‘Blood and Fire’ and Laurie

Sam Uffindell MP for Tauranga

He’s spent his 78 years saving souls –whether pulling people from house fires on the busiest fire truck in the country, or rescuing them from the flames of hell –alcohol and drug addiction.

“Booze and drugs – the damage that stuff causes…!” He tut-tuts in disgust. At the substance abuse, not the people. Because he believes there’s hope for everyone.

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Laurence Stanley Bell, or ‘Laurie’ – professional firefighter cum Salvation Army officer. Life for him has been swapping one uniform for another. And either way, he’s been a life saver.

“When I get up in the morning and pull on a uniform, I am enthusiastic, I am fanatical; I have been called by God.” That’s Laurie the Sallie, and a bit of the fireman.

And that’s where there might be an employment issue of sorts. Because God, his maker, his boss, seems to have decided Laurie’s employment with Salvation Army is done, this senior soldier is due for an honorable military discharge.

That was the catalyst for this story – eight decades of selfless service and a laying down of arms, but the soldier’s not so sure.

“The Army would love to see me just sitting in the pews every Sunday morning. Fair enough. But I have more of God’s work to do.” The soldier isn’t ready to quit.

So when he de-mobs, he’s ‘deserting’ – his word – off to join the Wesleyans, the Methodists, at St Stephens in Brookfield. Not as silly as it sounds. “Because William Booth, was a Methodist preacher before he established the Salvation Army in 1883,” explains Laurie. Booth apparently wanted to make the church more accessible to the poor and the excluded. Laurie Bell’s just doing it the other way round.

Hands-on stuff

“The Methodists have a good lay preacher system,” says Laurie. “Hands-on stuff.” Stuff that still fuels his fire – evangelism, missions, teaching, preaching, fundraising. And after all, he knows the drill – as a lieutenant in the Army, he ran churches for 10 years. Only one person warned him off the move. His wife Susan. “Hair-brained she reckoned – but I’ve had lots of hair-brained ideas.”

A good mate, another Sallie, said to him: ‘God bless you in your new ministry Laurie’. “I appreciated that.” I always liked the Sallies. As a kid they’d arrive on the back of a truck at Christmas and belt out a few rousing tunes – tambourines, trumpets, the works. They’d bring a live concert to our house.