Sacred Cows

… are layers of institutionalism impeding our mission?

It has recently been brought to my attention, on pretty good authority (although not first-hand), that a territory in the Western world has mandated that, in the future, 75% of all music used at youth councils must be “Salvation Army music,” excluding even contemporary Salvationist compositions; only traditional stuff from the red Song Book.

I hope I heard this wrong, or that there is something missing in the translation, but even the fact that this issue has raised its ugly head again is problematic from many different perspectives. It is, in fact, another in a series of “déjà vu all over again” moments for me, personally.

The question isn’t even, “What is Salvation Army music?” although it’s an interesting one. I haven’t taken time to go through the Song Book (nor am I going to) and tabulate the origin of each song, but I can assure you that many of them were borrowed, begged and… well maybe not stolen, who knows? William Booth is purported to have said, “Why should the devil have all the good music,” or something to that effect. I wonder, would Barry Gott’s brass arrangement of songs from the musical, Godspell, count in the 75% or should it be tallied as part of the 25%? Who’s counting anyway? I hope another line isn’t going to be added to the statistical report.


The bigger and broader question should be, “What is our mission (raison d’être)?” If this is answered correctly then all of our Sacred Cows, be they a particular kind of musical expression or whatever, will fall into place… or out of place, wherever? Or to put the question another way, “Are the ever-increasing, ubiquitous layers of institutionalism beginning to impede our mission?”

Institutions are, in part, defined by their Sacred Cows - “What was once mobile and fluid has now become static, ingrown, methodological and institutionalized.” I’ve covered this subject thoroughly with a series titled, Rediscovering the Mission (Feb. 1, 2008) over at Slightly Irregular.

Or put another way (following up on the last post), “What is Salvationism?“ Commissioner Harry Reid defines it this way:

“Salvationism is an engine-room kind of word, for within its robust, energy-exuding frame pulsates the heart of the Army. Here, the essential beliefs of the Movement, its active, maturing and progressive concepts, its love and service-centred ministries, all reside in a living, quick-to-respond balance for the benefit of mankind.”

Several sacred cowless-type phrases jump out at me: “…within its robust, energy-exuding frame pulsates… active, maturing and progressive concepts… living, quick to respond…”

Salvationism: Genesis in motion - Noland.

Read this in context with the following quote from, Orbiting the Giant Hairball:

“…obsessing over the history represented by… statistics… being culturally appropriate… but functionally inappropriate… and creating something new is genesis, which comes before history.”

Now, replace the word, “statistics,” with music or one of the many other Sacred Cows now mooing in our vineyard. ” Yes, the devil is in the details, milking them for all they’re worth.



Writer: Commissioner Joe Noland’s ministry can be summed up in three words: chaos, creativity and controversy - three elements implicit in any successful innovative endeavor. Cecil B. DeMille, renowned producer of Biblical epics, once wrote, “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” Joe’s mantra reads, “Creativity is my drug of choice.” Access Joe Noland’s complete bio, among other things, by clicking into his website.