General Linda Bond writes
in the May-June issue of The Officer that the “way we (officers) lead still
bears the mark of our life experiences.” The General shares that our
spiritually charged leadership skills are honed through conferences attended,
formal study, books read and advice from our mentors… realizing that what she
does now is not much different from what she did as a corps officer; the
relational challenges are not dissimilar. “So much has changed. Yet so
much has not. We still lead as officers for him, for them, for life!”
About half of those
reading the Army’s bi-monthly magazine for Officers of the Salvation Army will
in 20 years no longer wear SA uniform with officer trim. Yet, as recent FSAOF
surveys reveal, the large majority of officers that resign their commission
take with them the Ordination mantle and continue serving, leading for him, for
them, and for life.
The two most common
reasons for ‘leaving the dear old flag’ is for married officers,
separation/divorce and for single officers, to marry. If the army had
been less fixated on antiquated regulations once suited to an up-start
Victorian era church-army and moved with the times, several thousand officers
might well have remained “for life!”
AT·TRI·TION
1.
A reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength
The number of Salvation
Army officers in active service is decreasing rapidly. An increasing number of
officers are retiring. And a further almost 50% of active officers are
resigning within a decade of their being ordained and commissioned. And a
further number, albeit much smaller, are dismissed annually. To add to this
alarming picture is recognizing the diminishing number of candidates stepping
forward each year resulting in an ever -smaller number of Cadets.
An overview of the
attrition rate in a recent five-decade period is included:
Twenty years ago while
serving as a reinforcement officer in Sweden the then Chief Secretary, Colonel
Gote Lindgren, lamented that the Swedish territory was experiencing the highest
attrition rate in the army world. It was the army I’d grown up in, believed in
and had, at age 40, left a successful career in the travel industry, to invest
my life and that of my family in.
On our arrival in Sweden
and on driving into the corps’ expansive parking lot behind the town centre
Citadel we were met by eight or nine uniformed white haired very ‘senior’
soldiers, 2 standing upright only because they were clinging with all their
might to the corps’ standard. None were fluent in English, but in their
enthusiasm to welcome the arriving American officers they’d all been coached
and greeted us in unison: "WELCOME TO THIS CORPSE!" (enunciating the
word CORPS phonetically) We had all we could do to keep from losing it!
Some days later, when
writing my first corps’ newsletter, I decided to include a stirring challenge
from the DC, whom I’d not yet met. I was hoping for a battle cry, one that we'd
all rally round and proclaim throughout the division. I asked him what his
vision was for the next 12 months ? He responded; “Not to close more than 4
corps!” Hold the presses!
The CS’s remark, those
from the corps’ folk and the DC led me to put my market analysis skills to
work. Some 40 SA Year books and other resource material at hand I set to
work and analyzed soldier, officer and corps attrition rates of every SA
territory worldwide. It was a four-month long labour of love. What followed
were a series of articles that I wrote for the Swedish The Officer.
To learn that the
countries and regions experiencing the greatest losses, Scandinavia and Western
Europe, did not really surprise me, however the UK and Canada & Bermuda
losses caused alarm. The percentage losses were staggering.
Since those studies were
completed 25 years ago, I have moved 11 times and to 5 different SA territories
on both sides of the Atlantic. And, along the way I’ve shed thousands of
documents (many now archived in London, Moscow, Kiev, New York and perhaps
elsewhere?) and more books than I’d have liked. Nonetheless, those many sheets
of typewritten pages detailing SA officer stats have somehow always found a place
in my packing.
In gleaning those old
stats it's clear that the attrition problem remains to this day, albeit with
some glimmer of hope. Had major changes been made three or four decades ago
they might have prevented, or at the very least, stemmed the losses to some
degree; thousands of officers have left their SA calling. True, many are
faithfully serving God in other churches and fellowships. However, the root of
our (SA) problem then and now is that we’ve become mired down in maintaining
the status quo, burdened by regulations that ought to have been rewritten and
implemented from the day that they were first given even cursory attention. In
particular, the regulation requiring officers going through the process of
divorce to step out for 2 years was the key reason for the resignations and
represented almost 50% of the losses. Studies conducted by the FSAOF indicate
that majority wished to continue in active service. IT needs to be pointed out
that regulations were applied with obvious partiality.
Another factor that caused
hundreds of losses was the regulation relative to the marriage of officers. The
Salvation Army International Commission on Officership (2000) seeking to remedy
the significant reductions in the number of officers in many developed countries
opened the door for Christian ministry and spiritual leadership for those
called by God, but whose spouse does not share the same calling to ministry. It
broadens access to officership for those who are married to non-officer
spouses. Equally important; it acknowledges and celebrates individual calling
to ministry as officers in TSA while also seeking to quell the fundamental
problem of the diminishing number of active officers in many ‘western’ country
territories.
Potentially, in the short
term, this 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 instead, reigniting and refocusing our movement’s evangelistic zeal in
accordance with the General’s; One message – One mission proclamation.
The SSO programme was
designed initially to attract SA soldiers who were prepared to abide
by SA regulations and lifestyles and to become partners in ministry with their
officer spouse. The non-officer spouse has not understood the nature of
officership as a spiritual covenant, rather than as a contract with The
Salvation Army.
This significant
regulation change, introduced over a decade ago in several territories to
combat the attrition rates, has met with modest success at best relative to an
increase in the number of active officers; approximately 100 worldwide.
However, it has and continues to suffer from what should have been easily
predictable issues relative to human rights; the demand that the non-officer be
required to reside in the SA provided quarters, vacate and move to the officer
spouse’s appointment, etc.
(The SSO Provision will be
dealt with at another time)
********************************************
“Ronald Reagan, while President of the United States, said,
“status quo is Latin for, the mess we’re in”.
Are we seeking to protect
the status quo or are we finding it impossible to break free from it?
The Rev. John H. W.
Stott shared in a conference I attended, “Vision is the result of a deep
dissatisfaction with the status quo”. Stott went on to say that, “our
dissatisfaction with the status quo, if of sufficient consequence, ought to
move us to action formulating in our minds a new vision for our churches.“
"If
it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will
find an excuse! ." –Unknown
find an excuse! ." –Unknown
APRIL 29 - YOUR BATTLE IS OUR BATTL!
Former SA Officer
USA East
USA East
8 comments:
Sven,
Just a few questions for you and maybe a couple of notations: The 904 officers of the Swedish Territory circa 1960? Are you sure those were all active? I recall seeing a Year Book from around that time and if I remember correctly it was more like 600+ active and about 300 retired---still a horrible attrition rate but not as bad as 900 to 168!
Secondly, about the UK Territory? Who was included in that 2187 statistic? Back in 1960 there were two territories (the British and Scotland) in what is now the UK Territory along with both Men and Women's Social Services which were run almost as if each were their own territories with their own officers. Were they all included or were only British Territory field officers?
In the last 45 years since I was a corps cadet I noticed two very important changes in the people who have entered training in the U.S. The first is the age of the average Cadet. By the 1960s it was around 21 due to more married couples being admitted but still the average cadet was 18 to 19. Back then they took them in at even 17 as long as they had finished high school in June.
Decades before then when only a small number of people in the then industrialized west ever finished high school, I understand that they took them in at even 16! This certainly isn't true today and depending on the actual session the average age can be as high as the mid 30s.
Also, I notice whenever I look at pictures from back then that single women cadets outnumbered single men cadets(depending on the session)by as much as 3 to 1.
This leads me to believe that the Army never admitted to what was really going on years ago in the first place. It may be true that because their options were limited years ago most people stayed their whole lives in whatever it was that they got into at 16 but certainly not all did. There still were many, many resignations. What kept up the statistics on officer numbers were large intakes---and intakes of many young people who had no other options in life but to go to training if they wanted to do something other than work in a dead end factory job---and possibly get their fingers cut off in the process.
Is that what the Army would want for officers today? Women who want to do something for a couple of years before someone finally spots them and asks them for their hands in marriage and a certain percentage of people who stay in because after so many years, what else are they going to do, whether they still feel strongly about a calling or not? (I need to do one more short posting.)
Daryl Lach
USA Central
continuing.......
I also recall that back when married couples first started going to training in larger numbers (probably the 1960s) most of the married women were working class housewives. They had no professions of their own and it was largely the husband who felt the calling. The wife dutifully followed. In fact it was often sort of a standing joke among many Salvationists that there were "officers who were wives" and "officer's wives!"
This no longer seems to be true for most women today. Their marriages aren't their whole lives. They can make a living on their own and aren't going to just dutifully follow their husbands to training without experiencing a calling for themselves.
Lastly, I still recall talking to a C.O. of mine in the late 1970s and mentioning to him that once the baby boomers were past their 20s training sessions would inevitably get smaller due to all the demographic changes that were taking place in western society. It was either a matter of accepting it or the Army was going to have to make some profound changes in order to attract more cadets. (start taking in increasing amounts of cadets who were much older, both men and women single spouses, etc.) He snarled at me. (he thought that I was a "bum" for going to college after serving four years in the U.S. Navy! I mean, the way some of those older officers talked, you'd think I was a criminal or something!)
Then in 1980 Alvin Tofler's book "The Third Wave" came out and today, though officer numbers have been maintained between 3400 and 3600 actives in the U.S. for the past 45 years, the U.S. Central is slated to lose over 300 of it's 750active officers (there were 950 actives in 1965) in the next 13 years. Yet instead of making the necessary changes, all some leaders still seem to be able to do is snarl and complain that people aren't as "spiritual" as they once were, while pining for a day and age that will never return again short of a nuclear catastrophe. Oh well....
Daryl Lach
USA Central
"You Must Go home By the Way of the Cross, To Stand with Jesus in the Morning!"
Daryl, as usual you've hit a few right out of Wrigley Field, and the roar rattled the saints haunting the Brompton Avenue lecture halls…
I'll respond only in brief as most of the points raised by you are in fact expounded on in the upcoming parts of this paper.
1. The Swedish stats were those supplied by THQ Stockholm and the only thing I can recall that was pointed out to me was that scores of Swedish officers were serving on the mission field; the highest % in the SA world.
2. The UK figures dis, as you point out, include the UK, Scotland Territories and Social Services were later merged with the territory and some years later the Scotland Territory too was amalgamated; dozens of Scottish corps were closed. The numbers will be a part of the final report.
3. Your profiles are quite correct with respect to the USA Cadets/Officers.
4. Many significant findings have come come out of the most recent surveys:
A. The educational attainment by former officers subsequent to resignation is impressive,
B. The SSO Provision (single spouse officer) must be dubbed a failure - fraught with conflict. However, had it been initiated 30-40 years ago with some basic regulations the retention factor would have impacted positively and probably moved hundreds to remain active.
C. The old divorce regs too, if rewritten to today's more reasonable months instead of years of separation would have impacted significantly on the return to active service numbers.
D. TSA in most territories had no sophisticated or particularly compassionate exit strategy. The type exit views typically conducted by fortune 500 companies were foreign to TSA.
E. Most significant in the recent findings is the high % of formers who'd have seriously considered a return to service had they been contacted within 90 of their departure. Yes, remorse at abandoning the 'call', and no doubt, many realizing that the army's 'package' is quite attractive, etc. would have caused many to return
F. And finallythe survey reveals that many would have preferred a leave of unpaid absence, 6 months, to work through issues, and then return.
Thank you Daryl for your continuing interest in the blog and for keeping us on our toes.
blessings, sven
Hello Sven
You and I were in the same "stomping grounds" (Chicago) back in the 1960s when I was in grad school.
While I find your conclusions about declining officership interesting -- and certainly applicable to a number of cases -- there is much more to the problem and the challenges it presents to TSA. I, too, am an avid researcher, and some of goes back to the 1930s from dispos, etc.
As your survey indicates, the majority of officers had a fairly lengthy background as young Salvationists, and had received their calling during that time.
From 1962 to 2010 the number of junior soldiers in the USA declined by 50%. Thus, the Army has been fishing (for candidates) in a smaller and smaller pond. To keep the numbers up, we've taken folks who clearly were not qualified and who showed very little potential for becoming effective officers. Then, we started taking more "second career" folks in their 40s with older children and with lifestyles that made adjustment to officership difficult. Recently we've seen more and more cadets with no Army backgrounds as youth, and others who came right out of an ARC or Harbor Light program -- not that that is necessarily a bad thing.
My point is that the Army is failing miserably at keeping its young people. Until and unless that changes, we won't see much improvement in the number of quality people with Army backgrounds becoming officers.
In many countries our corps have become havens for empty-nest couples who seem to think that kids are an annoyance not to be easily tolerated. Having done their part as YPSMs, Guard leaders, etc. they aren't willing to once again take up those responsibilities for someone else's children. In fact, over those same 4 decades I referred to, the number of YP Local Officers fell by 62%. A good sermon and a decent band seems to sum up their current corps priorities. I've shared 15 pages of my findings and conclusions on this subject with the 4 USA TC's. I'll be interested in their response, if any.
You may also be interested to know that we're launching an unofficial "Survey of American Salvationists" on April 30th. Check my Face book postings.
Hello Walter, I'm pleased to know you found your way to the FSAOF blog. We're in our 5th year of blogging, mostly on issues of concern to former officers, although we do our best to share articles of interest to a more general audience as well. Interestingly, about 30% of our visitors come to our blog through 'googling' a SA related search word or phrase.
Thank you for sharing your insight Walter, and your comments relative to the historic recruitment pool shrinking are valid. I'm certain your scheduled survey will provide much additional insight and assist further in formulating a compelling strategy in seeking a reversal of the trends of the last several decades. I pray that the USA TCs are moved to action by the obvious good efforts you've put into your research.
As you might have surmised, our fellowship and the focus of my own research lies in two key areas; retention and the 'return' to service of some of the thousands of former officers. While not in itself a cause for consolation or lessening of our resolve, the SA attrition mirrors that of every denomination across the USA and Western world.
In June we will meet for the 1st time, as a group of 'formers' with one of the largest SA territories in the world; their initiative. The agenda will include "reconciliation" and "how we treat former officers". It is our prayer that through our coming together we can formulate programs that will strengthen the retention factor and also the return to service. In very practical language, the ROI in having just 10 formers return is a cool $1,000,000 based on the today's cost to train just one cadet. And the pool represented by formers is by far the largest and best trained that TSA could ever hope for. And the eternal rewards?
If your survey results, even in part, are available by early June I'd appreciate a copy in order to share with the territorial leaders with whom we're meeting later that month.
Great to hear from you and thank you for sharing your comments.
Blessings, Sven
PS I will announce your "Survey of American Salvationists" on April 30th to the FSAOF.
Something I wonder about- will the attrition increase once the economic uncertainty clears up? (Especially in the USA)
I know of many officers who say they are staying in the work because there are few employment opportunities available. I am hoping that that attitude can be reversed.
Active
USW
Active USW
Thank you for your insightful observation and comment.
In the UK territory, and perhaps in other territories where regulations now permit the marriage of officers to non-officers, a similar question has been raised; Are active officers who marry remaining in the work because of the benefits provided the to the non-officer spouse; free sharing of the quarters?
As a non-officer spouse, living with my officer spouse in SA provided quarters, I freely admit that it is quite a comfortable arrangement. Admittedly there are drawbacks- our carpets are badly frayed, some of our furniture needs replacing (came from the SA's charity shop last September) and the house is tiny and with a dining area. Yet, it suffices. Some SSO couples have purchased their own homes and don't use the assigned quarters. While this option is discouraged, one can understand that family circumstances may dictate such action, but what happens when the officer is farewelled to a distant location? The non-officer signs a letter of agreement in which he/she promises to move along with the officer. This agreement is already being challenged in at least 3 of the territories where the SSO Provision is in effect.
I shall put your comment to our 400+ members and will revert in a week to tendays.
MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU AND ALL ACTIVE AND FORMER OFFICERS.
From top to bottom, The Salvation Army is run by Psychopaths.
For sure.
I've suffered abuse by more than just a few of them, and the worst thing is that when I (and others) report it we find that we have reported it to Officers who are themselves abusers.
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