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They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love
By Commissioner John Nelson
I was born into a Salvation Army family. My parents were
officers. My grandparents on one side of the family were
officers and on the other, life-long Salvationists. Nearly all
my extended family are Salvationists, several of them
officers. The Salvation Army culture was just about the
only thing I knew growing up. The Salvationists around me,
including my family were so positive there was nothing I
wanted more than to become one of them.
When I was only six years of age I knelt at an Army mercy seat
and asked God ‘to make me a good boy’. When I was 13 and
attending my first Youth Councils I confirmed that I wanted to
be a follower of Jesus in The Salvation Army. Having
lived in a very active and enthusiastic Salvation Army
officer’s home I had no hesitation when I was only 17 to
positively respond to God’s call to apply to become an
Officer. I was commissioned before my 20th birthday.
When I was commissioned I was convinced that the leading of
God in my life and the will of my Army leaders was one and the
same thing. When Elizabeth and I were married little did
we know what God had in store for us. By the time we retired
we had spent over 30 years of our 41 years of our married
service outside of Canada. Even in retirement I have been
asked on 9 different occasions to take up appointments from 6
months to a year in various parts of the world. I praise God
that I can say I have kept my commitment and have willingly
accepted each appointment as part of His perfect Will.
With all of the above I believe I have the right to call
myself a Salvationist. Over the years, particularly in
retirement I have had many opportunities to reflect on the
years of our service, active and retired and many of the
thoughts and experiences we have had in many parts of the
world. Yes, I see things differently today than I
did when I first started out. The world has changed
tremendously during these nearly 60 years. The Army has
changed tremendously too. My own spiritual journey has
grown and matured and continues to do so to the present day.
I thank God for that.
If I were starting over, there are several things I would
approach differently, not because I was wrong when I started
out, but because it was a different era all together. Now,
with the knowledge and experience of a lifetime and hopefully
some God-given wisdom, I am what I am today by His grace. Here
are five issues I believe are important for leaders today:
1. If we are going to win the world for Jesus then we must
live out the New Testament command to love God and our
neighbour. Jesus put God’s love into practice and a
pattern that we must follow in every aspect of our lives,
personally and corporately. We must accept that this is
only possible by God`s Grace and the empowering of the Holy
Spirit in our lives. We must allow the fruit of the Holy
Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self control, to be our authentic
witness in all that we do and say. I see this as a significant
and encouraging change in emphasis.
2. If we are going to win the world for Jesus, denominational,
doctrinal, lifestyle and worship style distinctives, to
mention only a few, are only boxes established throughout
history. They have now become barriers that complicate
our reaching out to the ‘whosoever’ of the whole world in our
quest to reach them for Jesus. I believe less emphasis should
be given to distinctives and more focus on Jesus is essential
in order to fulfill His perfect will.
3. If we are going to win the world for Jesus then we must
accept the fact that all Christians, where ever they may be or
however they may express themselves in living out their faith,
are part of the family of God and with respect and humility we
must work together and form partnerships whenever possible in
order to communicate more effectively to the whole world the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Travelling the world has caused
me to see this need for unity more urgently.
4. If we are going to win the world for Jesus then we must
positively engage with all people within our community in such
a way that relationships are established and support given to
enable the work of the Holy Spirit to bring about their faith
in God and spiritual maturity. This engagement, often in
practical terms must begin with me.
5. If we are going to win the world for Jesus then we must go
beyond our own faith and reach out to those of other faiths.
By respecting and engaging people of other faiths or those of
no faith at all, we will learn what we have in common and what
we can do effectively together. In this way, by our presence
in their world, it will enable God to do His work in all our
lives. This will be an essential challenge and even
uncomfortable for some now and in the future. If some of the
above sounds radical, then so be it. Having travelled to
many of the densely populated parts of the world and having
lived in several countries where the Christian faith is a very
small minority I am convinced there is just no more time for
small talk, petty differences, greed, power struggles and
jockeying for positions of so-called authority. We must
set aside our differences and be united in the fundamental
principles of God’s love and together be witnesses of Jesus
Christ. It is our task to witness as followers of Jesus and
God’s task, often through us, to bring about the salvation of
the world and the establishment of His Kingdom.
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