benefit; he was faithful to his calling. As Christians we are called to serve others. As agents of the Lord, he sends us to win others to Him; He says in John 20:21 "As the Father has sent me, I send you." Therefore, Christians must act for the well-being of people everywhere at any time. In my country the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Army is very intensively carrying out spiritual, social, and relief programmes because of the war in East Congo. Our humanitarian program takes care of giving clothes to people, feeding the children and sending them to school without neglecting their souls. The Gospel must be preached in words and deeds. The Lord says in Matthew 25:35-36 "For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me." Speaking to those who did the opposite, He spoke in total contrast to them: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels; For I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me Matthew 25:41-43.� These two categories of people will be considered with regard to their social actions towards others. Therefore, the objective of the overall mission is to meet basic human needs such as the need for food, shelter, clothing and education, physical and mental health, without ignoring the need for God. 10
The Army in DRC has never missed an opportunity alongside its spiritual ministry to serve the community through the operation of 449 schools, 29 health centres, two hospitals, and others social programs. We meet most of the needs of the people through these programs. We serve everyone without discrimination. The mission is not holistic if it is not integrated into the life of the community. This concept joins the one of integrated mission. Faith-Based Facilitation is an important tool in the way we work with the community. In integrated mission, all aspects of the ministry must work together as the Body of Christ to convey corporately One Message. The purpose of the gospel is to create communities that confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. The Lord calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves. To fulfil this mission we must show our love and compassion towards those who are marginalised. Jesus is the light of the world. The Church as His representative shall be the light in her neighbourhood. This light must shine not only in words but also in deeds. In 1 Peter 5:2-3, the apostle advises church leaders to keep their ministry in a holistic manner, so that the people of the community can enjoy the benefits of their salvation. Acts 4:32-37 gives us the model of Christian communities. The Church does not accomplish its task only by proclaiming the news of salvation, but also to share the material properties. The individual Salvationist must take personal responsibility for being lights to our neighbours. As to my personal experience, in 2002 I was privileged to be chosen by the President of Republic of the Congo to be Governor of the City of Kinshasa, the capital city. It was a real privilege but the responsibility was enormous. I was received by the President who asked me to organize the management of the Province City; from 2002 until 2004. We brought in The Salvation Army management system where expenditures must be decided by an expenditure board with double signatures, a bank branch was opened in the City Hall so that all the money received must be sent and kept in. This was unusual for those who were not used to working under such control; but the Territorial Commander and the Chief Secretary supported us in prayer. When I left the office of the Governor in 2004, for the first time in the history of this Province City, my administration left enough money in the treasury and no property was taken away. Gossipers went on mocking me that I missed my opportunity to become rich, I will die poor. My only answer was, I do not need to be dishonest to become rich, my God is alive, He will provide and I am never alone.
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God blessed me again, because in 2006 I was elected as Senator and Spokesman of a special committee (Senate and Provinces Relationships), and very recently in 2011 I was elected as a Member of the Parliament (MP) and President of a Parliamentary Group. I continue to see the faithfulness of God, I am amazed and this keeps me humble and faithful as well. As a Christian politician I have learnt some important lessons: 1. God never forsake his children 2. Relying upon God keeps us from any evil, because the Blood of Jesus covers and protects
us 3. As Christian Politicians we bring in values that others do not have, so if many honest
people get into politics, situations can positively change. 4. The Christian remains a light for the world, as such; his/her behaviour in politics must be
blameless because he/she must stand for the credibility of his/her church. 5. There is no incompatibility between Christian life and politics, on the contrary, light should
be brought in those obscure places (areas), bringing in real love and compassion that the people we serve need. 6. As Christians, people of bad practice do not approach you and do not even suggest you
join in their bad conduct. Just imagine if true Christians were numerous in politics arena, trends can be reversed, good could prevail over evil. We, Christian politicians, earnestly need your prayer and your support to develop our communities. Conclusion Considering today’s holistic concept of the gospel, we can conclude that the church has a lot to do to fulfil its mission. Traditionally, the church thought she followed its mission accurately. But there came a time when the church focused especially on the spiritual needs of men and despised social needs. The church focused on the salvation of the soul without any concern for the body. Therefore, the Church neglected a high percentage of its mission in the world. Our mission is to deal with the salvation of all men as well as all areas of their earthly life. We as The Salvation Army should rediscover the Dream of William Booth the Founder in those early days. “Is there anything whereof it may be said, see, this is new? It has been already of old time, which was before us (Eccl.1:10). 12
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A response by Major Heather Grinstead Middle East Region Dr Nku helpfully begins his paper giving his definition of the prophetic word and that we need to think through what it means to communicate wisely as part of a holistic transformation for a more virtuous world. He examines our experience in the three areas of our conviction: where we come from, where we are and the way forward. The Dr hints that we cannot get different results from just doing more or trying harder at the same things we may have done in the past when The Salvation Army, along with other churches has often acted alone. However, he emphasizes that we should be an Army, saving souls, growing saints and serving suffering humanity. I feel that the prophetic voice is not always a popular one and can be a lonely one, when sharing the complete Good News of our Lord. Dr Nku suggests that we must take hold of the opportunity to use the tools of media and internet to make our voice heard. Our message should be holistic, through a ministry of mercy (soup), empowerment (soap) and evangelism (salvation). The church has had a tendency to detour from this type of holistic ministry, as outlined in Dr Nku’s conclusion. For some believers the key to transformation is “saving the lost”, others suggest that we start by “serving the least of these”. Jesus did not operate an either–or approach, his incarnational message was made manifest through word and deed. Everyone should have the opportunity, in the free market place of ideas, to put forth their vision for the future. – including The Salvation Army. Dr Nku, I think, is saying that we need to be at the forefront of not only sharing that vision with our words but also demonstrating that vision as we embody the gospel of God’s grace. In the author’s experience the mission is not holistic if it is not integrated into the life of the community. We don’t have to choose between changing our communities and changing lives; we can focus like Jesus and the early church did, on both truth and grace without having to compromise either one. The goodwill generated by our actions provides an opportunity to share the good news about Jesus. Good news and good deeds, when matched in partnership raise questions that demand answers, answers we are eager to share with those who are spiritually curious. I believe that a prophetic voice is more likely to be heard when its words are matched by its deeds. I was especially moved by ‘The individual Salvationist must take personal responsibility for being lights to our neighbours’ and the personal stories of Dr Nku living this challenge. Believers living out the gospel in their ‘domains of society’ can have a potentially powerful evangelistic effect, since the gospel spreads through the natural societal channels: each Salvationist is in a different domain. Dr Nku, in an age in which we may be growing cynical about the potential for government solutions, testifies it is possible that God can use people in this domain to bring about community transformation that reflects Kingdom values. 14