October 7: International Moves - Hangover PART 2

More on the Moves…

We blogged this week about success v. experience.  Here’s some clarification:

Announcing Success-

We’re not suggesting that the moves outline successes of each person mentioned (such as – ‘Colonel Frank Jones’ opened three corps, raised up 18 candidates, and saw 2184 people get saved since his commissioning). 

But we are suggesting that those kinds of successes play a key role in what moves are made AND that they are celebrated in the War Cry and other SA periodicals in announcing the moves. 

The official bios of officers outlined in moves announcements are normally just a list of appointments.  That is merely ‘experience’.  That doesn’t tell much about a leader.  Did you just preside over an appointment or did you progress it?  Let’s hear about the progress.  Just about anyone can sit in a chair.  Not enough get out of it to lead.

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Weighing Success-

There are few leaders outside of Africa and Korea who can match leaders there in objective successes.  Do you lead a big corps in Europe?  Maybe you do – maybe there are 300 people on a Sunday there.  Praise the Lord.  But the smallest corps in a certain division in Zimbabwe, led by a new lieutenant, gets 400 each Sunday.  You can’t compete. 

Are you a DC who emphasizes youth stuff and celebrates breaking the 500- Junior Soldier barrier?  Praise the Lord.  Just today in a certain division in Zimbabwe over 1200 Junior Soldiers met for their divisional Junior Soldier congress.  You can’t compete.

So how do you measure success when the fronts on which we fight are so different?

Believe it or not, we lack all the answers.  However, this is something you must do – keep the things being measured the same.  Don’t settle with switching the apples for oranges.  That is, we all know that the key statistical indicators for a corps are as follows: conversions, soldiers made, candidates made, outposts opened, cities invaded.

But in some places in the ‘west’ we’ve heard those apples traded in for oranges like ‘budget’, ‘number of people fed’, ‘number of people clothed’, ‘number of people served’, etc.

And, particularly with budget, the ‘rest’ can’t compare with the ‘west’.  Apples and oranges.

Of course, if you are fighting in a country strongly opposed to the Gospel, one convert may mark similar success to a thousand in a place that is open to the Gospel.  Therein lies the difficulty.  It’s a good thing we’re meant to listen to Holy Spirit!

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More…

Including Success.

We’re not arguing that success is the only quality for which to look in promotions.  Holiness is key, too.

Holiness by itself doesn’t qualify someone for leadership, of course.

But lack of it (and lack of pursuit of it) might disqualify someone.

If you are holy and successful, you’re qualified.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve sat in all the seats and had ‘experience’ as measure by years and number of certain appointments.

Your success IS useful experience.  You fought battles and won, you initiated and implemented, you faithfully evangelized and discipled people through.  You invaded new areas.  All of that is important experience.

It is possible that the ‘experience’ of sitting in different appointments is merely getting to know new people and cultures and processes, learning from similar challenges, facing similar stresses, and correcting past errors (positives among other possibilities).  That’s all good, but it doesn’t qualify you for promotion.

So, success and holiness it is.

Are you holy?  Are you successful?

Major Stephen Court
Edmonton, Canada