Worship Wars & TSA

John 4:21-26 (NIV)

[21] “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. [22] You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. [23] Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. [24] God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”[25] The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”[26] Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Romans 12:1-21 (NIV)

A Living Sacrifice [ ] 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. [2] Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Humble Service in the Body of Christ [3] For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. [4] For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, [5] so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. [6] We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; [7] if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; [8] if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love in Action [9] Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [10] Be devoted to one another in love.

The Salvation Army is an integral part of the bride of Christ, the Christian church.

We are called by God, unique, active, practical, getting hands dirty so to speak, an Army...mobilized, on a mission, with purpose, clear identity, passionate, committed and responding to the needs of our communities. However, if we are not first a worshiping people, we are missing the whole point. Everything we are and do and have is because of Jesus.

It is so easy for us to " DO " ..... We must however be a people who "ARE ".... Before we do anything we must Be... Worshippers.

Followers, imitators, of Christ, absolutely...but worshippers first.

Jesus called us to take up our cross and follow him.

To lay down our lives a living sacrifice, He laid down His life as a sacrifice, and in His death we find our life, we find our purpose, we find our mission, we find our meaning....

It was on the cross, He bled and died, it was there He was crucified.
But He rose again, and He lives in my heart....

This whole scenario causes me to worship Him.... Draws me to His presence.
And in His presence is perfect peace.

Just recently some have been stirred by my blogs and thoughts on TSA.

We don't need to be involved in worship wars...

contemporary vs traditional.
loud vs quiet
brass band vs guitars
media vs  ???
old songs vs new songs
salvo vs hillsong


it's not about how you worship, it is however, about who you worship...

That we worship.

I love the fact that we are an Army, mobilized in mission, left hand ...serving our community, giving a cup of water, a bed for the homeless, a meal for the hungry... But our right hand is our worship and faith community.... One without the other for us, makes us incomplete, inbalanced....out of whack.

They go hand in hand for TSA.... Both important. Both aspects, are our DNA.

We cannot Make our debates about just one side of the story, it is us worshipping Jesus, ( the triune God) and the other side of us serving humanity on His behalf.

When a Salvo turns up... Jesus arrives. We work and serve Him in practical ways.
But first we worship and adore Him and serve and honour Him.

This Easter, as we gather at our corps, and churches... It is all about Jesus.

It always has been.
It always will be.

Posted with Blogsy

ELDP

I am in this conference, course, program this week, which is all about helping me to develop in myself, some key attiributes to assist me in my leadership.

It is very challenging and demanding but also very affirming, and I found today, day 2, very helpful.

Leadership is all about influence, and in Jesus eyes, its all about being a servant.

I really am not sure how great a leader I am these days. I am usually fairly confident in my own ability and capcity, but it is all being challenged and tweaked and  huge lessons are being learnt by me.

There are some things which I hold as fundamental and foundational about myself.
( you could probably scroll down through some previous posts to see my own personal axioms, if you were curious)

But I do believe that things are not going to change any time soon, if someone, somewhere, doesnt stand up and be counted in some place.

I desire to not waste my life, I want to make a difference to those around me, and even though at times I am misunderstood, and perhaps seen as a threat...I am not going to stop idly by and watch things go to a place of decline and poor performance and for us to go backwards.

I am a change agent.  But that always causes someone to have their feathers ruffled. It's whether I can weather the storm of the reaction to that when it comes.

I am not a stupid leader, and I dont believe in just changing things for the sake of changing things, or for my own personal preferences, but only where I sense that something might be headed for decline or death, will I step in and attempt to develop a new growth life-cyle to bring new life .

for those who read my blog who might be threatened by change...please allow me to pose some hard questions that I would ask you to consider, and if need be, respond to... and pray about.

whether its for Ringwood, or some other corps or church...these questions must be asked. and more importantly , they must be answered. (honestly)

Q1. In 10 years from now, and even in 20 years from now, what will our church look like if we maintain what we are doing right now today ?

Q2. What is the "age demographic" of our main congregation today ? What will it look like in 10 or 20 years from now, if everything stays exactly the same as it is today ?

Q3. Do we care enough about the lost, enough to sacrifice our personal preferences so that unsaved people may find a home amongst us ?

Q4. Do we as a church, live in Gods purpose's ( as outlined in the bible) or do we live in our own preferences ?

Q5. Am I  a  blockage to change  ( part of the problem) or am I doorway to change ( part of the solution) ?   Do I get upset when things are modifed/tweaked/adjusted...?  why ?

Q6. When was the last time  we observed brand new people accepting Christ ( for the very first time) in our worship services ?  ( failure to do this is direct disobedience to the great commission Matthew 28, just saying )

and final question...

Q7. What am I prepared to sacrifice so that unsaved people may find a home in my church and be saved ?  ( are you really prepared for this ?)

EDLP, has nothing to do with these questions, but I am constantly challenged by the fact that if we dont move forwards, we, by default, stay still...which has another term, called stagnation, and its just as bad as going backwards.

Not many of us are happy to go backwards or become redundant or stagnate and start to smell, personally or in our career or homes, and in a similar fashion,  I believe that God's holy church, called, The Salvation Army in our case, is meant to be thriving, healthy and growing. (see *** below)

for that to happen, a number of things simply must occur within us, and around us and through us.

and I sense thats why I am doing  the ELDP.... course. So that I may become healthier and thriving and growing in my capacity to lead.


It still gob smacks me that God chooses people like me (and maybe you), to do His work on the earth, and it  requires us to stand up and be counted, and amidst criticism and complaint, to challenge  every step of the way until  we find oursleves, once again, growing, healthy and thriving.   
Anything other than that is simply unacceptabe in my mind.

(***) statistically we are not growing accross the board, and in many cases and contexts we are in some pretty serious decline, if this is to be challenged, then I ask you to take a look at your own corps and do a mini survey. If you have grown by more than 20% over the past 5 years. ( eg: so in 2007 you had 100 people on average in attendance, but now in 2013 there is 120 ) Then praise be to God for what is happening in your situation, But if not,  - what then ? What will you do about that ?

What got us here, will not get us there.

I have been thinking about the this for sometime now.

We as TSA have come along way, but yet...there is a long way yet to go, and everything we have done up until now, has given us the results we now have. It's insanity to think, that if we keep doing the things we have already done, that we will get a different result. All that we have done so far, in previous weeks, months and years and even decades have given us the results we are seeing right now. If we think for one moment that things are going to change, by doing the things the same way as we have already done them, then there may be a need for seeing a therapist.

do things the same way, get the same result.

change the way you do things, get a different result.

the problem with this, is ..... that many think everything is honky dory....all "A OK".... and that's where the real bottle neck actually is.

Because the truth is, (and many don't want to acknowledge the truth), that we are not winning, we are not growing as big and wide and deep as we could be growing. We are perhaps losing more than we are gaining, and... we have wandered away from our original mission and Booth's planting vision and plan, and mandate.

What got us here, wont get us where we need to go.

this world is a very different place today than what it was even 20 years ago.

and in 20 years from now, it will be incredibly different again,

and if we think for one millisecond that we should just keep doing things the same way, and it will all be ok, and we will leap into the new era......in the blink of an eyelid, TSA will be irrelevant and a forgotten memory (as a church at least) in this country. I am not sure thats what God intended for us.

Some who read this blog may be offended by the thought, that everything they have done in the past as Army leaders, has caused us to be where we are. But it is the truth. How can it not be ?

It's not meant to offend, we can't change the past, and we all thought we were doing our best and we were.. however we haven't adapted... we haven't modified...we haven't kept up with the changes happening around us and keeping in step ....

let's be super honest, Booth was radical for His day.... His passion and commitment and heart, led to huge sweeping reforms in the world as TSA spread like wildfire in its infancy. Millions were saved. We have become comfortable, we have become safe, we have become misunderstood. and we have lost our edge.

Where are the radicals of today's Salvation Army ? there are a handful around the traps, but ... mostly they've gone missing.

Will I get in trouble for my thoughts about this ? maybe.... but shouldn't it be said ? isn't it time to shake the tree and rock the boat and start a passionate wild fire revival of heart after God and lost souls ?

I have been grappling with a vision that God gave me earlier this week about Ringwood Salvos church. It's not an easy vision, and it would be misunderstood,and it will require me to be extremely clear in delivery( if i ever do actually deliver it) but there is a sense in my spirit, that if God said it, then so be it... it's not scary, it's not hurtful, ( actually its way exciting) but it could be easily confused with something that it isn't, but it will mean huge change to the way we think and behave, and it will impact way more than just Ringwood. So, I will pray it through until I think God may open door for me to speak it into fertile minds and hearts.

All that to say, though, that TSA must be about Gods business, it must be obedient to the Holy Spirit, it must become what God intended it to be, it must tweak and adjust and steer in the ways of heaven, honour Jesus in everything.

So that you don't think, I am a complete heretic towards TSA.... I want to share a few things about my heart.

I have looked at many different churches and some other worship styles really appeal to me, I have even thought at times that maybe I was in the wrong church(TSA) and should be some other place. But as soon as I think it, I here this still small voice inside me remind me "I called you, Gary Grant, to be a Salvo ... and I am proud to be a Salvo. But I don't want to see TSA fall and fail and diminish, truthfully, not everything about TSA I love and agree with, but a Salvo I am...and a Salvo I will remain, ( unless I get sacked after writing this blog) so it leaves me no other option than to try my best to usher in change, to help others rise up into Gods purpose, to challenge the status quo, to pose the hard questions, to lead where I think God is leading me, to speak what I feel God would have me speak,and to shut up when I think God would have me shut up.

Finally,

I think its time to dream a big dream again, for our own Christian walk, of course, but also for TSA in Australia.

Dream of what we could be, not just what we once were.

and then pray like billy-o..... that God would take us to a place we have never been before, that He would do in us, what we have never seen or experienced before, that we might become, something we could have never dreamed up on our own.

With God, it is all possible. without Him....nothing really is.

 

(remember, these are just my own personal opinions. everyone is entitled to their own opinions)

Posted with Blogsy

Anonymous Comments !?!?!?

Friends.... I am very open, you can see who is writing what. I am pretty honest in what I say, and the reasons why I say it.
If you wish to make a comment on my blog, you are welcome to, however, I won't publish anonymous comments and probably wont respond to them either.
Just recently a few have been so doing...and having a real personal crack at the same time.
Please don't waste your time.
Everyone is entitled their opinion, and I welcome them...but if I don't know who I am responding too,its hardly fair.
My policy is...for my blog... No name...no publishing.

Posted with Blogsy

Salvos..pt 2

My last blog has created a fair bit of interest.

in fact in the first 24 hours over 300 hits.

why so much fuss ?

I am not a radical, I am not a stirrer, I am not an antagonist.

I am just a passionate Salvo Officer who wants to change my world.

One of the things that really bugs me though, is the fact that it doesnt seem as though many Christ followers these days want to change anything.  Happy to sit in the status quo, leave things alone.

I dont think that you need to fix things that are not broken, but when you discover a weakness or a failure or that something is in fact broken, then I think...its  completely irresponsible to not fix it, or repair it.

So... we are losing our youth, and that puts us in a situation that is vulnerable for our future. It must be corrected. and that is why we have decided to host the Young adults Summit, to try and work through some strategies to correct that which is incorrect.

 It really bothers me, actually, that anyone might find this offensive.... surely anyone and everyone must know, that if it isnt made right, that our future looks bleak ?

It's not arrogance, neither is it laced with some kind of hidden agenda, I am trying to fix a few really important issues at Ringwood Salvos,which may in fact turn out to be important for the wider Army in EVD.

I am not perfect ( neither are you) but I am wanting to make a difference with my life and the choices I make, and the people I influence. I want to see my world a better place, I want to see young people and older people of every age grouping .. .  connect with Jesus.

I want to see TSA become the new mega churches of Australia... why ? Because when the people come and get connected to Jesus, their world changes in which they live.   The larger you are, the wider the influence.  I want to be part of the solution, not the problem.

We always seem to criticize the mega churches, labelling them, blaming them, complaining about them. I have been to at least 5 mega churches (Willowcreek, Saddleback, Hillsong, Enjoy, Southside) around the world and every one of them have impacted their local communitiues in ways in which TSA wishes we could do again. ( I say again, because there was day when we too were mega and we changed the shape of the world, )

you only have to read our history books to see what and how TSA spread like wildfire throughout the world ... we changed the world. I fear now, we have lost that desire...lost that influence for Jesus, Its time to get it back, to rekindle the fire, and to make our mark once again. We can do this.!!!!!!

God isnt finished with us yet !!!!!!

well.... here's what I really think...

... I am a Salvo Officer.

I am here to make difference.

I intend on growing churches. (whether they become mega or not)

I intend on making a difference and shaping my world.

I am not waiting for someone else to do it..

I am going to do it.

Join me....