just thinking about ...

All of you who are part of the Salvation Army know this kind of procedure: Officers or soldiers dress up, stack their bags full of War Cries and get on their way to do pub mission.

Sadly enough it mostly seems to turn out less about mission but about money, because that's simply the easiest way to adress people who in some cases don't really want to be disturbed during their meal. Praise God for the War Cry, at least for those parts that actually provide spiritual guidance and give some hints about faith in God. May God use it abundantly to reach out to lost souls!

As you know, there are two sides of the coin. The back side might be the fact, that in many cases officers force themselves to do this two, three times a week, trying to keep up a right motivation by reminding themselves, that the main purpose is to win souls by giving out our literature. At some points it really feels like it's a "reminding oneselves", a "setting oneself at ease again" about this tradition.

Oddly it really works out pretty well. Some people actually are quite delighted to actually meet the Salvation Army - which they though dead already - right in front of them. And many claim always to be willing to donate, if not to others than at least for the Salvation Army.

It proves to be a quite secure way to provide funds for the daily costs of running our houses, paying the salaries of full-time workers, and - of course, doing ministry. But at what costs?

In many cases it seems to end up this way: Officers, who have spend a whole day in the office, preparing for ministry, doing paper work, actually drag themselves to manage another three, four hours of running throughout the city, visiting one pub after the other. Depending on age, physical condition and the climate this turns out to be quite exhausting - as you probably know quite well.

The day after my first experience of doing pub mission I found this verse in the Moravians' Daily Watchwords: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Mt. 6:33 - So, what about this? What about officers, corps who actually put all their possible effort into building God's kingdom, not wasting a thought, or time on beggin for money? Do you believe it might work? It must work! I believe it!

But, sadly enough, I myself am pretty stuck in this kind of thinking, that we need to take on our responsibility to make our whole ministry possible. And, as soon as I think about not keeping up this way of asking for donations, the thought comes up to me: "But how are we then getting the money we need...?" You know, what I mean? Who ever said that we ourselves need to come up with ideas to provide funds?

If pub mission would only really mean that there is time and opportunity to really get to talk to people, making them think about their salvation. I know it happens, but how often? How easily does that happen?

Thank God for people who actually love doing this thing! Let them go! They are an important part of us being present in our cities! But does the simple fact that "we need the money" and that "we not only do it because of the money but to give our literature" justify that everyone, whoever does like doing this or not, needs to keep it up, on cost of his health and joy in ministry?

Now, only tell me one more thing: Am I right?

Der Weg zum Sieg

Zu meinem Abschied von Hamburg bekam ich von Besuchern unserer Gemeinde ein Buch, das, soweit ich das bisher durchblicken konnte, geistlich sehr tiefgehend und daher auch absolut wertvoll für mich ist.

Vor Tagen wurde mir dadurch auf noch nie vorher bedachte Weise bewusst, wie Gottes Weg zum Sieg völlig dem Verständnis der Welt entgegen läuft. Unsere normal anerkannte Denkweise konzentriert sich auf unseren eigenen Einsatz, Kampf, der schlussendlich, idealerweise zum Sieg führt.

Nicht so aber Gottes Wege. So lautet Gottes Weg zum Sieg folgendermaßen:
Glaube, ruhe, siege!

Wenn es denn so einfach wär! Denn, selbstsüchtig und selbstbezogen wie wir sind, fällt es uns komischerweise leichter, alles zu geben, es uns alles kosten zu lassen, um unser Ziel zu erreichen. Wie schwierig ist es dagegen, die Hände sinken zu lassen, und einzig und allein sein Vertrauen in Gott zu setzen, dass er den von Jesus am Kreuz erkämpften Sieg in unserer persönlichen Situation erlebbar macht.

Aber genau das scheint ans Ziel zu führen! Und, so schwer es mir fällt, bestätigen viele meiner Erfahrungen diese Aussage. Wie oft habe ich versucht, durch mein Handeln und meine Initiative meinen Wunsch Realität werden zu lassen. Und wie oft rückte dieser dadurch nur umso weiter von mir weg! Schließlich musste ich jedes Mal eingestehen: "Hätte ich bloß auf Gottes Handeln gewartet und vertraut!"

Die Bibel ruft uns, uns in unserem Denken nicht dem der Welt gleichzustellen, sondern unseren Sinn von Gott erneuern zu lassen. Dies scheint mir der einzige Weg zu sein, diese uns so entgegenlaufenden Wege des Reiches Gottes zu verinnerlichen und zu begreifen.

our people

For the first time after years in the Salvation Army I feel fairly far away from what William Booth labelled "our people": The people living on the streets, living a kind of life totally different to ours, way beyond our so loved comfort und life quality. Encountering people like those every one of us meets on the streets in all of Germany's inner cities William Booth knew he has found out a lot about God's calling for the Salvation Army. "These are our people!", he exclaimed. And I know what this newly gained knowledge feels like. Again, for the first time after meeting street people daily in our homeless drop-in in Hamburg for years I'm now living and working in a place where they seem to be as far away as they were when I lived my life not knowing that God has planned more. Temptation is high to simply walk by and follow one's daily business. It's so easy to ignore them, although God taught me to really love them. But, thank God, I still know, that these are "our people", and that they have a special place in God's kingdom and especially in the Salvation Army.

my testimony

The testimony I'i about to give in my new corps in Frankfurt is going to be about calling. How incredibly big, far beyond my understanding, God's calling on the lives on his children, on my life, is. Just imagine, being anointed, called to deliver the Good News, called to proclaim healing and freedom to a broken and captivated world. And I'm allowed to be part of it! We are! A calling so big that someone is all about stopping you to fulfill it! There simply remain a few things I just guess that there is still a lot to learn about: There is a big price. Slowly I'm discovering more and more about what it actually costs to live God's calling out. It costs my dreams, my reign over my life, my priorities. How can I actually live this calling out? In my own strength it doesn't work, obviously. But the bible tells me that it's possible. There must be a way, there IS a way! Remaining in him, staying utterly dependend on him. So, how am I to do this? How can I reach the best possible fullness of fullfilling this calling? There must be more than what we experience right now. There is more! How can I get there? Any answers on that?

Angry about the right thing?

Do you remember Jonah? I'm sure you do, but only Jonah running away from God, Jonah being swallowed by the fish, ...

Let me tell you of another lesson we can learn from Jonah, which I learned from Chick Yuill at ROOTS UK:

Do you remember Jonah sitting under the rizinus God made grow for him to provide shadow and to cool down both his body and soul? Because at this moment Jonah was angry. Angry at God because he chose to be merciful instead of simply wiping out a whole city.

But then God did not only made the rizinus grow but also sent a worm making the bush wither in just a few hours.

Reason enough to be angry, or not?

So what's the point of this? Firstly, Jonah is angry about a merciful God who didn't send thousands of people straight into hell. Secondly, he is mad about the lovely shadow being gone.

Are we angry about the right thing? Are we angry about what pleases us or about what pleases God?

Think about it!