This is
the second of three posts in which I am discussing 12 essential qualifications
for local officers. The qualifications
are taken straight from that incredibly wise set of documents built over one
hundred years of Salvation Army practice, “Orders and Regulations”.
Qualification #5: The Local Officer has abilities in the field in
which she is working
The basis for allocating local officership positions must be that of ability to do
the job. This almost always means that
the local officer has the right spiritual gift mix, the right life experiences,
the right personality, the right temperament, and the right skills to do the
job.
I once
knew a bandmaster who was appointed to the position “because there was no-one
else to do the job”. He was a reasonable
musician (much better than I will ever be), a good manager, an intelligent
person, and a spiritually mature servant of God. In his secular job he was a leader.
But he hated what he was doing!
He
always thought that he was no good at it, but he loyally stuck to the job for
many years because it was generally understood that the band would collapse if
he didn’t do it.
When I met
him I was shocked by this state of affairs.
How could a man spend so many years in a ministry for which he was
patently unsuited? It was a daily assault on his self-esteem as he knew in his heart that he could only lead the band to mediocrity, at best.
Though it was not my
place to change his position, I had many conversations with him and
(separately) with his corps officer, encouraging them both to consider
something more suitable to his gift mix and abilities, rather than just his
sense of duty. (Duty is a great Salvo
tradition, but sometimes it does us more harm than good.)
My comments went unheeded.
Some
years later I visited that corps and discovered that he had left to start a new
corps plant (work that is in his gift mix).
And guess what? The band hadn’t
collapsed! Rather new blood had stepped
up to fill the gap. Further, there was a
whole new expression of musical ministry in that corps that hadn’t been there
before. A contemporary worship band and
a revitalised and contemporary songster repertoire had risen up in the new
environment.
(But, so what if the band had collapsed? Would it
have been the end of the world? No; but
it would mean the corps would be different; not ineffective, just different.)
Qualification #6: The Local Officer regularly attends (Sunday) meetings
Of
course, the local officer is expected to set the example in meeting attendance,
but equally as important, attendance at meetings is one of his primary
mechanisms for staying in touch with the people for whom he is
responsible. One of the key activities of leadership is networking, and what better time to do it than before and after the meeting.
Qualification #7: The Local Officer obeys his/her officer
How do
we reconcile this with “Qualification #1:
The Local Officer is able to take on responsibility” and “Qualification
#2: The Local Officer is able to advise
and assist the Corps Officer”?
In
those qualifications the local officer is expected to take responsibility and
exercise leadership, but now she is being told to obey his officer. It seems that she is expected to express her
opinion and even robustly argue for the things that she thinks are
important. How does this work? How does this reconcile with being obedient
to her officer.
The
Salvation Army has a clear understanding of how this should work, an
understanding that is consistently adopted and used at all levels of the
organisation all over the world. (It’s
probably one of the few things that is!)
It goes like this:
- When a matter is being considered, local officers
are expected contribute to the discussion with their grassroots knowledge,
opinions based on first-hand experience, and anything else they can bring
to the table.
- If there is something vitally important to the
interest of the ministry of local officer she is expected to robustly
advocate for it.
- A good corps officer will try to reach some degree
of consensus, and it’s usually possible to do so.
- Whether or not consensus is reached, the time will
come when the corps officer has to decide, and the decision may go against
the opinion of the local officer.
- This is when she expresses her loyalty. Outside of that meeting she defends the
decision as though it was her own; she carries out the instructions of the
corps officer as if they were her idea in the first place.
- Later, if there are negative outcomes of the decision, she quietly and discreetly goes to her corps officer and explains them, so that the corps officer is equipped to consider revising the decision in the light of new information.
Qualification #8:
The Local Officer fires a cartridge and leads in giving to appeals
If you
are a local officer and you are not 110% sold on the idea of tithing and
supporting the world wide mission of The Salvation Army, you should seriously
consider handing in your commission.
The
ninth article of the Soldier’s Covenant (which you signed up to when you became a soldier) says:
“I will be actively involved, as I am able,
in the life, work, worship and witness of the corps, giving as large a proportion of my income as possible to support its
ministries and the worldwide work of the Army.”
What
more needs to be said?
Some questions to think about
- You may know of some local officers who do not have
some of these characteristics. What
have you noticed about their effectiveness, and about their impact on the
corps?
- How do you feel about the concept of obedience? Are you ready for the faith it requires
and the vulnerability it places you in? What should you do if your corps
officer is not worthy of obedience (because she is incompetent, dishonest,
lazy or some other reason)?
- Are you 110% sold on the idea of tithing and
supporting the worldwide mission of The Salvation Army? If not, do you know what is preventing
you from being so? Are you prepared
to do what it takes to get past that barrier?
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