5 Effective Habits of Highly Effective Officers

Advice for Heralds from General Burrows.
(from Armybarmy.com)

General Eva Burrows preached to the Cadets last week a day before the were commissioned (hat tip Eastern Victoria Division, Melbourne):

"5 Effective Habits of Highly Effective Officers".

Habit 1 - Keep studying
Always remain a student of the world around us and a student of the Bible. That way we will understand the context of mission and be able to offer the Word in a relevant way.

Habit 2 - Nurture yourself
With devotions, with good coaches or mentors or spiritual directors. Defects in spiritual life affects our leadership more than anything else. So have a plan for our personal spiritual development and follow it.

Habit 3 - Use your uniqueness in your ministry
God wants us to be who he made us to be. Be who you are and do what you do best. This way you will do wonders for God’s kingdom.

Habit 4 - Exercise competence beyond your gifting
Don’t use gifting as an excuse for not doing what is our responsibility. Learn about what we don’t know and talk with others and utilise others who can help. Don’t monopolise your ministry, but multiply it.

Habit 5 - Be a spiritual leader
Cast vision. Have a clear and passionate focus for mission. Be ready to adjust strategies. Above all, like Jesus be a Servant Leader.

Mission in Community

Mission in Community

Download Mission in Community - a 40-page booklet on The Salvation Army's Integrated Mission

Download PDF (2.32 MB)

TSA and World Aids Day 2006

World Aids Day 2006

To mark World Aids Day 1st December 2006, The Salvation Army announces a remarkable project which began earlier this year and will come to fruition next May.

More

Christianity and equality in China

23. November 06

Kobia discusses China's vision of "harmonious society" and the role of religion in building it with top government official

Issues relating to Chinese government policies with regard to development, international cooperation, and the role of religion in building a "harmonious society" were addressed by World Council of Churches (WCC) general...

"Jesus Christ, on whom the church is founded, intended for all to have fullness of life. Building peace in the world and helping others have fullness of life is therefore fundamental to us as Christians."

[Click HERE to read more]

Measuring Canadian Poverty

How do we measure poverty? 

November 24, 2006 

 CBC News

Whenever a Canadian news outlet uses Statistics Canada numbers to say a certain percentage of Canadians are "below the poverty line," the federal agency makes it clear that its numbers say no such thing.

Statistics Canada sends off letters stating that its low-income cut-off (LICO) figures are not a measure of poverty, but of income inequality. Despite this, many media companies and poverty activists use the LICOs as the country's "unofficial" poverty line.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/economy/poverty-line.html 

---

 RELATED:

• Paid to be Poor
• the fifth estate: No Way Home

NEWS ARCHIVE:

• CBC News: Report says government needs to 'break the back' of poverty in Canada (May 5, 2004)
• Little change in child poverty rates (Nov. 24, 2003)
• Child poverty goes up in Toronto (June 30, 2003)
• New poverty indicator shows 1 in 8 Canadians poor (May 27, 2003)
• 'Persistent poverty' crippling Canadian children (Nov. 4, 2002)
• More Canadian children living in poverty (May 6, 2002)
• 1 in 4 Saskatoon kids lives in poverty: report (Nov. 20, 2001)
• Ottawa told defeating child poverty requires money, programs (Sept. 10, 2001)
• Poverty rate inflated: Fraser Institute report (July 23, 2001)
• Child poverty remains a national crisis (Nov. 24, 1999)
• More Canadian families slipping into poverty (May 8, 1999)
• 'Social program changes attack poor' (Mar. 4, 1999)

EXTERNAL LINKS:

• Measuring Poverty in Canada - The Fraser Institute
• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
• On poverty and low income - Statistics Canada
• Campaign 2000
• Campaign Against Child Poverty
• UN Special Session on Children

 

Parable of the Wicked Tenants

        The Parable of the Wicked Tenants appears  to be an elaboration upon Jesus' answer to the Pharisees' question about where he derives his authority (Matt 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke 20:1-8). His original response is recorded in the form of a question: "Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" (Matt 21:25, Mark 11:30, cf. Luke 20:1). It is a masterful way for him to avoid the verbal trap laid by the Pharisees and in the process ambush them. When the Pharisees realise that a trap has been laid for them in return, they attempt to sidestep it by not responding to the question at all. This elicits from Jesus, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things (Matt. 21:27, Mark 12:27, Luke 20:8)." He nonetheless offers a parable -or parables as the case may be- in response.

Click here to read the parable: Matthew 21:33-46

        What then is the meaning of the parable of the wicked tenants? In all three accounts Jesus explains the meaning of this parable with reference to the cornerstone or capstone: "Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people [ethnos] that produce the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls (Matthew 21:42-44; cf. Mark 10-12, Luke 20:17-18)."

        Some have argued that this passage refers to Israel itself being replaced, however, the evidence rather "indicates that the parable concerns the leadership of Israel. Matthew contends that the tenant farmers, not the vineyard, must be replaced. In this light it seems unwise to take ethnos in 21:43.as a reference to the Gentile Church.it should be understood in its most basic sense as 'a group of people,' in this case the leaders of the Jewish Christian community (Daniel J. Harrington, 304)." 

        Jesus then, in all three of these parables, is telling the religious leaders that "the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him (Matt. 21:31-32)." And this theme was not lost on the religious leaders for ".when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet (Matt 21:45-46)."

        Sadly, "the pericope ends with magnificent yet tragic irony (v. 46). The religious leaders are told they will reject Jesus and be crushed. But instead of taking the warning, they hunt for ways to arrest him.and so trigger the very situation they have been warned about - a dramatic example of God's poetic justice. God in the Scriptures foretells this very event; and these men, prompted by hatred, rush to bring it to pass (Frank Gaebelien, B.V. 4.0.2)." 

The Passover - Dr Was

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Matthew 20-22

Booth`s Ladder to Holiness

Like we`ve been having some conversations in Winnipeg re: holiness again as of late. There was an interesting on-line discussions lately at http://seekerofthelight.blogspot.com/


From Armybarmy:

In the Ladder To Holiness, William Booth shows us how to get holy:

- "I hate sin and long to be entirely delivered from it."
- "I know also to my sorrow that there are evils still existing in my heart and life which I ought not to be there and which I very much wish could be removed."
- "There are in my soul the remains of pride, vanity, bad temper, malice, hatred, bitterness, revengefulness, ambition, lust, sloth, love of the pleasures and treasures of the world, selfishness, want of thorough truthfulness, envy, etc."
- "Now select from this list the particular evil, or evils, which you have reason to believe exist within your heart, with which you have to fight and which lead you into actual sin. Look at that particular sin or sins, when discovered, until you see and feel their hatefulness, and until you detest and loathe them."
- "I, therefore, do here and now, thoughtfully and solemnly renounce everything that appears to be contrary to the will and wishes of my Lord."
- "I put away everything evil in the thoughts, feelings, and imaginations of the heart."
- "I give up all that appears to be evil, wasteful, or impure in my personal habits, whether in my eating, drinking, dressing, talking, or in any other particular."
- "I give up and abandon everything that is wrong in the way I conduct myself in my family, in my dealings with my wife or husband (if I am married), with my children or servants (if I have any), in my conduct toward my master or mistress (if I am so employed), in my business, and in the general conduct of my daily life."
- "Not only do I here renounce those things which I know to be evil, but those things which appear to me to be doubtful, I will abstain from doing, or allowing to be done, so far as I can, anything about the rightness or wrongness of which I have serious doubt."
Then Booth wraps it up with a comprehensive expression of consecration and a firm proclamation of faith.

Real authority...

If an acquaintance knocks on your door when you are very busy you might not be so inclined to answer. If, however, you peer out the window and see red and blue lights lit atop her car and she in her blue constable’s uniform, you will probably answer the door. Her authority comes from who she works for....

Our authority is also derived from whom we work. We only have God's authority if we actually do work for God.

see Matthew 21:23-32 where Jesus delivers this message to the religious leaders who do not have that authority. Who were they working for? People? Money? Prestige? Who are you working for? Are you working for God? Do you have God's authority?

more Daily Rations...

Psalm 124 and 2 Corinthians 11-13

see more: http://drwas.blogspot.com/

John Wesley Quote

“Give me a hundred men who love nothing but God and hate nothing but sin, and I will shake the whole world for Christ.” - John Wesley

Daily Rations with a Smile

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2 Corinthians 3-6

Winston Churchill on The Salvation Army

Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, "Where there's a need, there's The
Salvation Army".

Is it as true in the 2000's as it was in the 1940's? I believe so. Let's keep it that way - and more! - mr

A couple of Remembrance Day items

Canada's Hundred Days

Canada's Hundred Days refers to the last 100 days of World War I, from 4
August to November 11, 1918. During this time period, the Canadian Corps of
four divisions fought several battles against approximately one quarter of
the Imperial German Army on the Western Front, all with decisive victories.
Along with the battles of Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, Canada's Hundred
Days cemented the reputation of the Canadian Corps as a tough and
professional fighting force amongst its allies and foes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada's_Hundred_Days

The day Canada honours the sacrifices of the First and Second World War and
Korea is also the anniversary of a battle that saved the country from an
American invasion during the War of 1812. And as the First World War slips
from living memory into pure history, how Canadians have marked the other
Nov. 11 from our military heritage -- the 1813 Battle of Crysler's Farm --
offers a sobering glimpse of the future of remembrance.

http://www.havelock-viha.com/FPNov11AmericanInvasion.html

Ephesians 6:11-13

11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Read whole chapter: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=56&chapter=6&version=9

Quote from General Booth

"I am of the opinion that the dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without regeneration; politics without God; and heaven without hell."

- William Booth

Daily Rations with a Smile

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IV - two questions at bottom.

InterVarsity sues to hire Christians

A Christian organization has filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin-Superior, asking that the campus chapter of the group be reinstated and allowed to apply religious criteria in selecting its leaders.

In February, the campus chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Superior, Wisconsin, was told by school officials that because it required its club officers to be Christian, it would no longer be  officially recognized by the university.

InterVarsity leaders are required to "sign a statement of faith" and "agree to live in accordance with it," according to an InterVarsity spokesman. The school claimed that requirement violated the University of Wisconsin's anti-discrimination policy.

InterVarsity-Superior, however, contends in it lawsuit that UW's position denies any religious organization the ability to maintain its own identity. In an interview with Associated Press, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship president Alec Hill says it implies restrictions on other clubs as well -- such as vegetarians.

"The Vegans have to accept meat-eaters as leaders?" he wonders. "I mean, if you're going to have a meaningful group and [one] that takes a viewpoint, it only makes sense that the student leaders subscribe to that viewpoint."

Hill says the requirement that officers be Christians is essential to the group's identity and mission. "If we were forced to have non-Christian leaders lead our groups, we would no longer be a Christian mission -- it's that simple," he tells AP. InterVarsity-Superior contends the university's policy violates several constitutional rights, among them religious and free-speech rights as well as freedom of association and self-identification of organizations.

The group also believes the policy conflicts with a recent federal appeals court ruling that forced Southern Illinois University to reinstate the Christian Legal Society despite its requirement that members pledge to adhere to Christian beliefs.

A press release from InterVarsity explains that while anyone -- Christian or non-Christian -- can be a member, those elected to leadership positions are required to subscribe to basic and historic tenets of the Christian faith.

(AgapePress)

q 1) Why would a Christian organisation be forced to non-Christians. That makes no sense. Are Tories forced to hire Liberals or vice versa?

q 2) Lawsuits? Are they okay for Christian to be involved? (probably yes in this case - I think - as the prohibitions seem to be limited to suing other Christians but maybe not...'someone asks for your cloak...', etc)

any thoughts: ramsay@havelock-viha.com  

The snow has come to Winnipeg

More picts (Snow and Halloween): http://sheepspeak.spaces.live.com

General Larsson Quote

Story from General John Larsson

While leader of The Salvation Army in the United Kingdom I took part in a
radio phone-in during which the interview tried his hardest to persuade
members of the public to offer criticism of the Army as well as praise. But
without exception, caller after caller, spoke appreciatively, in the warmest
possible terms, of our work.

In desperation, the interviewer made one last appeal for a more critical
response. But when the final caller came on, it was a woman who said: "I
just want to tell you that my son was a drug addict and if it wasn't for The
Salvation Army he still would be."

The interviewer said, "I give up!"

The confidence of the people is a precious trust. We mustn't let them down.

Food for prayer: Iraqi Christians

Iraqi Christians join exodus from violence-torn land

Agencies monitoring Iraq's shifting population say that many people are leaving the country altogether, some fleeing indiscriminate violence and others deliberately targeted because of their faiths.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/03/iraq-refugees.html

Copyright 2006 CBC All Rights Reserved

Holy Matrimony

What do you think of this analogy for holiness (crisis / process / salvation )-

The holiness analogy of matrimony: Salvation is the wedding. One is in relationship before the ceremony but it is fully consummated at that point; the relationship however continues to develop (and I wouldn’t dare say that I was any less in love on my wedding day!) and through that development, you become more like your spouse in many ways as your time together and common experiences grow. Is it not the same with God? If so, is this holiness?