If you know your history

 I spent some time last week at The Salvation Army’s William Booth College, learning about the history of the church and The Salvation Army, and it has been absolutely fascinating. 

I thought I knew a lot about The Salvation Army, However I have realised that there is so much more to know. There were some things in our Salvation Army history that I thought I knew, but learned that in fact it was different to what I had thought and there were some things that were just plain wrong! 

One of the days we went on the ‘Booth Cruise,’ a tour of the East London and some of the significant places in the early days of The Salvation Army. As we walked the streets, we heard stories of how Jesus changed the lives of many people through the work of The Salvation Army. The tour culminated in a visit to the graves of William and Catherine Booth and other people significant in the early history of The Salvation Army, and as we sang ‘O Boundless Salvation’ and considered the people who gave their lives to God for the service of others, I couldn’t help but feel emotional!

I’m sure the process of reflection will take some time and God will continue to  reveal to me new truths from what I have learned. However, there are a couple of powerful points brewing within me. 

One thing I have been considering makes me think of a football chant sung by Everton Football Club:

‘It’s a grand old team to play for, It’s a grand old team to support,

And if you know your history, It’s enough to make you heart go Woahhhhhhh!!

Thinking about our history, the successes and the failures, cannot help but encourage and inspire us in our own ministry and mission. Remembering what God has done before, helps us continue into our future, learning from our mistakes and helping us to avoid them in the future. 

Learning from our history isn’t just an Army thing, it’s a biblical thing! Recently the Jewish people have been celebrating the festival of Sukkot, where people eat and even sleep in temporary booths to remind them of their history, of God’s provision in the wilderness. All throughout the bible we see people remembering what God has done in the past and use it to strengthen them as they walk into their future. 

Psalm 77:11- 12 declares

‘I will remember the deeds of the Lord; Yes I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.’

Another thing I learned from looking at the history is the innovation that took place. They weren’t afraid to try new and daring things and they weren’t afraid to stop them when they finished serving the purpose of bringing people into a relationship with their saviour. They certainly weren’t afraid to rock the boat and challenge society, the church and the government. 

We heard stories of Salvationists, standing up for justice in society, coming alongside the people that everyone else rejected and being bold in campaigning for issues that come against God’s truth. This led to some of them being opposed, attacked, arrested and even martyred.

This is a real challenge for me as a church leader today. I am reminded of the words of 1 John 2:

 

Don’t set the affections of your heart on this world  or in loving the things of the world. The love of the Father and the love of the world are incompatible.  For all that the world can offer us—the gratification of our flesh, the allurement of the things of the world, and the obsession with status and importance —none of these things come from the Father but from the world. This world  and its desires are in the process of passing away, but those who love to  do the will of God live forever. 

As a church are we still innovative and bold in standing for the truth of God, and are we willing to be different to the world, even if it comes at a cost?

The final thing that struck me was about William Booth himself. You see he is certainly a hero in The Salvation Army world. A formidable character that many things in our church are measured against. However, in hearing about the conflicts he had with some of the other denominations around him, hearing about his autocratic nature and hearing about some of the difficulties that were had in the early days of The Salvation Army it became very clear that he was only human! 

When looking at church figures, great men and women of the faith, and saints we can imagine them to be almost superhuman and we can be tempted to put them on a pedestal. However we must always remember that we are only human and that God is God! When we think about heroes of the faith, they are only who they are because God is who he is! This is summed up in Romans 11:36

For out of him, the sustainer of everything, came everything, and now everything finds fulfillment in him. May all praise and honour be given to him forever! Amen!