URBANarmy

"OK, I will not go as far as lighting a candle for him, but I wonder if Ignatius' voice in mission has been lost and the principles laid out for mission overlooked by us still protesting! " Oddly, I'd not really considered Ignatius in terms of mission, Spiritual Formation yes, probably even frequently, but not in terms of mission. That was until reading Mooney's paper on ' Ignatian Spirituality, A Spirituality for Mission'. She makes her point well by pointing to a triad of features of mission that show how strongly orientated mission was to being, spiritually rooted in and fed by God, that it was personally motivated by love of God and all creation, and finally mission inspired by Ignatius was strategically-orientated toward pastoral action. 'In the spirit, from the heart, practically...' underpinned a desire to help others to know God's love and to draw people into the self same mission of sending love. Within this framework Mooney argues t...

The enigma of Frank Smith has intrigued me for years and it has been good to get an insight to this man through a paper given several years ago to the National Salvation Army Social Services Conference by Norman Murdoch. If ever there was a lost voice of Mission within TSA it is Frank Smith. The one time Commissioner who led TSA work in the US and Canada (1884-1887) and who was TSA first Social Wing Commissioner 1888-90 resigned and left TSA to become a founder member of the British Labour party. With his ‘desertion’, the cloud under which he left descended further to almost fog any influence he had within the formation of a holistic missiological theology that shaped TSA then, and continues to do so now. There is very little historical recognition of Frank Smith and his influence, seemingly an awkwardness and embarrassment he simply is not considered. He warrants a minimal attention in Sandall’s historical account of the development of TSA, which is reflected in almost a denial that h...

A book that has shaped me and it intrigues me that it doesn't seem to get the credit it deserves is Philip Needham's 'Community in Mission'. Written 21 years ago it still moves me to think that the quality of missional thinking was articulated within a Salvationist context well before we got all hung up about needing to prove our creditials by slipping the word incarnational and attractional into every sentence. It is a book I treasure and wouldn't want to lose - Phil Needham is a voice of mission that needs to be heard and not lost. Open to any page and there is a gem of a quote to challenge and inspire. Here's a taster. "The Church cannot exist in isolation from the world and remain the people of God. A church out of touch with the world is a church out of touch with God, for the call of God to go into the world is unmistakable Needham" (1987:36) Needham, P. (1987). Community in Mission : A Salvationist Ecclesiology. Atlanta, Georgia.

Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an...

Okay here's a new trend for all you pomo; em.ch; salvo types - forget your goatees; forget your piercings; 'aggresive' battle gear - this is the tattoo you want, I'm almost tempted myself being due a mid-life crisis in June next year! I photocopied it from the original Chinese corps flag that was planted in Limehouse, East London in the early part of 20c. A fantastic story of Catherine Hine fed up with her HQ appointment, who decided to walk down to and eventually live in the Chinese community of Limehouse. If you want to find a story of incarnation try and find Catherine Hine's story. While working at THQ she spent every spare minute she had in the laundry's run by the Chinese community, getting to know the women who worked there, being part of their community; their lives. She lived out the gospel without speaking a word of Mandarin; communicating through pictures she made the message and life of Jesus known. A corps was established and quickly grew through th...