New Department or DNA?
Recently, the General shared that a new IHQ Department of Social Justice would be opening at THQ in New York. This is exciting news. I applaud the General for the appointment of Commissioner McMillan and the opening of this office. There are incredible issues facing the Kingdom. The Army must be a key player in the Kingdom's response. Sexual trafficking, women's' rights, sweatshop conditions for workers, and yes, health care (including AIDS) are among the most pressing issues of our time (at least in my opinion). These are only a few of them.
I am grateful to see the General take this new initiative, but saddened to see that he had to do it. Here is why I am so saddened. I believe that the fight for social justice should be part of our DNA as a movement. The Booths made it their mission to alleviate suffering. Think about the initiatives. The work farms for poor workers and the purchase of a match factory to bring positive change for oppressed workers come to mind. These are but a couple of the initiatives that our founders initiated.
Unfortunately, institutional creep has, I feel hampered the development of the of new initiatives, especially in the Western World as we became more and more concerned with our image and our need to raise dollars. I know that we can argue the Kroc gift is evidence that we need to protect our assets and be conservative in our approach to controversial issues. The problem, we may not be fulfilling the mandate of the Kingdom on our movement if we continue to work this way. Our THQ's and DHQ's are all equipped with Social Service Departments. I fear, however, that we really are not addressing many of the social ills, rather just treating symptoms.
The Social Service programs for the most part do not address the underlying concerns. Our Adult Rehabilitation Centers may be as close as we get to really treating the cause of social issues instead of just treating the symptoms.
When did we get away from taking on the issues of justice? When did we lose our DNA? When did putting a band-aid on a bullet hole replace our social work? Am I just too critical? I am happy for this new initiative. Maybe it brings us back to our DNA. Isn't it sad that it had to take another department to bring us back to where we belong? I would like to hear your thoughts.
What do you think?
I am grateful to see the General take this new initiative, but saddened to see that he had to do it. Here is why I am so saddened. I believe that the fight for social justice should be part of our DNA as a movement. The Booths made it their mission to alleviate suffering. Think about the initiatives. The work farms for poor workers and the purchase of a match factory to bring positive change for oppressed workers come to mind. These are but a couple of the initiatives that our founders initiated.
Unfortunately, institutional creep has, I feel hampered the development of the of new initiatives, especially in the Western World as we became more and more concerned with our image and our need to raise dollars. I know that we can argue the Kroc gift is evidence that we need to protect our assets and be conservative in our approach to controversial issues. The problem, we may not be fulfilling the mandate of the Kingdom on our movement if we continue to work this way. Our THQ's and DHQ's are all equipped with Social Service Departments. I fear, however, that we really are not addressing many of the social ills, rather just treating symptoms.
The Social Service programs for the most part do not address the underlying concerns. Our Adult Rehabilitation Centers may be as close as we get to really treating the cause of social issues instead of just treating the symptoms.
When did we get away from taking on the issues of justice? When did we lose our DNA? When did putting a band-aid on a bullet hole replace our social work? Am I just too critical? I am happy for this new initiative. Maybe it brings us back to our DNA. Isn't it sad that it had to take another department to bring us back to where we belong? I would like to hear your thoughts.
What do you think?
posted by Larry at 8:45 PM
15 Comments:
I've been blogging lately of the Army's priorities and apparent lack of soul winning zeal (that is it in a nutshell). Joe Noland recently posted that we might be on a downward slope towards secularism. Can it be that we're close or even there institutionally?
rob,
this is not about secularism in my view, it is about institutionalism. i genuinely think that people in the army love Jesus. they want to do what is right, but I am afraid they have fallen pray to procedure instead of passion for the dna of the army and the kingdom. they want to win souls but have not found a way to do within a context of a culture that demands a different way.
Larry, I’ve been trying to figure this out since I came to the Army a little over eight years ago. I still have no idea.
Did we breed it out of ourselves? When the Army first began, was its leadership made up of “educated” people who had come over from other churches to serve as ministers? Were they disenfranchised ministers who, like I and my wife, looked around at their own denomination and thought, “we’re doing nothing to meet the needs of the hurting”, and so, joined the Army? Over the years, as we reached more and more needy, but uneducated people, did we lose…for an extremely better lack of words…the brain power to do what we used to do?
Or, in the end, do people really just want to fit in? As radical as the Army first was, did the people it reached really just want to fit in? Maybe the radical nature of the Army appealed to Booth and its leaders, but maybe the people they were reaching really just wanted to fit in. Maybe a radical church wasn’t what they were looking for? Maybe they were just looking for a church that they could call home. Maybe, in fact, they were looking for traditions to call their own. Traditions that would create the kind of atmosphere they had seen in other churches.
I don’t know man. The two theories above are just some of the many guesses I’ve had over the past eight years. What I do know is that the public’s image of what we are…isn’t necessarily what we are. I know that because I was the public, only a short time ago, and the image I had of the Army just isn’t what it has ended up being. Don’t get me wrong, the Army does good work. But compared to whom? It has people in it who are amazing, and many who are truly down in the gutters touching people. But I look around the Army and mostly see people who aren’t doing that.
It’s been a long process man. One that has taken me to more churches than I’d care to admit, and more denominations than I ever thought I’d commit to. But I’m finally, FINALLY understanding that I can’t look to my church to make my religion authentic. I have to make it authentic myself. I realize that that’s unbelievably basic. But it’s funny what basics you can miss when you’re tunnel visioned and stubborn.
I can see your point, but most everything we're hearing from the top has to do with business systems and management. Very little is said about soul-winning and empowerment by the Holy Spirit. Case in point: just last week, the Western Training School's advisory committee met and were told that the one thing that is lacking in the training process is business training! Yet, we're consistently given newly commissioned officers who haven't a clue how to evangelize and/or disciple.
If indeed we're bordering on institutionalism, can't it be argued that we're becoming a quasi-secular institution that has religious roots? Isn't that the history of the YMCA, YWCA & VOA? When will TSA be added to that list?
rob,
it would depend on how you view evangelism and your view of salvation. i happen to think that being presence in a community is evangelism. social justice is evangelism, especially if we do not manipulate. not sure you always have to preach or teach to evangelize.
Oh really? Who is my billet? :)
I think it's a question of service v. justice. You mentioned that every unit has a Social Service Department. I'm not familiar enough with this end of Army history to know when those departments were implemented. But the words alone give most of the answer. If we are about service, we want to serve people and treat the symptoms. If we are about justice, it's about doing what is just and right and getting to the root. As has been acknowledged, there are lots of reasons, we've tended toward the social service side and away from the social justice side.
One of the reasons must be that it's easy to quantify service and hard to quantify justice. Service can be counted in stats, addicts in recovery, people housed, gifts given, food & meals provided. It can be very hard to quantify justice. If you have saved 10 women from sexual trafficking and stood in the gap against that injustice, has your time been well spent? 10 is a lot less than the millions counted in our social service stats, but is that 10 more significant?
The match factory was no quick fix. It was complicated, it took a lot of time and energy and it was dangerous in numerous ways.
This in the end is even more significant than the counting issue. The newborn Army was dangerous, almost foolhardy for the gospel and for justice. The current Army is safe, conservative and counts cost v. results. A love of safety and ease is often incompatible with a love of justice.
Way too long for a comment. Sorry, but you've hit a nerve and probably wil sprout further discussion by myself and others.
"This in the end is even more significant than the counting issue. The newborn Army was dangerous, almost foolhardy for the gospel and for justice. The current Army is safe, conservative and counts cost v. results. A love of safety and ease is often incompatible with a love of justice."
That sounds like something you would read in a book, and I mean that in a good way. Really good words Drew.
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A continual reminder of our DNA, and an exceptional reminder. The fight for social justice should be an integral part of what and why we do what we as The Salvation Army does.
So many statements are right on with this subject, expecially that its very difficult to quantify justice.
It is critical for believers to unite the desire for God's will and the activity of human life. "Your will be done" has never permitted human trafficking, prostitution, child abuse.
It is not easy to correct.
It is not expedient to change.
It is not affordable to budgets.
It is costly, frequently painful, and difficult.
And attempting to alleviate suffering, to make crooked road straight, to make broken lives whole cannot be done without divine power.
Involved with social justice - a sharpened faith and strong power is necessary.
right on! cultural accretions like barnacles on a ship's hull
I agree, I think we have limited our social actions, at times, to handing out a bag of food. I think at times we look at our daily routine and that's what we force ourselves to follow. We moan or groan when we get something added to our plate. In my opinion, we can hide behind our desks in our confortable office too much. I don't know jus a thought
This is something that has been bouncing around in my mind. How much today are we satisified with status quo as we are as the Army? Are we on the forefront of major social issues that are affecting our world?
I always amazed at early army exhibitions. Such as Bramwell and WT Stead, and the raising of the consent law. To get arrested and prosecuted so that the world know the right way.
I am always amazed at the progmatic way in which we do things. We are always looking first at the results of all of our work. But the results do not necessarily count as opposed to how lives are being changed for the gospel.
Be inspired by the Gospel to do things that aren't necessarily comfortable.
I add First Corinthians 13:1-13.
Bill, Shane and Drew,
I think one of the questions we need to ask is "What would happen if we were arrested like Snead or Joe the Turk was?" I think we know what would happen to us as officers or employees.
The whole issue of justice is tied to risk. Although I applaud the General, I wonder how much risk will be involved.
The consent law is a great example Bill. Thanks for bringing it into this conversation. Talk about
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