the oppression of psudo-tradition

Interesting conversation today with friends of mine.....so interesting, in fact, that it needs to be included with this venture.

The topic turned to tradition in the Salvation Army....and it got me thinking....

Satan is a crafty bugger. He will use anything he can....even things that are good in and of themselves, to get to God's people. The salvation army is a prime example. We have a beautiful rich heritage in the army....obut we are often blinded by our own light....distracted, and confused by what our tradition is and where the focus of our heritage lies.

Which begs to question.....what is the heritage of the army?
The obvious answer to that question is "The stuff Willie Booth did"....you know, brass banding, open airs, etc. And that's all well and good, but that's not actually the heritage of the army.

PLEASE DON'T EXCIMUNICATE ME!!!! I'm not saying that those aren't MANIFESTATIONS of the Army's heritage....they are WONDERFUL MANIFESTATIONS...but we need to get a grip and learn how to distinguished the principle from the practice.

The actual heritage of the Army lies in the REASON behind why WIllie booth did what he did. THE WHY is the heritage. Why did william booth use bar songs for hymns? why did he haul around a brass band? why did he do open airs? why did he take his churches into the taverns? HE DID IT BECAUSE IT WAS RELEVANT TO THE PEOPLE OF THE DAY. Willie Booth met the people where they were....in the style of the day. and i know that there's a huge buzz right now in the christian world about the whole concept of relevance, but that's not even the point. The point is that we've become so obsessed with preserving the method that we've lost booth's original VISION.

It disturbs me greatly when people in authority on a divisional level verbalize that certain artistic persuits will never be accepted into the army as long as they are in authority because they aren't "army" enough......specifically, dancing for the Lord will never be good enough to be included on the same realm of "holiness" as a brass band or timbrel group.

Now please remember, i'm a bandsman. I am a timbrelist. and i also dance. Honestly, and i speak only for myself here, i feel free to worship more when i am dancing then when i am playing my horn, or my timbrel....and that's not because i'm more comfortable with dance. i've had a timbrel in my hand since i could walk, and a horn in my mouth since i got my two front teeth. there's just a whole culture behind banding that comes with it's own set of shakles....but that's an entirely different entry on it's own.

In the army we need to be so careful. We will fight to the death to preserve this "heritage" and rightly so. THe history of brass banding is a beautiful, rich history. But we need to be on our guards....whenever satan can get his fingers in, he will. and i do believe he has a strong hold on our army in this area.....not just music, but the ferocity with which we protect and attempt to preserve our past methods.

The question becomes -- when does the preservation and protection of our percieved "tradition" become oppression? when does it become idolatry? when does it blind us to our real heritage?

Satan will do ANYTHING he can to distract us from our God Given PURPOSE on this earth....to be salt and light in the trenches....to meet people where they are....and to never be content to leave them where they're at either! We have a high calling on our lives....to make the salvation of souls our priority.....to use whatever means necessary to reach as many as possible in the most effective way. That's what satan hates. He wan'ts nothing more than to distract us, to tie us up, to divide us, to destroy us. He wants us to forget what our calling is.

It all boils down to this. ....

OUR HERITAGE IS OUR CALLING.

WE HAVE TO KNOW OUR STUFF.

WE HAVE TO WATCH OUR BACKS.

WE HAVE TO BE CONSTANTLY SEEKING, CONSTANTLY PRAYING, CONSTANTLY FIGHTING.

WE HAVE TO KNOW WHO WE ARE AND WHY WE'RE HERE.