Introduction (Leader's Manual)

INTRODUCTION

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’s INTRODUCTION {leader manual }

an international teaching resource

WELCOME TO the one rmy teaching programme The One Army Leader’s Manual provides guidance for the leader or facilitator of small group sessions. It should be used alongside the One Army introductory book, and subsequent books, that contain the main teaching material. Additional pages for the Leader’s Manual will accompany each subsequent book.

The Leader’s Manual includes suggestions for group leaders to help stimulate discussion, encourage interactive activities, study of the Bible and creative moments of reflection and response. It also highlights links to additional resources listed in the main book and found on the website. It may be advisable to get some of the books in the list of resources for the series.

In some countries, discussion is not the normal way of helping people learn; it is regarded as important for the leader to have the main information while others listen.

However, this series aims to encourage discussion so that group members think things through for themselves as they participate.

With our ‘One Army’ now in more than 125 countries, a variety of teaching/ learning methods and styles are in use.

Leaders should select from the suggested resources those most suited to their group and culture. A list of series resources can be found on page 3.

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WELCOME TO one rmy

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SERIES RESOURCES

GUIDANCE FOR LEADERS OF SMALL GROUPS BE PREPARED •• Think beforehand about the people who will be there.

•• Think about their abilities, personalities, situations, needs.

02 •• How can you make each member feel valued, at ease and relaxed?

PLAN •• Select from the material as much as you find useful for each session.

•• To facilitate differences in faith levels and culture, aim to present teaching in ways that will relate to all. Get to know your group and adapt resources to suit.

•• Plan to include the main teaching, study of Bible passages given, open discussion and time for prayer. Include the DVD, or film from the One Army website if possible. This includes translation into some languages. If your language is not among them contact your local headquarters to see if translation can be provided.

•• There may be subjects where Salvation Army teaching conflicts with accepted practices and beliefs in your culture.

•• There may be topics where members of the group have been influenced by teachings from other Christian groups/ sects which challenge Salvation Army doctrine.

•• Examine these subjects and topics so that members of the group fully leader’s manual

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understand the position and teaching of The Salvation Army.

BE CAREFUL… •• Not to dominate, and not to allow any other individual to dominate.

•• Not to give too many answers, but guide the group to discover things for themselves.

DRAW OUT… •• Points from members by carefully worded questions – such as can be found in the One Army book.

BE ENTHUSIASTIC •• Enjoy learning from and with the group.

•• No one knows it all.

BE RELATIONAL •• Show genuine interest in the personal experiences of group members.

BE PATIENT •• Take time to listen – don’t jump in too quickly.

FIND WAYS… •• Of encouraging everyone to participate.

It will be helpful to have these resources available throughout the series.

Other resources will be included and recommended according to the subject being considered.

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RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR THE SERIES BOOKS 03 The Holy Bible The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine, Salvation Books, IHQ The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ: An Ecclesiological Statement, Salvation Books, IHQ The Salvation Army Year Book, Salvation Books, IHQ The Song Book of The Salvation Army, IHQ Called to be God’s People – based on the Calls of the International Spiritual Life Commission, Salvation Books, IHQ Samuel Logan Brengle: Heart for God, edited by Peter Farthing, Australia Eastern Territory Holiness Unwrapped, Robert Street, Australia Eastern Territory The Life and Ministry of William Booth, Roger J. Green, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, USA Who are These Salvationists? An Analysis for the 21st Century, Shaw Clifton, Crest Books, The Salvation Army, Alexandria, VA, USA Some of these books are available in a number of languages.

DVDs Called to be God’s People – based on the Calls of the International Spiritual Life Commission, Salvation Books, IHQ Holiness Unwrapped, Australia Eastern Territory Our People – The remarkable story of William and Catherine Booth and The Salvation Army, Australia Eastern Territory Boundless Salvation, four-part series by John Cleary, Australia Southern Territory

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This diagram (above) illustrates aspects of life that are part of any culture. They help shape us and make us what we are, but they are expressed in various ways in different cultures. This section – In Culture – gives insights into a number of cultures and will help us put our own culture into better context by learning from others.

No matter how our particular culture expresses itself, we are called to live the Christian life within it.

This section will show the importance of promoting Christian faith and values just where we are – and it will help us understand which parts of our culture are in harmony with Salvation Army principles and which are not. Enjoy learning from one another – and from Scripture.

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SUPPORTING RESOURCES This section is different from the others.

Without spending too much time on it, it’s important that there is some understanding as to what is meant by ‘culture’. The articles in the book and in subsequent books will make clear the kind of issues to be considered.

However, for your own information, the diagram (left) seeks to illustrate aspects of life that are part of any culture. The black segments are the ‘main headings’. The dark grey segments are subdivisions of these.

The light grey area is of course Christianity, representing the influence that Christian teaching has had on every aspect of life. It is not essential that this diagram be shared with the members of the group, unless you as leader feel it would especially help. It is more for you to study beforehand as part of your personal preparation.

IN DISCUSSION Read the article on page 18 of the introductory book and then discuss the questions on page 21.

As leader, you will need to be sensitive to the needs of the group when looking at cultural issues. Some questions will provoke more discussion than others. What is important is that members of the group come to understand that Christian values must come before their own cultural values.

Or there may be ways of adapting their own culture so that it agrees with biblical

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05 teaching. Take as much time as needed to explore these issues in order to discover the Christian perspective.

IN PRAYER •• Pray for Salvationists in The Philippines, particularly with regard to the challenges mentioned in the article.

•• Pray for your brother and sister Salvationists where you are, thinking particularly of any issues that have arisen in your discussion.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• An understanding of what it means to live for Jesus in The Philippines.

•• Apply the teaching of ‘One Life’ to your own culture.

•• A greater understanding of how each of us is affected by our culture.

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SUPPORTING RESOURCES Book: They Gave Their Lives.

DVD: A Life Worth Living – From Drug Addict to Salvation Army Officer.

ONE LIFE WILLIAM BOOTH SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books: The History of The Salvation Army, Volume One, 1865-1878.

The General Next to God. DVD: Our People: The Remarkable Story of William and Catherine Booth and The Salvation Army.

IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following, 06 remembering to include reference to the suggested Scripture and how it relates to the topic (see page 6 of the introductory book): 1. Imagine God presenting you with your one life as a gift. What are your reactions? Share them with one another.

Genesis 2:7 and Job 12:10 2. The psalmist reminds us that our life is ‘fleeting’ (NIV). How does this affect our approach to life?

Psalm 39:4, 5 3. The psalmist indicates that God knows all about us. How does that affect the way we live?

Psalm 139 4. Paul says that ‘each of us will give an account of himself to God’. How does that affect the way we live?

Romans 14:12 Activity Ideas •• Write a script or act out a role play as if God was presenting everyone with the gift of life.

•• Read any of the chapters of They Gave Their Lives. Each one tells the inspiring story of a Salvationist who gave their life in the service of Jesus Christ. one life– to live

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•• Watch the compelling and inspirational DVD A Life Worth Living – From Drug Addict to Salvation Army Officer, in which Captain Brett Mitchell talks about his problem with drug dependence, the choice he had to make to live his ‘one life’ free from the bonds of addiction, and the difference that committing his ‘one life’ to Jesus has made. Discuss its impact on members of the group.

IN PRAYER Ask God to show us how we can value and support each other’s one life.

Dear God, thank you for the gift of life. We pray that you will help us appreciate that we are made in your image and are precious to you. Teach us how to value and love others, and open our hearts and minds to be ready to offer service in your name, so that we can give help and support.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• Thanksgiving for our ‘one life’.

•• The realisation that we are each responsible for how we use our ‘one life’.

•• Acceptance that the future always remains unknown.

•• Understanding that giving our life back to God in dedication is a privilege.

IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss each of the following, remembering to include reference to the suggested Scripture and how it relates to the topic (see page 8 of the introductory book): 1. What is the aim of your life? What would you like to be, or achieve – and why?

Amos 5:14 (GNB); 1 Thessalonians 4:11 2. How can we ensure that our ambitions are in harmony with God’s will for our life?

Proverbs 16:9; Romans 12:1, 2 3. Share any convictions you have about what God may be asking of you.

Mark 10:17-27 4. What lessons has life taught you?

Psalm 90:12 You may wish to include these topics in your discussion: •• Job satisfaction, success, realised ambitions.

•• Ability to provide for your family.

•• Bringing people to Christ.

When considering convictions about what God may be asking of you, you may wish to include the following: •• Starting a prayer group.

•• Prison or hospital visitation. one life

•• Teaching children in Sunday school.

•• Other suggestions.

Activity Ideas •• As a group, read page 8 of the introductory book. This can be supplemented by the following activity: •• Copy or read together the three passages below and ask members of the group to identify two key aspects of William Booth’s life which led him to found The Salvation Army.

1. ‘The depravations of his early life, the misery that in his boyhood he had seen around him, his memories of children crying for bread in the streets – all helped to set up in his mind the purposes that later came to such fruitful issue.’ (p 3, The History of The Salvation Army Volume One, 1865-1878, Robert Sandall) 2. ‘[When] ...James Caughey visited Nottingham in 1846, his red-hot revival oratory set aflame the fire already laid in the boy’s heart, and William Booth determined that “God should have all there was” of him. With companions as youthful and eager as himself, of whom he quickly became leader, William Booth organised – william booth one

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ONE LIFE JESUS CHRIST SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books:What and Why We Believe.

Holiness Unwrapped.

street preaching, cottage meetings, and 08 other activities.’ (pp 3, 4 The History of The Salvation Army Volume One, 1865-1878, ibid) 3. ‘Returning at midnight from opening a corps hall at Whitstable, Kent, the General’s cab rattled across the Thames at London Bridge. Craning from the window an appalling sight met his eyes: scores of homeless men, cringing blue with cold, were huddled in the niches of the bridge, shielded only by torn scraps of newspaper. ‘“Did you know that men slept out all night on the bridges?” he threw at his son.

Bramwell admitted this came as no surprise to him but was stung by the General’s vehement predication that he ought to be ashamed of himself for doing nothing. …

But Booth silenced his arguments. His command was a finality destined to alter The Salvation Army’s entire future: “Go and do something! We must do something…get hold of a warehouse and warm it and find something to cover them.”’ (The General Next to God, Richard Collier) The extent of Booth’s impact will be further considered in this series. one life

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IN PRAYER Thank God for William Booth and for those who, by example, help us see how a life surrendered to God can have such a lasting impact on other lives.

Ask God to give you faith to trust him with your life and its direction.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that William Booth answered the call you made on his life, and that through his devotion to you, and commitment to the poor, you were able to use the talents of an ordinary man to achieve extraordinary things for your Kingdom. We ask that you will touch our hearts and lives so that we might be receptive to your guidance and direction, so we too might have a positive impact on the lives of others.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• Gain an understanding of how and why William Booth founded The Salvation Army.

•• Realise how God used William Booth to transform the lives of countless people.

•• Consider further how God can use each life.

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IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss each of the following, remembering to include reference to the suggested Scripture and how it relates to the topic (see page 11 of the introductory book): 1. ‘Without Jesus there would be no Salvation Army.’ Why? John 3:16, 17; 2 Corinthians 4:5; 6 Acts 4:12 2. In what ways does the human life of Jesus show us his divine qualities?

John 10:14; John 10:17, 18 3. Why is the life of Jesus the most important life that has ever been lived?

John 20:30, 31; 1 John 5:11, 12 4. Discuss ways in which Jesus put into practice his own teaching.

Matthew 5:43-45; Matthew 6:14, 15; John 15:13 Activity Ideas •• Have a 20-30 minute ‘Emmaus Walk’.

Divide into groups of two or three and walk in the gardens or in the area surrounding the corps. Ask the participants to share with each other what they know about Jesus’ ‘one life’, and what he has accomplished in their ‘one life’.

•• Read chapter 4 – ‘Jesus, human and divine’ – from Harry Dean’s book, What and Why We Believe. See text on page 10.

•• Read the introduction to Robert Street’s book about Jesus, Holiness Unwrapped.

See text on page 11.

•• Choose any of the verses that relate to

the life of Jesus, found on page 11 of the introductory book. Suggest one person reads the verse and the group repeats what has been said (without looking at the text). In this way the verses can be memorised.

•• Read John 1:1-14 together and make a list of facts it gives about Jesus.

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09 IN PRAYER What difference has Jesus made to your life? Ask him to help you see how all lives can be renewed and transformed by his Spirit.

Consider the extent of God’s love for every individual in the world’s more than seven billion population. Invite each group member to offer a one-sentence prayer of thanksgiving for the life of the person sitting next to them.

Text Prayer (Txt pryr) •• Why not use your mobile phone as a prayer tool?

•• Make an agreement with a friend to send each other a daily text prayer, or perhaps a verse from Scripture to encourage you both to start each day with Jesus.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• A better understanding of the reasons Jesus came to earth.

•• Confirmation of the essential place of Jesus in: a) the heart of the Army, b) our hearts.

•• Development and growth in personal relationship with Jesus.

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CHAPTER 4 – ‘Jesus, human and divine’ – from Harry Dean’s book, What and Why We Believe.

Doctrine 4: We believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the Divine and human natures are united; so that he is truly and properly God; and truly and properly man.

Common sense might urge that Jesus must be either human or divine, and once again we have to admit that here we are in the presence of mystery and need to be aware of a desire for over-simplification. In our impatience with paradox and our desire for a too common-sense theology we must lose something of vital importance. T.S. Eliot has said: ‘A heresy is apt to have a seductive simplicity…and to be altogether more 10 plausible than the truth.’

We must not be led astray by those who would suggest that such ideas as are expressed in this doctrine were a later imposition upon a much simpler gospel.

The truth is that from the very beginning Christianity had a theology. The early Christians did not gather together to admire a remarkable teacher or prophetic genius, but to worship a risen, ascended and living Lord, ascribing to him the very name used for ‘Jehovah’ in their sacred writings, which we now call the ‘Old Testament’.

The men and women of the New Testament are not looking back on Jesus, remembering him as human; they are looking up to him, revering him as divine.

Examine Mark’s Gospel as an example (and this is generally recognised as the first of our four Gospels to have been written); the humanity of Jesus stands out very clearly – he was hungry, tired, surprised, grieved and indignant. But it is not a purely human story – he had power to read men’s minds and hearts and to forgive their sins; he said he would rise from the dead leader’s manual

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and is presented as the destined Judge of mankind.

So, in seeking to understand the Incarnation, Salvationists are aware that they face a problem that cannot be explained with absolute lucidity. The coming of Jesus was ‘an historical event plus’. It was a mighty act of God. Jesus came into history, not out of it. He was no mere product of humanity, for in him the Eternal crossed into the temporal. Jesus is God’s ideal for man, and for man – the image of God. Close study of the four Gospels reveals the complete God-consciousness of Jesus.

In all the human decisions and choices he made, he discounted his own personal contribution, and gave the glory to God. It has been truly said, ‘the God-man is the only man who claims nothing for himself; but all for God’. So Paul could declare: ‘God was in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5:19 New King James Version).

Approached from this standpoint one of the most perplexing incidents in the Gospel narrative, the conversation between Jesus and the rich young ruler, becomes very illuminating. Hailed by the young man as ‘Good teacher’, Jesus responded, ‘Why do you call me good? No-one is good except God alone’ (Mark 10:18). This reply does not reveal self-deprecation on the part of Jesus for, as seen in the Sermon on the Mount with his ‘I say unto you’, he was aware of his own spiritual authority. Jesus was concerned lest the young man should fail to relate the goodness he recognised to God, the Source of all goodness. He was so conscious of God that he was not conscious of possessing goodness himself, independent of God. Thus ‘our Lord’s moral perfection includes human humility’. So, dominated by a sense of God, he sought to turn the young seeker’s eyes towards his heavenly Father.

In this way, he translated the abstract truth about God into a real human life so that there men might find the answer to the suffocating doubt that sometimes almost overwhelms the sincere seeker after reality.

There may be many aspects of God which are totally beyond the range of finite human intelligence, but all that man is capable of understanding, God reveals.

Is it not strange how men instinctively feel that the life of Jesus is quite unique? No one ever asks why he was not a better man.

At Easter-time we listen to the gospel song ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ and nobody appears to think the question ridiculous. Why is this? Is it not because something within us, deeper than reason, recognises that in the death of Jesus we have something more than an isolated event in human history? That just as the volcanic eruption reveals momentarily the fires that are ever burning beneath the crust of the earth, so the Cross reveals the eternal truth about God? God always has been, and always will be, what Jesus declared by his life, teaching and death.

Some thinking people are offended by such a message as this. The whole idea of God becoming man is, in their view, fantastic – imagination run riot. They would go so far as to deny the very existence of Jesus, rather than give countenance to the miracle of his life, although the historicity of Jesus is one of the best attested facts in the ancient world. But it is the thief who prospers in the darkness, and it is the materialist who requires that there should be no Christ.

Let us face a final question: can we really believe that a number of men of the first century, mostly drawn from the ordinary occupations of the time, fabricated the New Testament, with its penetrating insights into human nature, and with its amazing message of redemption from sin that is centred in the coming, the life and

the death of Christ? To believe that is to demand more of credulity than our fourth doctrine demands of the Salvationist’s faith.

INTRODUCTION to Robert Street’s book about Jesus, Holiness Unwrapped.

There’s no better aim for a Christian than to be like Jesus – and there’s no better way to become more like him than to let him live his life in us.

Jesus exemplifies everything we could hope to be and what we ought to be. His goodness shines like a beacon in a world darkened by wrongdoing and self-interest.

So it’s no surprise that in our complex postmodern era, which often has no clearcut solutions, many Christians 11 find themselves frequently asking the question ‘What would Jesus do?’ Faced with challenging or difficult situations, people the world over look to Jesus for guidance and direction – wanting their actions to reflect him.

Significantly, he left in the Gospels guidelines for daily living and lived by them himself. He proved their worth and set us an example. He showed by his own life that what he taught could be successfully embraced. What would be the point of giving us directions if they couldn’t be followed?

The call to holy living runs throughout Scripture and is both worthwhile and workable. In Old Testament time, the holy God could seem distant and remote – to be so far above us that he was in ‘splendid isolation’. Then Jesus came. He literally brought God down to earth. And he showed us, in human form, what a holy life was really like. Jesus was holiness unwrapped.

As we see in him what we would like to be, he is more than willing to help us. leader’s manual

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ONE LIFE ONE CHURCH SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books: The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ: An Ecclesiological Statement.

The Salvation Army Year Book.

Samuel Logan Brengle: Heart for God.

IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following, remembering to include reference to the suggested Scripture and how it relates to the topic (see page 12 of the introductory book): 1. How does the chorus ‘We’re all seeking the same Saviour’ give us a sense of unity?

12 Romans 3:23 2. Why do you think Jesus wants all Christians to love one another?

John 13:34, 35; John 17:20-26 3. How can the Army be a gift from God to the Church?

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 4. What is the Church?

1 Corinthians 12:12, 13 Activity Ideas •• Divide into twos or threes to brainstorm 20 facts about The Salvation Army and its work internationally. How can this be a ‘gift’ to the Church? Report back to the whole group.

•• Write an interview script in which someone asks William Booth questions about why The Salvation Army started.

•• You will find the booklet The Salvation Army in the Body of Christ: An Ecclesiological Statement to be an invaluable source of information about how the Army relates to the Church.

You could choose a passage or two to highlight or read – such as the six-point Summary Statement on its first page. See text on page 13.

•• See also ‘Don’t confess other people’s one life

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sins’, page 84 in Samuel Logan Brengle: Heart for God. See text on page 14.

•• Link this with Luke 18:9-14.

IN PRAYER Pray that the Lord will take away any feelings of superiority you may have towards anyone else.

Using a map, ask the group to name countries and/or Salvation Army territories/ commands for which they would like to pray. The Salvation Army Year Book and international website are helpful resources.

Pray for: •• Innocent people caught up in situations of war and unrest.

•• Christians facing persecution because of their faith.

•• Christians experiencing hatred and being damaged by division within their fellowship.

•• The Army to play a unifying part in the life of the Church universal.

SUMMARY STATEMENT 1. The Body of Christ on earth (also referred to as the Church universal) comprises all believers in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

2. Believers stand in a spiritual relationship to one another, which is not dependent upon any particular church structure.

3. The Salvation Army, under the one Triune God, belongs to and is an expression of the Body of Christ on earth, the Church universal, and is a Christian denomination in permanent mission to the unconverted, called into and sustained in being

by God. 4. Denominational diversity is not self-evidently contrary to God’s will for his people.

5. Inter-denominational harmony and co-operation are to be actively pursued, for they are valuable for the enriching of the life and witness of the Body of Christ in the world and therefore of each denomination.

6. The Salvation Army welcomes involvement with other Christians in the many lands where the Army is privileged to witness and serve.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• A greater understanding of the Army’s place in the Church universal.

•• A desire to identify ways of accomplishing the mission: One Church and One Army.

•• A deeper understanding of Jesus’ prayer that his disciples would be ‘one’.

•• A realisation that our sinful nature unites us in our need of God and his grace.

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ONE LIFE ONE ARMY

‘Don’t confess other people’s sins’, page 84 in Samuel Logan Brengle: Heart for God. When you talk about sins, make sure they are your own and not other people’s.

The habit of confessing other people’s sins began right at the start of our troubles.

‘Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?’ God asked Adam.

‘It was the woman you put here with me,’ the man said. ‘She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it’ (Genesis 3:11, 12 Contemporary English Version). He blamed Eve. Then she blamed the snake. ‘The snake 14 tricked me,’ she said (v 13).

Both of them confessed the other’s sins instead of owning up to responsibility themselves. This, sadly, is the way with fallen humanity. Nothing is more typical of our natural spiritual deadness than this inability to face our own sins. It is so much easier to hide behind other people’s faults.

‘Are you saved?’ I asked a little woman in one of our meetings.

‘No, I am not,’ she replied emphatically.

‘Were you ever saved?’ I asked.

‘Yes, I was.’

‘And what did Jesus do that turned your back on him?’ I asked.

‘A man who called himself a Christian slapped my husband across the face,’ she said; but she did not tell me the fact (which I learned later) that the man later apologised.

‘Well, that was too bad,’ I replied. ‘But you leader’s manual

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know, they slapped Jesus in the face.’ She looked at me. ‘And you know they spat in his face also, and not content with that, they crushed a crown of thorns on his head; but that did not satisfy them, so they bared his back, and tied his hands and whipped him. They mocked him and crucified him.’

I continued: ‘When he was dying there on the Cross he prayed, “Father forgive them.” He did all that for you, but you turned your back on him because of someone who ill-treated your husband.’

Tears filled her eyes and she rushed, sobbing, to the penitent form. And there she didn’t confess the fellow’s sins, but her own.

Friend, let me urge you take your eyes off other people and fix them on Jesus. Then make a habit of confessing your own sins.

Remember what John wrote in his letter: ‘If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins – make a clean breast of them – he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing’ (1 John 1:8, 9 The Message).

SUPPORTING RESOURCES Book: Who are these Salvationists?

IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following, remembering to include reference to the suggested Scripture and how it relates to the topic (see page 15 of the introductory book): 1. What things help the Army express itself as ‘One Army’?

Ephesians 4:3-6 2. What unites Christians best of all?

Philippians 2:1-5 3. Discuss the dangers of becoming ‘exclusive’ and forgetting the needs of those who do not enjoy the same fellowship.

James 2:1-4; 1 John 3:16-18 4. What testimony does the Army’s international fellowship have for the world?

Acts 1:8 Activity Ideas After the First World War, Evangeline Booth told the following story in The War Romance of The Salvation Army, 1919, by Evangeline Booth and Grace Livingstone Hill (p 23): ‘When the Empress of Ireland went down [in 1914] with 137 Salvation Army officers on board, 109 officers were drowned, and

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15 not one body that was picked up had on a life-belt. The few survivors told how the Salvationists, finding there were not enough life-preservers for all, took off their own belts and strapped them upon even strong men, saying, “I can die better than you can”, and from the deck of that sinking boat they flung their battle cry around the world – others!’ (Gordon Taylor – courtesy of the International Heritage Centre).

•• What does this true story tell us about these Salvationists?

•• What is the significance of the word ‘others’?

Two paragraphs from Shaw Clifton’s Who are these Salvationists? help explain our ‘one Army’.

‘We do not use the word “enemy”, even in time of war. In 1940 General George Carpenter directed that no Salvation Army publication should use the word “enemy” to identify any person, regardless of their country of origin and regardless of whether or not they were a citizen of a hostile country in time of war.’

‘Another practical outcome of our

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REFERENCED RESOURCES FOR THIS UNIT This unit in part relates to doctrines 4, 5 and 6.

internationalism is that wherever you go 16 in the Army world you have a ready-made family. You also have a spiritual home and a Christian fellowship, which will receive you warmly, like a brother or sister in Christ and as a comrade under the Army’s “Blood and Fire” flag. There is no part of the Army that does not grow excited whenever an Army person from another territory visits. This may be an official visit, or it might simply be Salvationists on vacation, or a Salvationist businessman making a trip overseas for his company.

All these will experience the same ready acceptance and welcome.’

Read the Bible references found on page 15 of the introductory booklet. Put one or two of them into your own words. For each one, ask the following questions: •• What are the verses saying?

•• How do these verses apply to The Salvation Army – including where you live and around the world?

IN PRAYER •• Pray God’s blessing on the General’s leadership of the Army worldwide.

•• Sign up for the General’s Worldwide one life

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Prayer Meeting (at http://sar.my/ intpray) and the 24-7 Global Call to Prayer (at http://sar.my/247).

•• Explore the possibility of setting up a 24-7 prayer room in your corps.

•• Select prayer topics from the following websites (which are regularly updated): www.salvationarmyspirituallife.org and www.salvationarmy.org/isjc SESSION OUTCOMES •• Enthusiasm for further exploration of the mission of The Salvation Army.

•• Greater appreciation of the need to support and value those who may be ‘different’ from us, yet who are equally precious to God. •• Affirmation of each other’s place in Christ’s mission.

•• Embracing of a worldwide unity in prayer.

•• Signing up to the 24-7 Global Call to Prayer and the General’s Worldwide Prayer Meeting.

BOOKS The History of The Salvation Army, Volume One, 1865-1878, pp 3,4, Robert Sandall The Life and Ministry of William Booth, Roger J. Green, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, USA The Salvation Army Year Book, Salvation Books, IHQ The General Next to God, Richard Collier, Crest Books, Chapter eight The Salvation Army in The Body of Christ, Salvation Books, IHQ Called to be God’s People - ‘Call to our Life Together,’ Salvation Books, IHQ ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES On the One Army website and in the Leader’s Manual.

BOOKS They Gave their Lives, Alan Bateman, Salvation Books, IHQ How I met The Salvation Army: True Stories of Christian Transformation, Ed Forster, Crest Books, USA What and Why We Believe, Harry Dean, Salvation Books, IHQ, Chapter 4 Samuel Logan Brengle: Heart For God, Peter Farthing, Carpenter Media. ‘Don’t Confess Other People’s Sins’ DVDs A Life Worth Living – From Drug Addict to Salvation Army Officer, Australia Eastern Territory and www.youtube.com/user/SAIHQ Our People – The Remarkable Story of William and Catherine Booth and The Salvation Army, Australia Eastern Territory WEBSITES www.salvationarmy.org/onearmy www.salvationarmyspirituallife.org

What resources would you add?

Let us know by emailing OneArmy@salvationarmy.org or visit www.salvationarmy.org/ onearmy/resources

referenced resources

one rmy leader’s manual

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