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Five Questions
(excerpt from the forthcoming: MIGHTY
WARRIORS: Officership as vocational extremism)
by Lieut.-Colonel Miriam
Gluyas
1. What is the
best thing about being a Salvation Army officer?
I feel like I
was born to be a Salvation Army officer. I love the fact that
I get to be in relationship with Jesus, that I get to spend
time with Him every day, and that I get to partner up with Him
in seeing His Kingdom come and His will be done. There’s
nothing better than that.
For me, the
best things about being a Salvation Army officer are:
a. Seeing God
at work; and,
b. People
When I was
stationed at Auburn Corps, a lady came to welfare. The person
ministering to her that day recognised that she needed more
than a food parcel. Because of the difficulties in her life,
and the life of her daughter who lived with her, the
Department of Community Services was about to move in and take
the children from her and her daughter.
The welfare
worker asked a group of our young adults, who were keen about
doing “acts of kindness”, to help this family. That group of
passionate young Christians went around to the house; cleaned
up, painted, mowed the lawns, and did everything they could to
sort that place. At the end of the day that lady said, "If
that's what your Jesus is like, I want to get to know him."
The issue of the children needed to be dealt with and we
needed a solicitor to help out. One of the young adults asked
a favour of a friend who was a pretty cluey solicitor. Luke
turned up and represented the family. We asked him to come
along to church and celebrated him … and asked him to help us
with another case. Luke and the lady kept on coming. Both
became passionate about Jesus. Luke then felt that God was
telling him to start up what is now known as "Courtyard
Legal". Every Monday night he would come to
Auburn
and serve those in the community who couldn't afford legal
help, but who desperately needed it. He brought with him many
solicitors and lawyers, who did pro bono work. In five years,
over a thousand people have been served. The success rate, in
cases which now total 325, is 97%. Refugee families have been
reunited, people's lives have been transformed, the voiceless
have had a voice.
Last year, Luke
felt a definite calling to do this full-time. He left a
partnership in a firm to work full-time for the Salvos. God
has given him so many dreams, and I believe that they will
become realities. There is a strong calling on his life. He
lives to serve those who need help and need Jesus.
One of the
delights of officership is seeing people rise up and shine,
seeing people's lives transformed by Jesus, and seeing them
partner up with Him to see this world changed. To have any
part in that is an incredible privilege.
What if we
hadn’t trained up our people for mission? What if the lady
doing welfare that day hadn’t recognised a deeper need? What
if young people weren’t passionate about “acts of kindness”
and sharing Jesus?
What if we
hadn’t invited a young solicitor to help us, celebrated him
and invited him back?
What if lives
were not transformed by Jesus? No “what ifs” in this story.
God did an amazing work, in and through His people. And … that
continues on. What a privilege.
2. What keeps
you in officership when things are tough?
There is no
doubt that things get tough in officership. I would say that
my best and worst times have been had while I’ve been an
officer. We’re in a battle. The devil hates it when God’s at
work. I expect the battle. But, I know who has already won the
victory! That makes a difference.
I would say
that there are three key things that keep me in officership
when things get tough:
1.
calling
2.
there's nothing that I would rather do
3.
believing that we are in urgent and exciting days. I
wasn't someone who struggled with a call to officership. God
called me, and I knew that that was what I was to do with my
life. I had plans to be a sports teacher and professional
golfer. God had plans for me to be a Salvation Army officer,
and I have no regrets at all. There have been many difficult
times in officership, but very few times when I have seriously
considered giving up. Once or twice, when I've been frustrated
and annoyed, it's probably crossed my mind: "God, are you sure
you don't want me to serve in another ministry?" and the
answer has come immediately, "No, you will stay, and you will
change things". Nice! I’m called. I’m called to The Salvation
Army … and that calling keeps me. Also, there is nothing that
I would rather do. No one has to tell me to get up every day
and go to work. I know how God has wired me, and what He has
wired me for.
I am passionate
about ...
Ÿ
Him
Ÿ
seeing His Kingdom grow
Ÿ
seeing The Salvation Army grow
Ÿ
seeing leaders develop
Ÿ
justice
Ÿ
the next generation
Ÿ
multi-cultural ministry.
That never
changes. The list grows. The passion also grows. I have
annoying days and frustrating days, but the call of God is
very real, and I'm passionate about Him and his Kingdom. Also,
I believe absolutely that we are in urgent and exciting days.
Australia
needs Jesus. The world needs Jesus. I walk the streets of
Sydney
most days and think, “How can we see all Australians enjoy
this magnificent relationship with Jesus? How do we become
part of people’s lives? How do we touch lives for Him?” I’m
not content with the way things are, and that’s a good thing.
We’re also in exciting days. God is changing lives, He is
touching lives. He still has a place for His Salvation Army.
So … who would
want to miss out on that?
3. What is the
greatest move of God you have experienced in an appointment?
There are two
great moves of God that I have experienced in my life, and
they came, I believe, because of a very defining day in my
life. I had just moved into my new appointment at Eastlakes, a
church plant in
Newcastle.
Very clearly God said to me, "So are you going to do it your
way or my way this time?" Pretty rude, I thought! But I knew
what God was saying. I had done things very much in my own
strength before this. It was now a new day.
I would start
each day saying, "God, I can't but you can." At Eastlakes:
Ÿ
We saw God grow a Corps from nothing, to a thriving
healthy Corps
Ÿ
We saw miracles
Ÿ
We saw people saved most weeks
Ÿ
We didn't have money for a men's pastor, and needed
around $17,000 to make that happen. Someone came to see me one
day to give me some money. He didn't know we were praying for
this, but guess how much he gave us? $17,000. That’s just one
of many stories like that.
Ÿ
God provided leaders for us
Ÿ
We fasted and prayed and saw so many answers to prayer
Ÿ
People got saved and couldn’t wait to tell their
friends and family about Jesus. Our church grew through
friendship evangelism
God then sent
me from a new plant to a Corps that was 110 years old. Before
I went there, he gave me a vision of what might be, and the
unfolding of that vision continues today, and will for years
and years to come.
Auburn
was a lovely Corps, a Corps with every generation, a Corps
with incredibly kind and good people, a very Anglo Corps,
sitting in the middle of one of the most multi-cultural areas
of
Sydney.
Central to that area is a huge mosque.
We started to
see things with the eyes of Jesus. We workshopped who we were,
what we wanted to be, what God was saying, how we would get
there.
We prayed and
believed, and partnered up with God where He was at work.
Ÿ
We ran English conversation classes
Ÿ
We held Kids club in the local park, played soccer,
served halal sausages, and shared Jesus
Ÿ
We had a drop-in centre for the community
Ÿ
Our people would do homework groups with refugee
children
Ÿ
People would advocate for those who were treated
unfairly
Ÿ
We welcomed refugees at the airport, gave them food
parcels, taught them the basics of life in
Australia
Ÿ
Courtyard Legal started. We saw the voiceless gain a
voice, we saw refugee families reunited, we saw people in
trouble with the law served beautifully
Ÿ
We learned to love our church and love our community.
Ÿ
We saw God transforming us, transforming our community
and transforming our entire church.
God brought the
nations to us. Each time another person would come, we would
put their national flag up in the hall. Today there are people
from 26 nations around the world, and 26 flags. People were
saved most weeks. The community was served. There was favour
in many, many ways.
We simply
partnered up with God, prayed, tried to see where He was at
work, tried to see our community through His eyes, and people
who are good, kind, and love Jesus have seen a community
transformed.
4. What’s the
best innovation you’ve helped to create or extend?
God is
incredibly creative. He’s always at work. We really do need to
seek Him and see what it is that He wants to do. You see,
Auburn
and Eastlakes were totally different places. Eastlakes is near
Newcastle,
north of
Sydney.
At the time that I was there, it was about 96% Anglo-Saxon.
Auburn
was in the middle of a very multi-cultural community. But what
I love is that God had, and still has, his plan for both of
those places. Both grew incredibly. In both places we saw so
many salvations, so many lives transformed, so many people
loved and served, the community impacted by Jesus. And it
continues on. Very different plans for the two places, but He
is key, and transformation is key. So, I constantly ask Him,
“What’s next?” I love that part of officership. I love that
part of life. I’ve never felt like the Army has stopped me
from doing anything. Some people may have been nervous at
times, but I always want to be careful that anything new is
very much of Him.
5. What’s the
best means of influence and how have you used it?
Leadership is
certainly about influence. It’s certainly about having
followers. It’s certainly about investing in the lives of
people. A lot of my time is spent one-on-one with people. I
believe very strongly in raising leaders, and coaching and
mentoring. God has put something in me to be a “potential
see-er”. He shows me people that He wants to use, and asks me
to see the best in them, see what they could become, and help
them to get there. It’s really a matter of “raise them up and
let them shine”. I have around a dozen people that I catch up
with on a monthly basis, for an hour a month, and I work with
them in the areas of mentoring and coaching.
Having sought
God, I speak into people the best that I see for them. If God
talks to me about their future, I’ll talk to them about that,
always being careful that they have others praying and
confirming things for them.
I also believe
that we work best in the body of Christ when we work as teams,
and that we put the best people around us, and let them shine.
There is no place for being “threatened” by others. When I
went to
Auburn,
I also had another role in the Territory, so I needed a young
couple. I knew that Nesan and Cheryl Kistan had gifts that I
would never have, and gifts that would be valuable for the
Kingdom. (They are still at
Auburn
and I’m rapt about that.) We gathered a team around us, who
had all kinds of different personalities and giftings that we
needed in that place. We sowed into them, gave them the
resources that they needed, and let them shine. Now that’s a
great delight.
I also believe
strongly in the power of vision. People will sign up to a big
vision. They want to be part of something that is bigger than
them. They also need the chance to dream, to express that
dream and have it taken seriously. If a vision is of God then
it’s bigger than us. It must be of Him. We need Him to see it
become a reality. I believe that God draws the right people to
us, but we need to be able to be trusted with them. Raise them
up and let them shine. These are exciting days! We have a
magnificent God. We have some wonderful people. Believing that
His Kingdom will come and that His will will be done!
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