SSO- WHY? -1-

 “Single spouse Officership affords some of us opportunities that would otherwise be denied. And although one partner is not an Officer it does give us support, understanding, companionship, and a spiritual partner who believes in us and encourages us to be the best we can be for the Kingdom and the Army.” SSO officer Australia

 “As a single-spouse officer I can say that without the SSO provision I could not be in officership. What will happen to such as myself if the provision is rescinded? And what is the future of the army in the UK unless we tighten the expectations of the non-officer spouse?”
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Did TSA exaggerate how good things were in order to reduce the urgent need for change, and how deep was their fear of change? Was it time to break with William Booth’s 135 year insistence that a SA officer may only be married to another commissioned officer?

And had the time come to break with Catherine Booth’s insistence: It is entirely reasonable to expect that officership will be a lifelong commitment. After all, it’s not a calling to a particular service path or vocation, but rather a covenanted life—or, to use the language of the Church, a joining of holy orders.

Major Wendy Swan, the extended learning program director at William and Catherine Booth College in Winnipeg, asks; “In an age when most people change careers four or five times, can we realistically expect a lifetime commitment to officership? Does God call different people for different periods of time? Is our approach to leadership biblical? Is it practical?”[1]

“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse! ." Unknown

Concurrent with the year 2000 discussions on proposed change to the army’s, by now antiquated and detrimental unyielding marriage regulations, other significant policies were also challenged. The result of the enacted changes that followed caused a further and immediate loss of active officers; early retirements and career changes took their toll; the attrition losses worsened.

There remained no logical excuses for maintaining the status quo of the SA’s marriage regulations for officers any longer. One can only wonder how many hundreds or perhaps thousands of officers might have remained true to their covenant had TSA been more in step with the times a decade or two earlier.

At the turn of the bicentennial changes were announced on the Salvation Army's website by General John Gowans:

January 2001 The Salvation Army has ordered a sharp cut in the number of officers promoted to its senior ranks with officers having little chance of being promoted above the rank of major with only a few making it to (the coveted ?) colonel rank before retirement. The number of lieutenant-colonels and colonels in Europe will gradually decline from about 400 to 40.  (Did this cause some to apply for early retirement?)

The rank of lieutenant will be abolished from May 1 so every officer is made captain when he is commissioned (the term for ordination) and after 15 years all are promoted to major.

Only six years later and with a new person at the helm came this: NO MORE CAPTAINS ON BEING COMMISSIONED

After a lengthy discussion with other Salvation Army leaders, General Shaw Clifton announced in November 2007 that the rank of Lieutenant would be re-instated on March 1, 2008.  

Did this signal a new restrictive path to autonomy for younger officers? Did the number of candidate applications diminish and the number of cadets in training, waiting to be commissioned decline? History reveals that indeed they did.

Other issues that were addressed and acted upon;

·      Stricter scrutiny of applicants for officership- (accreditation requirement by partner colleges)

·      The early retirement provision was canceled by Shaw Clifton - UKT

·      Expectation of adherents in observing SA life-style practices relaxed; the number of adherents swelled in comparison to the numbers of soldiers sworn-in. The in-house pool of suitable candidate recruits began to lessen.

·      Many young people who were children of the regiment or who had been trained through SA programs elected to go the route of adherence.

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Does Single Spouse provision in its present form represent a possible solution in seeking a turn-around or is a further change required? 



Is Single Spouse Officership a possible solution to turn the tide?

Single Spouse Officership (SSO) refers to an active officer of The Salvation Army who is married to a non-officer. Leaders recognized that if they wanted soldiers to come forward they needed a change in the regulations and their approach. The Army could no longer remain static, no longer defined by century old dictates. The army was being called to serve the present age. Most ‘western’ territories were grappling with the challenge of diminishing numbers of soldiers, cadets and officers.

In a survey conducted among 400+ former SA officers it was revealed that almost 24% of the hundreds who’d resigned and ‘left the work’ did so because one or both spouses had misinterpreted/ misunderstood the ‘call’ and God’s leading in their life; the ‘call’ was not recognized as authentic for both partners. An almost equal percentage represented those resigning to marry a non-officer partner. If this ratio is a fair representation, or even remotely close, it suggests that thousands of officers would not have felt obliged to resign if the SSO provision had been in place a decade or two earlier.

The model of service where an officer is married to an officer will continue to be encouraged and endorsed. However, although there are great advantages in having both husband and wife in ministry team leadership, this should not impede couples where only one wishes to become an officer.

Potentially the army’s shift in policy may prove to be the single most important provision in the army’s effort to stave off closing more doors in more towns and cities and reigniting and refocusing our movement’s evangelistic zeal in accordance with the General Linda Bond’s; One message – One mission proclamation.

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[1] FSAOF May 10, 2010 

Sven LjungholmUKT