The "new" Generation Salvation Army!

Hey all,

being at the corps i attend to is so hard, things have changed so much, the church is full of people who are 50+ there is not much under that age but still, it is becoming more of a social center, meaning social programs are being ran out of the church, i know its a good thing but it is like we go to church of a sunday morning to see our mates not to worship, and it feels like the Salvation army it self is fallen alot,

Anzac day 2008 i was told that the band would be marching like nomral but with out the flag!. it is to my understanding, band marches, flag must march? correct? i have been brought up in the army, and every one i have spoken to and the people that have brought me up, have always told me that the flag is very important, it identifies who we are.

anyways, this little incodent got me a little confused upset and mad, that the our C.O could just put the flag down and forget about it,

what next, will the uniform go? will the crest go? ..


im not sure we will be the Salvation Army in a few years, i think we will just be a shop and social outlet....


peoples views?

I believe that the pressures of the increasingly secular world put big pressures on the Army and it is a scary thing to see happening before our very eyes, but I do wish you to know that I am praying for your corps and I exhort you to do the same! He that rose the Army up can revive it again! I have faith that the Army will endure as long as those in it don't lose faith and don't cease praying for it to succeed.

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"[A Templar Knight] is truly a fearless knight, and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armor of faith, just as his body is protected by the armor of steel. He is thus doubly-armed, and need fear neither demons nor men."Bernard de Clairvaux, c. 1135, De Laude Novae Militae—In Praise of the New Knighthood

The army like all groups has its faults. Is it going downhill or just changing? i have come across people who honestly believe it is not possible for a good idea to be put forward unless it came from the mouth of william booth! Sad but true. Most people naturally don't like change. They react to it. Remember it was change from the traditional ways that started the salvos.


Anzac Day is not about the Army. it is about those who fought in wars. So the flag wasn't there to identify the army. So what. Why are you trying to rain on someone elses parade.


many of the pharisees were bought up in religious teachings and look at what Jesus had to say about them! Are you sure your not missing the point by getting worked up over this?

Let me tell you a true story. One man who grew up in the army was taught that the band should always wear long sleeve shirts. In our corps the band has been instructed that they must all wear the same kind of uniform. Because this man was taught to wear long sleeves he did even though everyone else was wearing short sleeves. one day this man was telling someone how it looked terrible that some people (in the congregation) would wear the polo shirts instead of uniform shirts. He claimed it presented a divided look. It was then pointed out to him that his wearing long sleeves in the band while everyone else wore short sleeves could be seen the same way. This man was so caught up in what he was taught that he didn't think through the reasons why.

So what if they do. Do you know how confronting it can be to walk into a corps and see nothing but uniforms. Do you know how out of place it can make people feel. In Corinthians Paul tells us not to speak in tongues unless there is interpretation as it can be bad for non believers (visitors) who are there. Well when I walked into one corps and saw nothing but uniforms I almost turned around and left.

Now I'm not saying abandon the uniform all together however some consideration needs to be shown that it can make people feel awkard and uncomfortable if they are dressed differently to others.
In the corps I go to now some of the people who don't wear uniform are the ones who are the most on fire for God and out there doing God's work while the uniform ones sit there on a sunday and go home. If you are going to wear a uniform then that should mean you are available to people and sadly in my experience many of them are not.

if we don't return to our roots then very possibly yes. As it is the salvos have become just another church. No different to any other denomination.

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against tradition simply for tradition. for tradition that has good reason.

most sundays there are about 100 retirees including officers at our church only a few young people but our church is growing and we hold tight to tradition but amazingly the oldies are also very supportive of change. We need to focus on basic salvatonism reaching out in love to the brokeness in our community alelujah our corps is healthy and growing in fact t can e hard to find a seat on sunday morning isnt that wondeful

The Salvation Army can only do its best when the focus isn't on the Salvation Army, when it's on God.

Part of what made William Booth so awesome was that he was thinking outside of the box; he wanted fresh, relevant ideas that the secular world could get excited about. Instead of trying to take Booth's original ideas and somehow make them fit into our society today, we need to start thinking outside of the box of 2009's secular society. That's what makes the Salvation Army fresh and exciting, not clinging to hundreds of years of tradition.

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