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This is my first post for a while, as a lot has been going on in my personal and work life (as a Salvation Army Officer). For me, it’s very much a fresh start in my personal life and a new chapter in my working life. Many of you will know that I’ve recently moved from Leicester to Long Eaton, this is to take up responsibility as Associate Officer at Derby Central Corps and Support Officer at Ilkeston Corps (along with some other duties in the East Midlands area). Last week I had a welcome at Derby Central Corps and this morning it was my welcome at Ilkeston Corps (along with David Robinson, who I’ll be working with). My welcome talks were basically the same in both Derby and Ilkeston, and you can read them by clicking on the links.

Many of you know that I was due to get a new Salvation Army posting. Unfortunately this will involve leaving Leicester, a city I love very much. During my two years here I’ve made some great friends, many via social networking sites who I’ve gone on to meet in real life. I’m pleased that those friendships can continue through that medium, and I’m not going to be that far away from Leicester anyway.

I’ve been appointed to Derby Central Corps as Associate Officer and Ilkeston Corps as Support Officer. I’ve also had ecumenical and interfaith responsibilities within the East Midland Division of the Salvation Army, and the Divisional Commander has indicated that he would like me continue those duties under his direction and on his behalf (where appropriate). I’ll be living in Long Eaton, Derbyshire.

It’s been ten days since the appointment was proposed and five days since it became official, but I’ve had to wait until today to make it public. I take up the new appointment on Thursday 28 July 2011. I look forward to this new opportunity for Christian service.

Note: this post follows on from A Difficult Six Months.

This is a guest post from colleague Salvation Army Officer Jason Davies-Kildea from Australia. I’m grateful to Jason for allowing me to reproduce it here.

Today is the International Day Against Homophobia. It might be a good day to reflect on how much simpler my life could be if I would only stay quiet about the ‘issue’ of homosexuality and the church. Yet, I don’t think silence is the vocation that I’ve been called into.

I’m sure people wonder why a heterosexual man would spend the time and energy that I have done campaigning for greater understanding and acceptance of gay and lesbian people within the church and more specifically within The Salvation Army. The answer is pretty simple really – I keep witnessing people being hurt by ignorance and prejudice and I refuse to allow this situation to continue unchallenged.

I’ve lost count of the number of people that have told me how they used to be a part of the church but when they awakened to a differing sexuality, they were excluded – some quickly and cruelly and others slowly frozen out. My heart breaks when I hear of the violence inflicted on gay and lesbian people because they are different. I wonder why followers of Jesus, instead of welcoming these marginalised folk, seem to be the chief proponents of highlighting their difference, legitimising prejudice and ‘othering’. I am deeply saddened when I hear of occurrences of self-hatred, self-harm and suicide amongst LGBT people, many of whose misconceptions of their own self-worth have been driven home by ‘well-meaning’ Christians.

So, while LGBT people continue to be the victims of intimidation, bullying and violence, I’ll fight. While Christians hide their prejudice behind a handful of out-of-context scriptures, I’ll fight. While the church remains closed to my gay and lesbian friends, I’ll fight. While love comes second to man-made rules, I’ll fight to the very end.

Those of you who know me and my personal circumstances will realise that the title of this post is something of an understatement! I can honestly say that the last six months have been the most difficult and challenging of my life. In the middle of November 2010 I had to face up to what can only be described as a life-changing event, which has had a profound effect: with implications for me as a person, for my mental health, and for my work. Consequently, there are implications for my future life and work.

I have previously written about my bipolar condition, and my mental health has not been good during this period – with the first two months being the most difficult, when I was plunged into the absolute depths of darkness and despair. The last four months have been better as I have come to terms with my situation, although there have been ups and downs. Some days I’ve been able to function fairly normally, with others when I’ve been extremely demotivated and depressed. Remember, depression is not just ‘feeling low’ (the sort of thing everyone experiences from time to time), but something that overwhelms you and takes over your whole being.

During this six months I’ve been ‘out of appointment’, meaning that I had to relinquish my responsibility for Leicester Central Corps of the Salvation Army. It wasn’t a period when I was out of work as such, because (when I could) I was able to fulfil some responsibilities as part of the chaplaincy team at the University of Leicester, as well as ecumenical, interfaith and other ‘work-related’ activities within the city. One of the very positive outcomes of the time has been the opportunity to regularly see a psychotherapist. He has helped me become very self-aware – something I can recommend for everyone, as there are so many people going through life without any real sense of who they are and why they react in the ways they do. I’ve been getting myself fit, especially through cycling (partly of necessity as I haven’t had a car for most of this period) and walking. Sometimes it was difficult to motivate myself, but always worth the effort when I did. I’ve also been able to use the time for reading, studying and writing, the latter having been very therapeutic and (at times) cathartic. I’ve also been very grateful for supportive family and friends through this time, with some of the latter only known to me online – but real friends nevertheless.

So, at the end of this six month period, how do I feel now? I feel positive! The Salvation Army has been very good to me, and I’m looking forward to the start of a new and exciting chapter of my life and ministry. Please feel free to get in touch with me – my contact details are readily available, and my mobile number is available on Facebook if we are friends.

Note: This post is continued in New Salvation Army Appointment.

Today is Education Sunday, a national day of prayer and celebration for everyone involved in the world of education. For more than 100 years there has been an annual recognition of Education Sunday in England and Wales (traditionally on the ninth Sunday before Easter). 2011 marks the bicentenary of the National Society (of the Church of England), one of the many denominational providers of church schools. The church schools it established (and which it continues to support) helped lay the foundations for mass, and, later, free school provision in England.

This year’s theme is Firm Foundations because one understanding of education is laying the foundations needed for life. In Christian terms we see Jesus Christ as our foundation and whether we are educators at school, church or home we need to build on that foundation with regard to our faith.

Currently I have the opportunity to worship at Leicester Cathedral on Sunday mornings (no, I haven’t left the Salvation Army) and I find it very helpful sharing with the people there, many of whom are good friends. It’s also good to receive the bread and wine as physical symbols of the body and blood of Jesus, who died and rose again for us. In addition, I enjoy the music of the choir and organ which is of a high standard.

This morning Canon Barry Naylor reminded us of the need to place the qualities of the Kingdom of God at the centre of education and to help everyone develop their full potential: not simply imparting knowledge, but building a just society based on the equality of all people.

So you might like to pause for a moment to consider ways you might be able to further these aims, support the work of our schools, colleges and universities, and be an educator in your everyday life – by the way you live and the example you set!

The Salvation Army has today announced its new world leader and the 19th General will be Canadian-born Commissioner Linda Bond. Commissioner Bond becomes the third woman and the fourth Canadian to hold the post of General of The Salvation Army since the international church and charity organisation was founded 146 years ago.

The commissioner, who currently heads up the church and registered charity’s work in the Australian Eastern Territory, was elected by The High Council of The Salvation Army made up of senior leaders from around the world who met this week in Sunbury-on-Thames near London.

Commissioner Linda Bond (64) will have the title General-elect until she succeeds the current world leader General Shaw Clifton, who retires at the beginning of April.

As General of The Salvation Army, the commissioner will be the head of more than one million Salvationists in 123 countries. The Salvation Army also has more than 100,000 employees who communicate in 175 different languages.

In recent days and months, The Salvation Army has been involved in relief work in the aftermath of the Australian floods, the devastating mudslide in Brazil, floods in Sri Lanka, and the New Zealand earthquake.

Commissioner Bond comes to the role of General of The Salvation Army with 42 years’ experience of Christian ministry and leadership. Since 2008 Commissioner Bond has headed up The Salvation Army’s work across Eastern Australia, a huge territory with its headquarters in Sydney. This includes the recently devastated state of Queensland where The Salvation Army continues to be heavily involved in assisting victims of widespread flooding. Prior to this, the commissioner worked at Salvation Army International Headquarters (IHQ) in London, as the Secretary for Spiritual Life Development and International External Relations. This was her second spell at IHQ where she had previously served as Under Secretary for Personnel in the mid 1990s.

As a Salvation Army officer (ordained minister of religion and leader) Commissioner Bond has served in local corps (church) ministry, on the staff of Salvation Army national and regional (divisional) headquarters and as part of the training staff for new officers in her home territory of Canada and Bermuda. During those years she also served as a divisional and subsequently a leader of The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda.

Other appointments have included divisional leadership roles in the Manchester region of the United Kingdom between 1998 and 1999, and as Territorial Leader in the USA Western Territory of The Salvation Army.

Note: This is part of an official Salvation Army press release (with some minor changes).

The candidates for the nineteenth General of The Salvation Army were announced yesterday. From the left they are Commissioners John Matear, Christine MacMillan, Barry Swanson, William Roberts, Max Feener, Linda Bond, Robert Street, William Francis and Dick Krommenhoek. Commissioner James Knaggs declined.

I’ve noticed from comments on Facebook and Twitter that many people would have liked to see Commissioner Betty Matear as one of the candidates. Unfortunately, although this might have been acceptable in western countries, because the Salvation Army is an international movement there is a difficulty. In many countries and cultures it would be very problematic for a wife to be seen as ‘in charge’ above her husband, whether we like it or not. But I can remember when (even in the UK) she would have been known as Mrs Commissioner Betty Matear! So culture can change and equality become a reality!

Note: See my related post on this subject by clicking here!

Update: Commissioner Linda Bond is the new General! (Monday 31 January 2011)

The 17th High Council convenes today at Sunbury Court, United Kingdom, to elect the 19th General of The Salvation Army in succession to General Shaw Clifton who will retire at midnight on 1 April 2011. This will also be the largest-ever High Council with 109 members, 57 women and 52 men.

The Chief of the Staff, Commissioner Barry C. Swanson, issued summonses in December 2010 to those Salvation Army leaders who qualified for membership. All active commissioners, territorial commanders and territorial presidents for women’s ministries were summoned. There will be 83 commissioners and 26 colonels present. You can follow developments here and/or Twitter.

Note: If you want to read more about the High Council, this is good article. Click here! (via @aberry).

Update: High Council Nominations 2011 (posted Thursday 27 January 2011)

Update: Commissioner Linda Bond is the new General! (Monday 31 January 2011)

Today marks 10 years of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. A free resource for school children, students and plagiarists all around the globe! Copy and paste essays have become so ubiquitous that schools, colleges and universities now use software to detect this type of plagiarism.

That aside, it’s a fantastic work of reference! You might think it would be unreliable because anyone can edit it, but there’s good reason to believe that the wisdom of the crowd can produce a more accurate body of work than groups of individuals working on conventional encyclopedias. I once read a piece of research that showed Wikipedia to be more accurate than a leading conventional encyclopedia, although I’m sorry I don’t have the reference at hand to back that claim up.

I have created an entry in Wikipedia about Commissioner Helen Clifton of the Salvation Army, and the entry was challenged several times before it was finally accepted. I had to justify the entry on the basis that she wasn’t just married to a significant person, but a significant person in her own right. Helen is married to the current General of the Salvation Army but, as a new General is about to be elected, the page will have to be modified in due course – and there’s nothing stopping you being the one to do it!

Today is Commitment Sunday in the Salvation Army UK, and in the Christian calendar it’s the celebration of the Baptism of Christ. This gives me an opportunity to share one of my favourite paintings (to be found in the National Gallery, London) and a hymn which brings both events together.

Christ, when for us You were baptized,
God’s Spirit on You came,
as peaceful as a dove and yet
as urgent as a flame.

God called you his belovèd Son,
called you his servant too;
his kingdom you were called to preach,
his holy will to do.

Straightway and steadfast until death
you then obeyed his call
freely as Son of Man to serve
and give your life for all.

Baptize us with your Spirit, Lord,
your cross on us be signed,
that, likewise in God’s service, we
may perfect freedom find.