Revive (October 2013)

VOL 5 NO 4

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2013

MOVING MOUNTAINS WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN KENYA

LEADERSHIP A WOMAN’S VIEW THE UNEXPECTED LEADER INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Only by grace Kathleen Versveld talks about her experiences in leadership

E Q U I P P I N G

W O M E N

F O R

M I N I S T R Y

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M I S S I O N

review

Walking In White

by Jolene Kay Hodder From the first pages of this book there is a sense of adventure, trust and hope in God the Father. Jolene tells of her journey through the beautiful African territory of Kenya East. As she dons her white uniform, a deep reality touches the writer’s heart that not only is her Salvation Army garment different, but so are her desires to serve the Lord.

Happy Birthday

by Sally-Anne Allchin Happy Birthday is another in the series of delightful preschoolers’ books by Major Sally-Anne Allchin. It helps children to celebrate their birthday in a special way – by telling them how much God loves them.

As you read the letters Jolene wrote to her family and friends, a beautiful picture is drawn of her life in Africa. This new life quickly becomes a place in her heart that she can call home. Humour, heartbreak, adventure and a love for others draw you into a world that captured her imagination and the heart of God. This is a story of one faithful officer who gave her days in service to the Lord. God is the one who provided the wonderful opportunity to live and work in a place where purity of heart became the primary focus of her life.

Happy Birthday is a wonderful resource for leaders of playgroups and other activities for under-fives.

For inspiration and confidence in the Lord’s hand on each of us, this book is a gentle reminder that nothing can separate us from the love of God. In Psalm 139:7-10 it says, ‘Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast’ (NIV). This is Commissioner Jolene’s experience of ‘walking in white’.

Major Sandra Welch

Commissioner Carolyn Knaggs

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

territorial PRESIDENT OF WOMEN’S MINISTRIES USA WESTERN TERRITORY

Colourful and interactive, Happy Birthday is a book with a difference – it is meant to be drawn on and coloured in!

For less than the cost of a birthday card, this book can be given to toddlers and pre-schoolers on their birthday to keep on their bookshelves and to read over and over again.

AVAILABLE AT: salvos.org.au

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Cost US$11.99 Available via tradewest.com A Kindle version will be available soon on Amazon

inside

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LEADERSHIP

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05 Always and only by his grace 08 When sleeping women wake!

11 The unexpected leader BIBLE STUDY

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2013

revive@salvationarmy.org

19 Jouney to freedom SOCIAL ISSUES

22 Message from Commissioner Silvia Cox World President of Women’s Ministries

IN EVERY ISSUE

05

02 Book Reviews 04

Editorial

14 Journey into leadership

MY STORY 18 The Prayer House 23 Coming events/iQuote

COLUMNS 10 Inspire rather than perspire LEADERSHIP 17 Women leaders for such a time as this SPIRITUAL LIFE

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Front cover: Photo by John Blesset Back cover: Colossians 3:12 (GNB ), design/illustration by Berni Georges All Bible quotations throughout this edition of Revive are from the New International Version 2011 unless stated otherwise TM - The Message, GW - God’s Word, NASB - New American Standard Bible, NKJV - New King James Version, KJV - King James Version, GNB - Good News Bible, NLT - New Living Translation, SASB - The Song Book of The Salvation Army

A resource magazine for women in ministry and mission Publisher: Commissioner Silvia Cox, World President of Women’s Ministries Editor-in-Chief, IHQ: Major Sandra Welch Editor: Major Sandra Welch Designer: Berni Georges © André Cox General of The Salvation Army, 2013 Founders of The Salvation Army: William and Catherine Booth Printed in the UK by Lamport Gilbert Printers Ltd

Contact email address: revive@salvationarmy.org

The Salvation Army International Headquarters 101 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4EH United Kingdom

Articles on any subject of interest to women in ministry are welcomed by the editor. To send an article, write to revive@salvationarmy.org Subscription details at: http://sar.my/revsubu (Revive subscription UK) http://sar.my/revsubo (Revive subscription overseas)

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editorial

Leadership, what’s it all about?

Major Sandra Welch EDITOR

F

or me, it is knowing how to handle crises, engaging and encouraging people, respecting and listening to others.

It is also leading by example and being a role model, listening to peoples’ needs and concerns and then helping them.

I can hardly believe that I have been a Salvation Army officer for more than 18 years. Quite frankly I don’t feel old enough!

And I feel that there is still so much more to learn about effective leadership. Reflecting on my life thus far I can hardly recognise the confident woman and leader that I have become, since I was a shy, quiet and reserved child.

I am the youngest of four children and grew up in a home with parents who were totally different. A quiet, shy mum who had endless patience with me, and a strict, firm father who instilled in me the belief that I could be and do anything, if I set my mind to it. He used to quote these words by Henry Ford to me, ‘Don’t find a fault, find a remedy!’

I don’t profess to have any great talent but I am a perfectionist, hard-working with true grit. These things have helped me to become versatile and enabled me to master the many new skills

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and meet the challenges that officership and various appointments have necessitated, but more than all that, God has equipped me.

This issue of Revive is all about leadership and we have many articles which are truly inspirational for women leaders.

Captain Kathleen Versveld’s article reminds us that we succeed as spiritual leaders ‘not because any of us humans are “good enough” to partner with God in building the Kingdom, but by his grace.’ Commissioner Jolene Hodder writes about empowering women in Kenya and Major Christine Faragher’s Bible study ‘The Unexpected Leader’ helps women explore leadership in a biblical context.

We say a fond farewell to our regular columnists for 2013, Commissioner Prema Varughese (spiritual life column) and Major Val Mylechreest (leadership column) both these columns have been stimulating and most beneficial for women in ministry. I am thankful for their contributions to Revive and pray God’s blessing on them and their ministry.

As we pursue excellence in the privileged role of Christian leadership, let us be mindful that everything we do is for Christ and his Kingdom – it’s all about Jesus!

Let us resolve to be leaders of integrity, with spiritual authority, faithfully striving to be Christlike. And then we will be able to do all things for Christ as Scripture reminds us, ‘I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me’ (Philippians 4:13 Good News Bible).

feature

Photographs by John Blesset

Below: the Versveld family

Always and only by his grace

by Kathleen Versveld

M

y life began prematurely and unexpectedly in the company of a twin sister. After the initial shock to my parents, it was the start of a wonderful childhood in the company of my sisters, Carol and Heather. We were sheltered from the ugly realities of apartheid South Africa by our white upbringing and enjoyed carefree adventures in our back garden, climbing trees and picking fruits such as guavas and grapes that grew profusely there. The sun shone and weekends were spent at the poolside, around the braai (barbecue) or enjoying sport.

In those early years, two people were significant influences on me – my paternal grandmother, who eagerly and passionately told me about her loving Lord and Saviour, Jesus, and the headmaster of my primary school. He was a charming man, who had this knack of making every pupil feel special. I was deeply impressed by him and felt inspired, even as a young child, to fully embrace the school motto, pervenite ad summa – reach for the highest! By the age of nine I was top of my class and captain of my netball

‘We were sheltered from the ugly realities of apartheid South Africa by our white upbringing’

team, not because of any great talent, you understand, but out of pure determination.

C.S. Lewis wrote, ‘God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our consciences, but shouts in our pain’. From a very young age I heard God whispering to me through the incredible natural beauty all around me in Cape Town. As a teenager, I heard his call to roll up my sleeves and get to work within the ranks of the Army, amongst the poorest of the poor. However, it has been in the painful moments of my life that I have heard his voice most forcefully. At the age of 11, my beloved dad disappeared from our family home and I felt my heavenly Father comforting me with the promise of his unwavering love and faithfulness. At the same time someone dared to suggest that my father had left us because he wanted a son. To a daughter who adored her dad that thought was like a knife to the heart. I vowed that I would prove a girl could be as good as any boy. And so began a long chapter in my life, focused on just one thing: proving that I was ‘good enough’ – in the classroom, on the sports field, around the boardroom table.

I was 30 years old and a recent mum, living in London and working long hours away from home, when my mother-in-law lost her 15-year battle with cancer at the paltry age of 50.

It stopped me in my tracks and God reminded me that life was a precious and fragile gift that should not be squandered on selfish Revive 5

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‘Lauren has Down’s syndrome and my first sight of her was a shock.

She was ... fighting for life’

pursuits. Within months my husband and I responded to the call to officership. Fifteen years later, there is still a part of me that says, ‘Lord, whatever happened to the life I had planned? Why on earth did you call me? And where did the sun go to?’

Four months into my officership, I gave birth to our second daughter and once again God shouted. Lauren has Down’s syndrome and my first sight of her was a shock. She was on a ventilator, fighting for life, her body swollen and bruised.

Picture perfect she was not! Within seconds, however, I felt such a strong surge of love for her that for the very first time I properly understood the unwavering love that God has for us as his children. This love has absolutely nothing to do with how we look or what we can achieve but has everything to do with whose we are – his! For someone who had spent most of her life trying to prove that she was ‘good enough’, that was a cataclysmic moment. Finally, I was ready to fully embrace the person that God created me to be, rather than the person I had decided many years previously I wanted to be.

So, what has become of the little girl who wanted to prove she was as good as any boy? God dealt with her in his own inimitable way – called her into service where success could never be determined by her own personal efforts but only by his divine grace, and serving under the authority of her husband! God does have a sense of humour, doesn’t he?

Below: Caithlin, Amy and Lauren

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Now is probably a good time to introduce the love of my life, Allister. I met him at The Salvation Army when I first started attending and, 30 years later, he is still the best man I know. He was the first person in my life who had no problem telling me he loved me and then acting as though he did. Even so, I made him wait seven years before I’d marry him – just in case he changed his mind about me! We are very different in terms of temperament and giftings, and have learnt a great deal from each other. I have learnt how to tell a joke (but never as well as he does) and he has learnt, I hope, the power of persistence. We laugh a lot, even when tears are not far away. In the course of the years there have been those who have tried to make our shared leadership of the corps a competition rather than a partnership, congratulating the one on preaching a better sermon than the other or singling out one as a more devoted parent than the other. This has proved deeply unhelpful and might well have driven a wedge between us.

Wisely, we refused to tolerate or encourage such behaviour.

I must admit, though, to feeling ever so slightly aggrieved when the opposite situation arises, when I am treated as nothing more than my husband’s ‘little helper’, the corps officer’s wife, Mrs Captain, good for some things but not good enough for really important matters like finance or questions concerning theology or doctrine. Canadian feminist Charlotte Whitton famously said, ‘Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.’ As I reflect on my working life, I am sad to say that the first part of the quote (I’m going to ignore the latter part!) seems more applicable to the 13 years I have spent as an officer than the 10 I spent as a chartered accountant. In the world of business, I was accepted as an equal right from the first day, even

feature Left: Kathleen and Allister

had been forgotten. God uses whom he chooses, and every life and every person has a place in his heart and a part to play in building his Kingdom.

Bishop Desmond Tutu, former Archbishop of Cape Town, recently said: ‘When you are in a crowd and you stand out from the crowd it’s usually because you are being carried on the shoulders of others.’ His words remind me that I have had the privilege of leadership only because of those who have gone before me, who took the time to notice some tiny seed of potential in me and then invested their time and energy into helping me develop it – a teacher who invited me, aged 11, to ‘We laugh a lot, even help run the weekly Scripture Union though I was the only girl in a group of 20 trainees. Interestingly, it was during those years session at school, the partner in a large when tears are of secular employment that I made a surprising international accountancy firm who took not far away’ discovery. Though trained in exactly the same a risk on me, aged 18, and sponsored my way as my male colleagues, the manner in which university studies, the corps officer who I dealt with assignments, managed staff, handled invited me onto the corps council when I conflict, and developed areas of specialism was very different was still a teenager and very new to The Salvation to the way that they did. Not better or worse, just different.

Army, a mother who worked tirelessly and sacrificially to raise Generalisations are dangerous, I know, but my experience was three daughters all alone and with almost no money. She was the that whilst men and women are created equal, they are different. true hero of my childhood, but I never appreciated that fact until it God made us that way. He wired us differently, and this difference was too late. was meant to be a good thing, not a bad thing, a cause for Currently I have the deep joy of a fruitful, shared ministry with celebration rather than competition between the sexes. my husband because of those who enable this by helping to care The fact that it still niggles when my calling is discounted for my three daughters. Guilt seems to be the constant companion or my ministry minimised reminds me that God has a work of of every working mum, and I am no exception. How do you love grace yet to do in my life. Christian leaders who serve the Lord and serve a whole congregation, as well as your own vulnerable out of a desire for personal recognition or self-glorification are and precious offspring? Only by God’s grace and with the love not worthy of the privilege of spiritual leadership. When Jesus’ and support of the wider, Christian family. I used to treasure disciples asked him who was the greatest in the Kingdom, Jesus independence and the strength to stand on one’s own two feet pointed to one deemed the very least in society, a child, and spoke above all other traits. I have since learnt that God meant for us to of the need for humility. God uses the foolish and weak things of be interdependent, admitting our vulnerabilities and recognising this world to confound the wise and the great. Why? Grace. All our mutual need for each other. that we are and have or hope to be is by God’s grace. My middle As women leading in a man’s world, there are some battles daughter, Lauren, has taught me that. we will never win. I refuse to allow that fact to paralyse me From a human point of view, she will never amount to much, into inactivity. Scripture, and the Army’s history, assures us that will never achieve the things most of us would wish for our women have a unique and necessary part to play in the Kingdom children. And yet she has this Christlike ability to make people – as wives, mothers, daughters and, indeed, at every level of feel welcomed, accepted and loved. She notices the things leadership. God is always at work, even when we can’t see it or many of us choose to ignore – a physical injury, tears, a weary dare to believe it possible. I look for the evidence of this and try expression – and ignores the measures that we often use to judge to join in with what he is doing, influencing those that I can and others such as clothes, language, tattoos. We have met countless lifting up those that he sends me. The world needs you and me, strangers, as Lauren has fearlessly said, ‘My name is Lauren. and we need each other – male and female, young and old, the What’s yours?’ On her tenth birthday, she was enrolled as a junior enlightened and the challenged. Together we will transform our soldier at our corps in Felixstowe. Because I knew she would not world. Not because any of us humans are ‘good enough’ to partner be able to memorise the Junior Soldier’s promise, we taught her to with God in building the Kingdom but by his grace. Always and sing all three verses of ‘Jesus loves me, this I know’. As she did, only by his grace. there was not a single person there who did not feel the nearness Captain Kathleen Versveld of God’s presence. In that moment I was humbled and deeply CORPS OFFICER, PETERBOROUGH CORPS moved by the realisation that Lauren’s solo would be remembered THE UNITED KINGDOM TERRITORY WITH THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND and treasured by that fellowship long after my very finest sermon Revive 7

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by Jolene Hodder

When sleeping women wake!

‘When sleeping women wake, mountains move’ (African Proverb)

T

hroughout Kenya’s history, women’s rights have largely been ignored. While shouldering significant responsibility for the maintenance and development of both the family and the community at large, Kenyan women themselves have largely been marginalised. Today, women in Kenya do the majority of agricultural work and sell most of the food that is grown in the country, yet they earn only a fraction of the income generated. Nearly 40 per cent of all households in Kenya are run solely by women, but due to inadequate income nearly all those homes suffer extreme poverty.

Fewer Kenyan girls than boys are given the opportunity for a good education. By tradition, they are often prevented from owning, acquiring and controlling property, regardless of their social class or ethnicity.

Furthermore, when women attempt to assert property rights they can be ostracised by their families and communities.

And it doesn’t stop there. Reports of ‘wife inheritance’ (widows ‘inherited’ by male relatives of a deceased husband) and ‘ritual cleansing’ (in which a woman must

have sex with a man of low social standing to ‘cleanse’ her of her dead husband’s ‘evil spirits’) are common. The HIV infection rate among young women in Kenya is also exponentially higher than in their male counterparts since their husbands infect the majority. Lacking any independent property rights, these women are essentially left to die when their husband’s family takes their land, home and assets from them.

Feeling devalued and powerless, many Kenyan women have chosen to embrace the view that, in order to gain respect, they must abandon their femininity. Tragically, this causes them to lose sight of who they are in an attempt to be something they are not.

But progress is being made and The Salvation Army plays a vital role by empowering God’s women. The chains of limiting belief patterns and societal or religious conditioning that have kept women suppressed and unable to see their true potential, are slowly being eroded.

Alice Walker, an American author, poet and activist is quoted as saying, ‘The most common way people give up their power is

by thinking they don’t have any.’ Through its programmes, the Army strives to convince women that they do have power, and that this power comes from a faith in the God who lovingly created them. The Army’s programmes for women focus on the holistic expression of womanhood, allowing women to celebrate and use their unique gifts.

In Kenya we have several such programmes, one of which is WORTH, an innovative programme through which women teach themselves to read and write, become skilled in record-keeping, generate personal and group savings, and create successful small businesses. The home league, a fellowship group designed to influence women in the creation and development of Christian standards in home life, is also a proven tool in the campaign for women’s empowerment. The four elements of education, fellowship, service and worship comprise a holistic approach that develops women as confident and successful individuals.

Beyond this, HIV/Aids treatment and counselling, faith-based facilitation

Left: women officers celebrate passing their driving tests

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when women take the time to nourish one another and exchange their gifts, change happens certainly true that when women take the time to nourish one another and exchange their gifts, change happens. When women laugh together, cry together or simply hold one another when there are no more words to say, healing takes place. ‘God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us’ (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 NLT).

But programmes are not enough. Just as God approaches us as individuals with unique needs and strengths, we must develop close relationships with the individual women that God brings into our lives if we truly want to empower them to achieve their full potential. When we do that, we discover that women have the power to:

Strengthen each other with compassion

Compassion is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as a ‘deep awareness of the suffering of another accompanied by the wish to relieve it’. In Luke 6:36 (NLT) Scripture states: ‘You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.’

efforts, anti-trafficking campaigns, and community-based rehabilitation programmes empower women with unique needs. And above all, the equal opportunity to worship and serve Christ through The Salvation Army continues to have an impact on women and the communities in which they live.

However, there is a danger here. We create programmes and invite women to attend, believing that such participation will solve their problems. We then stand back, waiting for transformation. It is

Strengthen each other with prayer

God’s Word tells us in James 5:16 that effective prayer makes tremendous power available to us. When a woman is discouraged, fearful and confused we can stand in the gap for her through prayer. We may not be able to change her circumstances – but our prayers can.

We can sow seeds of prayer that have the power to shape and redirect her future.

Strengthen each other with hope When God is involved, even the most desperate situations can be transformed.

The Bible tells us in Luke 1:37 (NLT) that ‘nothing is impossible with God.’ Hope isn’t denial. Having hope in what the Lord can do isn’t setting her up for more disappointment – it’s demonstrating faith in God’s power.

Strengthen each other with encouragement

‘Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind’ (1 Thessalonians 5:10, 11 The Message). Offering words of encouragement, sending a card or posting an uplifting Bible verse for her to read will minister to another woman and give her the courage to be all she was meant to be.

Strengthen each other with resources

The Lord wants us to invest in others.

‘Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home’ (Luke 16:9 NLT).

‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible’ (Matthew 17:20 NLT).

So wake up, women! Believe in a powerful, loving God. Let us encourage, strengthen and support one another to be all that he created us to be. If we do, miracles will happen, and mountains will move.

Commissioner Jolene Hodder Territorial President of Women’s Ministries Kenya West Territory

Revive 9

leadership

e r i p s in

ire!

persp

r e h t ra an th

B

eing powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are – you aren’t.’ Britain’s first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher spoke these words. The same could be said of leaders. If we have to tell people we are – then we aren’t!

Leadership styles differ as much as leaders do.

My early years of officership were governed by the example of authoritarian and dictatorial leadership. I was aware that this was not my personal leadership style and I occasionally felt uncomfortable when confronted with this approach, which did little to engage and motivate me. I have kept this in mind as a leader. In my experience, The Salvation Army has moved to a far more dialogued and reasoned approach and this suits me far more. I have always found it easier to lead ‘with a carrot rather than beat with a stick’ approach and have proved, ‘The best example of leadership is leadership by example’, Jerry McClain.

Over the years one frustration in personal leadership has been striving to be a servant leader when I have often felt more like a slave. Expectation to do the hall clearing and cleaning, sickness and holiday cover, jumble collecting and taxi driving (to name just a few) have been a real heartache for me. Such tasks need to be done and are in no way beneath me, but are not the best use of my time or gifts. It takes time to demonstrate and delegate and my heart goes out to those in ministry who are struggling with the expectations of others as well as those that are self-imposed. Our leadership by example speaks volumes for good or otherwise when folk witness our response under pressure and stress.

This is where Christian leadership takes a real turn, because our example is not just set against other ‘good leaders’ but against the ‘best leader’. The leadership example of Jesus is clear and plain.

Servant leadership is articulated in word and deed throughout the gospels, and Philippians chapter 2 is an oft-quoted ideal in a less than perfect world. There is a real need – more than ever before – for a personal lifestyle and life focus which beckons rather than commands respect.

I have been inspired most by leaders who have reflected the leadership and personality of Jesus. We are called to be servant leaders in a diverse, challenging and ever-changing world, e both within our churches and, more particularly, to the l p m a x e communities beyond them. This secular quote from Warren est ship is b e Bennis has been an inspiration: h ‘T ader mple’ e l I used to think that running an organisation (church) f o exa y b was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. ship r e But I don’t think that’s quite it; it’s more like jazz. There is more d lea improvisation.

May God gift us with much discernment and learning in this regard. Our responsibility is to lead not to load, to cajole rather than control and to inspire rather than perspire!

Columnist for 2013 Major Val Mylechreest Adult and Family Ministries Officer Evangelism Department, United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland

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bible study

The Unexpected Leader

by Christine Faragher

W

e often think of leadership in terms of roles, responsibilities, gender and age.

Leadership comes from suitably mature people (often men) who have been given positions of authority or responsibility. But life experience and the Scripture itself tell us that those outside these norms often demonstrate leadership too.

For instance, Jesus put a child in the centre of a group of adults and told them, ‘…unless you change and become like little children, your will never enter the

kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 18:3). The children, by their very nature, were leading by example.

In the Old Testament (1 Samuel 17) we see the boy David turning up at Saul’s military camp with cheese and bread for his brothers. He gets into conversation with some of the soldiers about the giant Goliath. His brother is angered by his behaviour and questions what he thinks he is doing there. In his opinion he should go home and leave the real work of battle to the big men. But David persists in his enquiries and with great boldness offers to fight the giant for the sake of Israel. Saul

tells him, ‘You’re just a boy, and he has been a soldier all his life!’ (1 Samuel 17:33 GNB). David, however, young as he was – the unexpected leader – prevails.

The story of the woman who anoints Jesus seems to be another of those about leadership that comes from unexpected quarters, this time, from a woman who took the lead, was criticised by those around her, but was affirmed by Jesus.

What does this story have to say to us, who may not think of ourselves as ‘leaders’, about leadership?

The story is told in all four Gospels – Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, Luke Revive 11

bible study she grasps the significance of the moment, just a short time before Jesus is to be captured, imprisoned and crucified

7:36-50 and John 12:1-8. In each of these accounts there are differing details.

It is helpful, in particular, to compare the accounts in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).

Matthew and Mark set the story in Bethany at the house of Simon the Leper, while Luke simply tells us it was at a Pharisee’s house, but sets the story six days before the Passover. Matthew and Mark tell us that the main character in the story was ‘a woman’ while Luke describes her as ‘a woman in the city, who was a sinner’ (7:37 NKJV).

This is a significant detail for Luke’s story goes on to describe this woman as wetting Jesus’ feet with her tears, while Matthew and Mark describe her as pouring the ointment on Jesus’ head as he sat at the table.

Margaret Guenther, a well-known writer in the area of prayer and spiritual direction, notes the significance of this in her book, Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction. She writes: ‘I have conducted a number of retreats on ‘The Women around Jesus’. In one of the first gatherings, I ask the retreatants (usually women) to retell from memory the story of the woman who anointed Jesus.

Unfailingly, the group effort reproduces Luke’s version: ‘a woman of the city, who was a sinner…stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair.

Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment’ (Luke 7:37, 38). Then I remind them of Mark’s telling of the story: ‘A woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head’ (Mark 14:3-9). We sit for a moment with the 12 Revive

picture of these two women, our sisters: the (presumably sexual) sinner crouched weeping on the floor and the unnamed woman standing tall, a prophet anointing a king.’

As women, it seems, we are more likely to identify with the sinful woman at Jesus’ feet than with the graced prophetic-leader.

And yet, by either telling of the story this woman is a most bold and perceptive leader.

While the chief priests and teachers of the law (the male religious authorities of the day) are looking for a way to arrest Jesus, this woman is looking for a way to honour him. The religious leaders are not yet ready to act, fearing the response of the crowd, but this woman is decisive in taking the action she has decided upon.

She enters a room in someone else’s home and deliberately (you wouldn’t just happen to have a jar of very expensive perfume with you) breaks the jar and anoints Jesus. In so doing, she recognises Jesus as King. And then in Jesus’ presence some of those standing around rebuke her harshly!

They accuse her of waste, and justify their criticism on the basis that the money could have been better spent. ‘It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor,’ they say in Mark 14:4. Jesus’ response is clear, ‘Leave her alone…she has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me’ (6, 7).

The woman’s choice to act in this way is the result of her seeing what others did not see; surely, by definition, one of the marks of a prophetic-leader. Of all those present, she grasps the significance of the

bible study

moment, just a short time before Jesus is to be captured, imprisoned and crucified. She alone seems to understand what will soon take place. As Jesus says, ‘She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial’ (Mark 14:8).

She sees what is needed, generously gives of her own resources, takes definitive action and lives with the consequences.

She is a leader – she stands out from the crowd. There is no compulsion here, no expectation and no precedent. She simply leads.

Has anything really changed? As women today, we know what it is like to be bombarded by a continuous stream of messages about how we are ‘meant’ to look, act or behave within our own cultures. But here is a woman, who goes outside the cultural norms and does what she believes to be right, true, holy and good. She acts, when others merely talk or watch. She is direct, purposeful, sincere and generous. She sees what needs to be done.

Is there something you can see that others don’t yet see? Is there something you can do that nobody is yet doing? Is there something you want to do for Jesus that will require boldness and may result in criticism? In what way is God calling you to show leadership in your home, family, culture and society?

For Group Discussion or Personal Reflection: 1. The gospel writers portray the woman who anoints Jesus in quite different ways, but in all accounts she is shown as behaving boldly. Have you ever done something that was bold (for you) in following Jesus? What did you

do? What happened? How did it feel?

Would you do the same thing again in the same circumstances or do something different? Why or why not?

2. The woman who anoints Jesus becomes the focal point of some criticism (spoken and unspoken). Have you ever been criticised for something you did which you felt was right?

What did you do? What happened?

How did it feel? What learning for future living did you take from that experience?

3. Many women do not see themselves as leaders, perhaps because they do not see models of women leading around them.

What negative messages about your own leadership, or about the leadership of women generally, have you believed?

Can you share with the group one area in which you might like to rethink what you believe about yourself and your capacity for leadership?

4. Jesus affirms this woman for her choice.

Have you ever experienced Jesus’ affirmation of you in the choices you have made? Can you imagine Jesus saying of you, ‘what she has done will be told in memory of her’? Can you share with the group one positive legacy you are leaving behind that others will remember?

Major Christine Faragher Territorial Spiritual Life Development Secretary – Discipleship Australia Southern Territory

Revive 13

my story

by Francesca Longo

I

t’s Sunday : the second meeting after my commissioning and installation as a Salvation Army officer and commanding officer of Corpo di Castelvetrano. I’m sitting on the platform and am able to observe the entire hall. The hall is packed and ther e is not an empty chair in sight. I look at the people sitting in the congregation and I am already starting to recognise them .

I love Sundays because it is the day whe n

14 Revive

believers can come together to worship , praise and celebrate the goodness of God. The words of the song ‘Blessed assuranc e Jesus is mine oh what a foretaste of Glory divine’ (SASB 310) bring us to the moment of testimony. I watch and carefully listen to those who stand up to share some helpful experience they had during the week. As they do this Above: Francesca on her commission

ing day

my story ‘The direct result of our love for God is that we love those whom he loves’

I try to work out if any of them are experiencing difficulties or if they just need to share what is happening in their lives.

I glance down at my hands folded in my lap and then, almost a whisper as a thought comes to me and the realisation slowly dawns on me – my people – these are my people.

Immediately, my heart skips a beat and I feel this sense of love, belonging, sharing, completely enveloping me – overwhelming me. I too have something to say today, I want to share something this Sunday. I stand up, and just as I am ending the moments of testimony with the last verse and chorus of the song, I say: ‘During the past two months in the training college, the constant thought of what would happen after commissioning has made me a little anxious. It is not always easy to completely surrender to the will of God. Especially when you want to control everything. But today I can

say with absolute certainty that you are my first choice, not one of many possibilities or options, but the only one because you are God’s choice for me.’

Here begins my journey into spiritual leadership – I discover that I love these people whom God has entrusted to me. It is only when we realise that those people are our people, only when they become the object of our interest, care and love, that we begin to be spiritual leaders.

happen to us? We focus on what kind of leader we should be, on our feelings concerning leadership, and we lose sight of the question the Lord is asking: ‘Do you love me?’

Love the Lord. Love your people.

And this love will attract others to the corps (church) and then bring them into a knowledge of God.

1. To feed his sheep.

2. To love the people he entrusts into our care.

3. To be the channel of God’s love.

Jesus asks Peter three times: ‘Do you love me?’ Peter feels offended and slighted by Jesus’ question, and his response is centred only on himself and on the feelings that this question provokes. How often does the same

Harvey Firestone, American businessman and founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, said that the growth and development

Despite the fact that Jesus asks Peter three times, ‘Do you love me?’, the question is not intended to be probing the depth of Peter’s feelings for the Lord. The question is just the introduction to the kind of leadership that the Lord requires of us:

Below: Choi+Shine electrial pylons

Revive 15

my story

‘The real fruit of inspired leadership is the growth and development of the saints’ of people are the most noble vocation of leadership. The direct result of our love for God is that we love those whom he loves. And we have a responsibility for the people that he puts into our hands to be guided, directed and helped to reach their potential for growth and development.

A few years ago an American firm of architects called Choi+Shine submitted a design for the Icelandic High-Voltage Electrical Pylon International Design competition, which proposed a modern reinterpretation by using giant humanshaped pylons to carry electricity cables across the country’s landscape – these surreal giants of steel, glass and concrete, the modern moai walking in the fjords of Iceland. Each of these giants would be linked to the other through the electrical cables to channel and convey electricity.

Choi+Shine said: ‘It is envisioned that these 150 foot tall, modern caryatids will take on a quiet authority, belonging to their landscape yet serving people, silently transporting electricity across all terrain, day and night, sunshine or snow.’

In the same way the love of God binds 16 Revive

us to him, and when there is a sincere and ready willingness to offer ourselves totally, it makes us interdependent on each other. The vertical expression of the love of God in our life must find its horizontal dimension, transforming us into the channels of this love.

God has entrusted his people to us and we feel they belong to us when we take care of them pastorally, as share in their spiritual experiences that transform our and their lives, we must not fall into the trap of thinking of them as if they are our property.

Jesus says to Peter: ‘Feed my sheep.’ I think the key to true spiritual leadership lies in the word my. Stay aware that we are leaders only for a given time, we are called to lead, support God’s people for a time that God establishes and I believe it is necessary, at times, to take a step back, widening our perspective, and realising that we are part of a much bigger plan.

We are part of the plan – not the creator.

We have a responsibility to bring people to salvation, to let them grow without being dependent on us but dependent on God, and together with them we are responsible to attract others to the knowledge of the only true Saviour. The real fruit of inspired leadership is the growth and development of the saints.

It’s Sunday: the second meeting after my commissioning and installation as a Salvation Army officer and commanding officer of Corpo di Castelvetrano. I’m sitting on the platform and am able to observe the entire hall. The hall is packed and there is not an empty chair in sight.

I look at the people sitting down. My people. You are my first choice, not one of many possibilities, not one of many options, but the only one – for you are God’s choice for me.

Lieutenant Francesca Longo Corps Officer Corpo di Castelvetrano Italy and Greece Command

spiritual life

Colonel Prerma Varughese Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries Zimbabwe Territory

Columnist for 2013

T

he Bible gives us numerous examples of women leaders whom God called for his mission. Some were called directly, others indirectly to lead God’s people, even in difficult times.

Esther was one such woman. She was called to save her nation from genocide. She was young and was called in grave circumstances, and despite great personal threat, risking execution, she led by example and provided an excellent role model for us to follow. What can we learn from her leadership?

Women leaders must be prayer warriors

In Esther chapter 4 we read that when she heard the news of the impending genocide of her people, and was asked to save them, it was an extremely difficult decision for her to become involved in the situation. But in the face of this onerous task she wisely called her people to prayer. When we face challenges we too need to seek God’s face in prayer. Esther not only asked people to pray but also prayed with them. As leaders, prayer should be our first port of call – not a last resort – and we need to encourage our people to be prayer warriors. Prayer can change everything and open the door to Heaven. Prayer transforms our impossibilities into possibilities. We therefore need to become prayer warriors and persevere in prayer!

Women leaders should not be fearful

Fear is the strongest weapon that Satan uses against leaders. Time and again the Bible encourages leaders not to fear but rather to be strong and courageous. God told Joshua: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’ (Joshua 1:9 NLT). He instructed his disciples: ‘Don’t be afraid’ (Matthew 14:27 NLT) and to all his chosen ones he says, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you’ (Isaiah 43:1). If we are afraid or fearful we give Satan the opportunity to triumph over us.

God calls us and will not fail us. From personal experience Paul wrote, ‘We are more than conquerors through him who loved us’ (Romans 8:37). We need to be courageous!

Women leaders should be team players

In Esther 4:16 we read that in this perilous situation Esther, her attendants and the people decided to fast. It shows that she both accepted and respected other people’s contributions. The key to

Women Leaders for Such a Time as This ‘each of us has the ability to lift others up and can help to strengthen their faith’ the success of every mission is teamwork. It is vital for leaders to understand the needs of the people we minister to, and to be ready and available to help them – regardless of how difficult it is. Leaders should not neglect or abdicate their responsibilities.

Esther’s position was precarious, but she was determined to face it. Leadership is certainly not easy – in fact it is quite the opposite.

But we need to face it resolutely. Our disappointments are God’s opportunities. God will add more strength and grace to our lives enabling us to move forward with his mission. In the end we will see the wonderful things he has done for us!

Those who recognise and realise their call and commitment will successfully lead in their mission.

Revive 17

THE

prayer

HOUSE

‘They all joined together constantly in prayer’ (Acts 1:14)

by Pat Brown

Godward our spirits aspire

S

ometimes I just can’t help it – I stop to pray and stop to speak to God about whatever it is that’s on my heart, and before I know it, my eyes have started to fillup and I know it’s going to happen again.

Trouble is, once it starts there’s no stopping it. So silently and relentlessly the tears begin to build and all too soon they’ve spilled out of my eyes and are running down my face.

How very often this is the manner of my praying – with tear-filled eyes and a wet face!

There have been times when I have wished this was not so. In more than 30 years of public ministry there have been many occasions when I have struggled to keep some measure of composure as I’ve prayed with and for other people and times when I have felt overwhelmed at the responsibility of praying in corporate worship or have felt in awe of the privilege of quietly sharing with others in this most sacred duty. At such times I have not felt at liberty to weep – for surely shared praying requires some degree of decorum on the part of the pray-er!

But in the private times, in the stillness of my own praying, the sense of awe, privilege, wonder and love at being in the presence of a holy God overwhelms me

and, often as not, words simply fail me. It’s then I rely on my ‘liquid prayers’ to carry me into the presence of God and maintain that essential communion with him.

You see, when I pray, I approach a Father who ‘has heard the voice of my weeping’ (Psalm 6:8 NKJV). There’s really no need for words. No translation is necessary. God hears. God understands.

With David I can confidently affirm that ‘the Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer’ (Psalm 6:9).

On the simple mercy seat in the small chapel here at International Headquarters are inscribed the words of the promise given by the Lord to his people in exile: ‘you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:13).

I’m not sure whether I have always ‘found’ what it is I’m searching for in my prayer time (sometimes I’m not even sure I have known what it is I’m trying to find!).

There are even occasions when I identify with the theologian Leslie D. Weatherhead who once confessed, ‘so often [prayer] seems like a fruitless ‘it’s in the very act of game of hide-and-seek in which seeking that the greatest we seek and God hides.’ Yet there satisfaction is to be found’ is something within me that draws 18 Revive

me back again and again to pray. General Albert Orsborn helps me understand what the life of prayer is all about when he writes: Life is a seeking, life is a quest, Eager and longing desire; Unto the true things, unto the best, Godward our spirits aspire.

(SASB 351 v 2) In my praying, I regard myself as a perennial seeker. I haven’t yet ‘found’ all the answers. For me, it’s in the very act of seeking that the greatest satisfaction is to be found. If finding means the end of seeking, it might be better to go on seeking.

Whether seeking or finding, I know I cannot give up on praying. The time I spend with God is precious as I allow his Spirit to change me and mould me into the person he created me to be.

Major Pat Brown International Headquarters Chaplain

social issues

by Levi Giversen

JOURNEY TO freedom

by Levi Giversen

Desperate, no qualifications, no self-esteem and a mountain of debt, Tanya Teicob sought the help of The Salvation Army.

Now, three years on, she helps others who find themselves in a similar situation.

T

hree years ago, Tanya Teicob applied for a Christmas food parcel through The Salvation Army in Denmark for the last time. During the past three years she has become debt-free and is now helping others who have found themselves trapped in debt.

‘I still remember when the first part of my debt was paid off. I danced and jumped for joy, I was so happy,’ says a smiling Tanya Teicob, as she puts her coffee cup on the table in the Salvation Army hall in

Helsingør, Denmark. In the street outside, the hustle and bustle of town life continues as people, seemingly oblivious of The Salvation Army, rush by.

The 40-year-old single mother tells her story. She used to belong to this group of people herself. Without knowing what awaited her that day; she stopped at the door of The Salvation Army to ask for help. She had done well in school and all she needed was a job so she could

Revive 19

social issues

‘The debt and constant failures I experienced in my life resulted in me losing the will to live’

complete her education as a multimedia designer.

In spite of several attempts the job never materialised, resulting in growing debt and eroded confidence in her abilities.

‘I always got good grades at school. I worked hard and really wanted to achieve good marks and do something with my life. But no matter what I did, I just could not get a job.’ But in the midst of her misery and increasing worry, as well as the onset of depression, which robbed her of the joy of life – she came to a sudden realisation.

‘The debt and constant failures I experienced in my life resulted in me losing the will to live. I suddenly remembered going to The Salvation Army to get a food parcel. I recall the corps leader, Magdalena Pedersen, with her kindly face and friendly blue eyes.

‘So I decided to go and ask if I could talk to her. The conversation ended with an introduction to the corps family consultant, Astrid Hjøllum Christensen, who had just started running a family group.’

20 Revive

The two women began to answer Tanya’s searching questions, becoming mentors and trusty companions on her life journey. They gave her much-needed practical assistance, but so much more than material things – they gave her hope!

Tanya continues her story: ‘The corps officer asked me to volunteer, and though I didn’t think I could give much, I felt appreciated and knew that I had something to offer. That meant a great deal to me.

When you feel appreciated, you feel valued as a person.

‘Astrid was like a gift in my life. She

helped me to believe in myself, in life and in the future. And with the passage of time, to believe in God. ‘The officer saw the best in people – she believed in what was good and believed in me. Despite all my emotional baggage, she saw light at the end of the tunnel. It was so contagious. I just wanted what she had – and in the end I could also see the light!’

At first, Tanya was attracted to The Salvation Army because of how it viewed and treated people through its social work programmes, but later her faith in God began to grow. Tanya began attending

social issues

‘It has been such a positive experience to realise that what was my weakness can be used as a strength to help others’

that could be used to help other women,’ she says.

Tanya helps the corps officers to run a programme at the corps that is aimed at helping women who find themselves in financial trouble to become debt-free.

‘It has been such a positive experience to realise that what was my weakness can be used as a strength to help others. I know exactly what worked for me and I understand what these women are going through, so I can put myself into their situation knowing that it is more than just budgets and financial grants that they need. They want to have self-worth – to know they are valued. So for me it is about helping them to know that we believe in them, so that maybe one day, like me, they too can find faith in God.’

s t c a F

Tanya Teicob – 40-years-old from Humlebæk, Denmark Mother of a daughter (14) and a son (8) Magdalena Pedersen – Corps officer in Helsingør

a Bible study group which explored the theme ‘You and God – A Match’.

‘It became more and more exciting and I was inspired to dig deeper into what was being discussed. I had opportunity to ask all kinds of questions about the Bible and faith, and the answers I received were relevant to my life and really helped me,’ says Tanya. She admits that when she began to attend the study group she was totally opposed to Christianity. Tanya declared her philosophy on religion in the phrase: ‘I believe in total freedom of religion – so free me from religion!’

Today, as she reflects on that phrase she shakes her head and tells me how the Bible study series concluded: ‘The year and a half of Bible study became my key to faith. I began to realise that I did not only come to The Salvation Army because of social work and its positive belief in people, but I also came because I belonged to the Christian fellowship.’ Since then Tanya has become a soldier and, after considerable hard work, became debt-free.

‘When this happened I realised I had gained a new competency, a new strength

Astrid Hjøllum Christensen – The family consultant in Helsingør untill 2011. Currently Astrid and her husband are candidates for officership, running The Salvation Army outpost in Sønderborg

Major Levi Giversen EDITOR OF THE WAR CRY DENMARK TERRITORY

Revive 21

NEW YEAR message

2014

OFFICE OF THE WORLD PRESIDENT OF WOMEN’S MINISTRIES

WOMEN’S MINISTRIES 2014

‘You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience’ Colossians 3:12 (GNB )

Dear Sisters in Christ As we move into 2014, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year and pray God’s blessing on the days that lie ahead.

Whilst we do not know all that the year ahead will hold may we, in the words of Corrie ten Boom, ‘Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God’. Through the indwelling of God’s Spirit we are gifted with all the grace and strength we require for 2014!

‘You are Loved’ is the theme for Women’s Ministries this year and was inspired by Colossians 3:12: ‘You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.’ I was given further confirmation of the theme as I listened to the beautiful words, penned by Yvonne Field, and sung by the songsters at the corps: You are loved, child of God, don’t you know you are loved?

Will you believe in him, and take him at his word?

This message of hope is for everyone. Whatever your circumstances accept his immeasurable love, share it with others and demonstrate it in your life. There is only one certainty for 2014 – God loves you!

It is my prayer that women around the world will discover the unconditional love of God. With my warmest greetings

Silvia Cox Commissioner World President of Women’s Ministries

22 Revive

150th Anniversary | 1-5 July 2015 | London, UK Be a part of history...

Join an anticipated attendance of 16,000 + delegates Live-streamed across the world Website: www.boundless2015.org Registration begins January 2014 Featuring International Staff Band and Songsters Worship and Arts Groups from around the world

Preach to the nations the boundless riches of Christ

‘We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.’

‘A leader takes people where they want to go.

A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.’

(Ephesians 3:8)

‘To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.’

Eleanor Roosevelt

Rosalynn Carter

Whoopi Goldberg

‘Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.’ Margaret Thatcher

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‘Some leaders are born women.’

Geraldine Ferraro

coming events

The Salvation Army International Congress 2015

WOMEN’S MINISTRIES 2014

‘You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own.

So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience’ Colossians 3:12 (GNB )