When I was being interviewed before being accepted for training as a Salvation Army officer, one cunning interviewer asked me, "What do you think The Salvation Army most needs right now?" My answer was instinctively,
"That we need to teach holiness more."
To which he said,
"And what do you think holiness is?"
I gulped, (and inwardly berated myself for not foreseeing this follow up question), and replied somewhat naively that it was being more Christ-like.
Well, now I've been an officer for about two and a half years and I have a much better understanding. That said, most of my understanding now comes from the fact that I know that I don't know so much of the picture. It's a case of the more I learn, the more I realise there is to learn. In a way I envy those, (on both side of the current debate), who have their precise position tied down with such certainty!
The most pleasing thing about recent debate is that there seems to be an agreement that The Salvation Army, (and the church in general??), needs to rediscover holiness. The least pleasing thing is that the debate occasionally turns personal and this reflects badly on Christianity as a whole. :(
This then is the start of my rambling journey towards a better knowledge and experience of true holiness. And hopefully the start of better teaching within any church that I have the honour of serving in.
The title of this post comes from a book of the same name by J. Sidlow Baxter. We think this new call is extremely recent, but this book was first published in 1967. I am extremely grateful to Majors Ray (deceased) and Gladys Ford for their kind gifts of many books to Raewyn and myself when we entered Training College. This is one of those books.
The purpose of using a book like this in my journey is to more provide a structure for my study than to quote verbatim and believe entirely. I will often refer to other commentators, (from all sides of the holiness debate), and more importantly, I ask that my readers offer their comments as I believe this will help my understanding. It may even be a time we can grow together!
God bless you as you take this journey with me.