Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Clap if you really mean it

I believe this is my 100th post. It has taken me longer than Geoff Boycott to get from 90 to 100, but here I am.

The next U.S. general election is to be held later this year, on Melbourne Cup Day actually. So, get ready for the tv news to be filled with all of the hootin' and hollerin' of the presidential rallies. Plus, there will the usual inordinate number of standing ovations, most of them fake.

Speaking of hootin' and hollerin', I go back to the UK congress that I wrote about in my last blog. (Unfortunately, the video is no longer online so I can't verify what my memory is somewhat vague about. Nevertheless, if my recollection isn't quite correct I don't think it changes the premise of my comment). The General gave a stirring sermon in the afternoon. It drew quite a few rounds of applause (no standing ovations thank goodness). What interested me was which comments drew applause and which didn't.

As I mentioned previously, the General's comment about CEO's earning bonuses drew strong applause. If my memory serves me correctly, so did her comments about getting back to saving souls. But the comments that didn't receive applause were related to the Salvation Army youth of today needing to engage with non Christian youth to change the culture. The other comment was relating to prevalence of domestic violence and the need to do something about it.

I don't for a minute believe that those present saw the latter two issues as less worthy than the first two so why the applause for some comments and not others? For what it's worth this is my take on it. It doesn't cost us anything to demand that CEO's stop getting a bonus. I can cheer and nobody is likely to point the finger at me to do something about it. That's the job of our politicians.

Saving souls is a little bit different. It is a central point of belief within the Army. Many people feel that we are losing our point of difference and distinctiveness and that we need to get back to being who we really are. Fair enough. But, if I could be a tad controversial, I would say that the Army long ago fell into the belief that it was the job of the band to do open air meetings and if that was happening then evangelism was happening. Or, more to the point, if the band wasn't doing open air meetings then the Army wasn't engaged in evangelism.

I wonder how many of those cheering are actually actively engaged in activities outside of the church where they are building relationships, sharing life with these people, being there in the bad times. In short, being Christ to those that don't yet know him. Or, were they thinking "yes, it's about time our band did open air meetings again". In other words, like the CEO bonuses, it's somebody else's job to fix it, not mine.

The last two points that failed to draw applause require us, individually , to actually do something. Not the politicians, or the corps officers, or social workers. It is about making a personal sacrifice to get involved. And we instantly become less enthusiastic about it then. We might agree with the need but also recognise that we can't clap unless we are prepared to actually do something about it.

It reminds me of the story of the rich young man in the Bible. I suspect that he was very enthusiastic about much of the law because he was very diligent in trying to keep it. But when Jesus suggested that he sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor it became very personal. Even though he probably knew deep down that this was what his faith was all about, his passion ebbed away very quickly when it all became about personal cost.

It's easy to clap when it doesn't require us to personally get involved.

This isn't about sticking the boots into the UK Salvationists. It's about me seeing myself in the responses to the General's sermon.

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