Social Holiness?
John Wesley, the father of the "Holiness Movement," is credited with saying "There is no holiness, apart from social holiness." I have thought about this saying for years. Some have said that Wesley was talking about holiness in the community of believers. Others have said Wesley was indicating that to truly be holy, our focus has to be on the poor and oppressed of the world. To be holy would then be played out in our actions of encouraging the poor and being involved in causes that would make their plight better.
Wesley's own life would seem to make the latter the correct interpretation of the quote. Wesley lived on 28 pounds his first year in ministry. He continued to do so for the rest of his life, giving the rest of his wages for work among the poor and in the fight against slavery.
This week I was in the company of believers. Our division held its annual leadership retreat. We had as our guests, two sets of the Tillsleys. General and Mrs. Tillsley and Mark and Sharon Tillsley spoke eloquently of the moving of the Holy Spirit. There was no doubt in my mind and among those gathered that the Holy Spirit moved mightily among us. In other words, we experience a great moment of "social holiness."
General Tillsley spoke on the issue of the most crucial need for a corps being the "personal holiness" of its leadership. His point was that as leaders, officers, youth workers, and key employees need to be people who are wholly sanctified and sold out to God. He then went on to say that there would be a moving of the Spirit among the congregation of saints producing, "social holiness."
I think there is a correlation here. For too long, I believe that the "Holiness Movement" has viewed its mission as be purity in the midst of a filthy world. Just recently, a good friend of mine was appalled that I actually would know some of the songs recorded by Madonna. "How can you actually listen to that and still be holy?" I believe the call of the "Holiness Movement" is to touch the unclean and sinful systems, in order to bring them under the lordship of Jesus.
It is not that we are to brow-beat people into submission or to act as Pharisees. We are not superior, even though we may claim to be sanctified. "Social Holiness" in my view has to be a community of transformation. Holiness is also known as Brengle would put it, "perfect love." That means we are perfected in our love toward God and others by the Spirit controlling us and teaching us how to love. My feeling is, we can't really love someone without knowing them and their circumstances. For too long, I feel we have been puritanical and not practical in our holiness. That means, we will need to touch the unclean. In this holiness movement, it may be time for us to practice real social holiness.
I believe we are called to be holy. We are called to high standards. I don't believe we are called to impose our standards on the world. Holiness calls us to love people into the right relationship with Christ. Social holiness is a call for us to live in transformational community.
How do we make that happen in our movement known as The Salvation Army? How do we live in holiness and still touch the unclean without being tainted ourselves? What is the unclean after all? Is holiness as we explain it in the holiness movement really possible?
What do you think?
Wesley's own life would seem to make the latter the correct interpretation of the quote. Wesley lived on 28 pounds his first year in ministry. He continued to do so for the rest of his life, giving the rest of his wages for work among the poor and in the fight against slavery.
This week I was in the company of believers. Our division held its annual leadership retreat. We had as our guests, two sets of the Tillsleys. General and Mrs. Tillsley and Mark and Sharon Tillsley spoke eloquently of the moving of the Holy Spirit. There was no doubt in my mind and among those gathered that the Holy Spirit moved mightily among us. In other words, we experience a great moment of "social holiness."
General Tillsley spoke on the issue of the most crucial need for a corps being the "personal holiness" of its leadership. His point was that as leaders, officers, youth workers, and key employees need to be people who are wholly sanctified and sold out to God. He then went on to say that there would be a moving of the Spirit among the congregation of saints producing, "social holiness."
I think there is a correlation here. For too long, I believe that the "Holiness Movement" has viewed its mission as be purity in the midst of a filthy world. Just recently, a good friend of mine was appalled that I actually would know some of the songs recorded by Madonna. "How can you actually listen to that and still be holy?" I believe the call of the "Holiness Movement" is to touch the unclean and sinful systems, in order to bring them under the lordship of Jesus.
It is not that we are to brow-beat people into submission or to act as Pharisees. We are not superior, even though we may claim to be sanctified. "Social Holiness" in my view has to be a community of transformation. Holiness is also known as Brengle would put it, "perfect love." That means we are perfected in our love toward God and others by the Spirit controlling us and teaching us how to love. My feeling is, we can't really love someone without knowing them and their circumstances. For too long, I feel we have been puritanical and not practical in our holiness. That means, we will need to touch the unclean. In this holiness movement, it may be time for us to practice real social holiness.
I believe we are called to be holy. We are called to high standards. I don't believe we are called to impose our standards on the world. Holiness calls us to love people into the right relationship with Christ. Social holiness is a call for us to live in transformational community.
How do we make that happen in our movement known as The Salvation Army? How do we live in holiness and still touch the unclean without being tainted ourselves? What is the unclean after all? Is holiness as we explain it in the holiness movement really possible?
What do you think?
posted by Larry at 10:11 AM
10 Comments:
Madonna? That's scary, Larry :)
First of all, wow, great post! Thanks.
There’s a bit of a catch twenty-two here, isn’t there. Some people say that it has to be a grass roots movement, others that great leaders need to step up. I happen to believe in both and in the need for both. Certainly we have to have people who are willing to go there. But we also need leaders who are able to inspire them to go there. I think we’re a little short on both, to be completely honest.
There should be another paragraph here where I offer some suggestions on how exactly we might accomplish this. And that’s exactly what I intended to do. But, to be honest with you, I’m not sure I have anything. As somebody who’s been in the Army a relatively short amount of time (8 years), I still sometimes feel like I have an outsider’s perspective. Yet I also think I’ve been here long enough to gain a bit of an insider’s perspective. These two perspectives have led me to believe that we may just have bred that kind of holiness out of people and fresh ideas are at a premium as we have a very “to join us, you have to become like us” sort of approach to accepting new people. Furthermore, our “top 100” or so leaders either don’t have vision, or are too frightened to risk what they’ve come to love and depend on so dearly.
I know that that’s a bit of a downer comment, but we’re in decline and too many of our highest leaders seem to have a “keep doing what you’re doing and things will come back around” sort of attitude about it. Social holiness? Like revival, it’s going to have to start with confession.
I finally got around to watching The Village last night. Talk about an extremely clear commentary on the church and it relates very much to your question. Check it out.
I'm sorry, what was the question?
Sometimes I am a retard though!
Love you
JoAnn,
Yes Madonna. You know, in this role I am very much "like a virgin."
love ya miss ya
Larry,
You wrote... "For too long, I feel we have been puritanical and not practical in our holiness. That means, we will need to touch the unclean."
Are you saying that our Army leaders, corps officers in particular, are not touching the "unclean" in their communities?
If that is what you are saying, how do you know this?
In regards to Tim's comment, I had a few questions for him as well. When you spoke of Army leadership and the fact that the top 100 don't have vision, how would you define vision? What would you like to see them do? Can a holiness movement be mandated from a leader that lives in London or even one as close as a divisional commander?
Thanks!
Sue,
I am not unfamiliar with many of the people who come to us with baggage. I don't see us engaging culture where THEY are. When was the last time we entered a bar, went to a punk club, a concert or for that matter walked in a crack house? I would think not very often. We might feed on the street or even preach there, the people are still coming to us. Also, we decry secular music and other forms of "evil" without even knowing what there is to them. Many of our brothers and sisters in the holiness movement see piety and mistake it for purity. I think that is the point I was making. Not sure why you took my remarks as being strictly toward The Salvation Army. The holiness movement includes many more people than our small band.
Provactive thoughts!
In Wesley's sermons and letters and formal speaking, the one phrase he uses again and again as a sign that God's holiness is vibrant within a believer is "God shed His love abroad in the their hearts. A love that was deep and wide and not contained to someone's cleanness or station."
Social holiness has to show. It has to be detectable. It has to make a difference. It may shine brightly in the well-lit fellowship of other believers who live holy lives, but it shines brightest and strongest when contrasted with the darkness of a life still held tight by sin.
Social holiness is the only depth which shows the fruits of God's pure character, living strong in our world. Social holiness requires truth telling, courage showing, muscle using action.
And though I don't have any Madonna cds, I do have 2 Linkin Parks cds which express some very true raw emotions. And I conclude that the Black Eyed Pease have some poetry stanzas in their recordings which are down-right gospel. Current culture isn't to be shunned, but carefully engaged, with judgement and discernment.
Good thought provoking thoughts tonight
Larry,
I spent the last 1/2 replying to your comment and bam it was gone! So this will probably be much shorter and choppier. I am also exhausted at this point so if I don't make sense don't beat me up too badly.
I realized you were speaking of the holiness movement in general in your post. Seeing that I come from the perspective of the Army, which is part of the holiness movement, my question focused of Army leaders. My thoughts tend to gravitate to the Army seeing that I have a better chance of changing that particular part of this movement. You did mention officers/leaders/youth leaders and the need for personal holiness in their individual lives (actually the General spoke of that, but you eloquently reiterated his statements). Maybe that and Tim's comments on your post drew me to my questions.
I would have to say that in my setting I DO see us, and I mean the Army, engaging culture where they are. We do have ministries, like a soup kitchen that brings folks to us. We have people being saved all the time in that ministry. I would say that particular ministry is effective even though they come to us... it has to be if souls are being won and lives are being transformed. We do GO as well. We visit people in their homes... which tend to be on the park benches, in church doorways and other hidden places within our city. That would be culture in my book. Maybe not the punk culture, but an entire segment of our society that needs physical help but spiritual help even more. We do go to the crack houses in our neighborhoods. Fortunately, many of our corps kids live in them. I say fortunately, because we are there for those kids and are showing them another way of life. Maybe our love and holiness will break that cycle in their lives. Maybe, God will answer our prayers and as we try to meet with their parents they will see Christ's light shine through us. Our soldiers also invite the residents of those crack houses to their homes. They babysit their kids and their have been a few who have taken kids in to live with them until parents figured out life a bit more. Why? Because God calls them too. We go to the homes of widows, to recreation centers, to local parks, to schools. Many in today's culture don't feel they can walk through the doors of a church. Our responsibility is to accept and love them where they are at, but also invite them to get to know us in our setting too, so that they can see there are other ways to live. Fortunately, we have an incredibly loving corps full of holy people who will love and accept absolutely anyone who walks through our doors.
In regards to Tim's comments again, I didn't explain myself at all with my questions. I was intrigued by his statements about Army leadership and their lack of vision. I should have asked the question: So what? So what if they can't give a vision? Every place is different and God calls us to act out our holiness in different ways based on our situations and locations. So you set the vision and go for it. I don't need someone else who happens to have a higher ranked trim tell me what vision God is giving me in my setting.
By the way, I think there are some leaders in today's Army with great vision. But then I wonder, do I consider them great because I agree with them? Probably.
Oh, well. I am tired and rambling. I never did answer your questions Larry from your original post. I believe a revival in the holiness movement in the Army will only happen when individual leaders within a setting live holy lives and in being holy act on their holiness. What concerns me is the sin that remains in some of our ranks. We cannot expect the Holy Spirit to move if we allow some of the things that go on to continue. Enough on that one.
Jessi,
That was a great comment. You have a way with words.
I'm so glad that you have all these talks on blogger about Holiness and Christianity. Catherine Booth once said "It is a bad sign for Christianity of this day that it provokes to little opposition. When the Church and world can jog along comfortably together, you may be sure that there is something wrong!" When I heard this I immediately thought of you! haha..
Have a great day!
love you!
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