Try and Find It!

Joy , Joy, Joy , …in the Salvation Army ?

I read comments recently that characterized one of our songs as a cheerleading ego trip for our denomination that has no place in our songbook as a hymn. Some of the rationale was that it glorified the Salvation Army, not the Lord.

I’m not sure that the term, cheerleading song for our own egos; is the way I’d describe this old army song.

I’d have to go to the time and the context in which it was written and became popular….

A day when this Salvation Army looked, sounded and was perceived much differently than we are today. In a day when a rag-tag , dare I say “ragamuffin” band of strangely uniformed soldiers were storming the dens of sin and the strongholds of satan with a holy zeal to ‘Win the World for Jesus’…..

A time when the well understood message of the Army was not “Doing the Most Good” ; but more like ‘Save another one for Jesus’. "Red,hot firebrands were our branding.

Then, the public perception and understanding of the Army was clear to all who heard and saw this highly visible group of salvation warriors who had one clear message…. ‘Repent and be saved…..’ ‘Come to Jesus, tonight, tomorrow may be too late’

There was no confusion of purpose in the request to “join our happy band” “and be joyful all the way” (to heaven). Joy now, Victory then, seemed a clearer focus on mission than, “what will the neighbors think”?

We were an Army fighting against sin, with an open invitation to the world to join us and continue on one grand crusade to march through this world, gathering converts and making them soldiers. Singing until we marched into eternity to present our trophies and crowns to King Jesus. “Sweeping through the land, with the Sword of God in hand” …

We sang our invitation to “Come join our Army, to Battle we go”…. “The Salvation Army is marching along….”

We sang in the parts of town where few were singing … inviting lost souls to go along for the trip to eternity…… it was at the same time our birthplace and our destiny.

We were at first a novelty and considered “fools for Christ” by many.

Then we became “unique and innovative” when the rest of the church world began to see that we were attracting sinners to Jesus and making a difference in the neighborhoods we lived in.

We were bold and audacious, and had little concern that we were the raucous part of a parade that stretched from the cross to the kingdom.

The noisy neighbors of the religious community that caused comfortable Christianity to wince when they heard us and blush when we were included in the same breath as the Church.

Was it only when we became more established and men began to speak well of us, that we slowed the pace of fervent march and began to look around at the rest of the world and became more concerned with what they thought of us ?

Was it only then that the whispers of Ego and the thoughts that we were blowing our own horn, shouting about our greatness instead of the Saviors, began to creep into our dialogue and consciousness?

……................................……………………?

Perhaps the cry today over our own self-praise is not the voice of criticism for controversies sake, .....but more the repeated whisper of God’s Holy Spirit to return to our first love. (and joy) ?





**By the way, I’m not in favor of the rag tag look, high collars, bonnets, or any of the external coverings for that matter………and I’ll be the first to riot if we want to dig up the buried corpse of old methods for the sake of memory ………………..pray for fire for our Army , for prevailing passion!