Blood and Fire!

…rediscovering the passion

by Captain Andrew Clark

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 This book is dedicated to my children, Benjamin and Ceitidh
and to the glory of God.

Thanks goes to my wife and co-worker, Tracy, for editing the script, offering advice, and for ‘putting up’ with me; to
the countless authors who have influenced my mind and thinking whose work has so ingrained itself on my heart
that you will hear it reverberate here in these pages.

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 : : Contents : :

Introduction 4

SECTION ONE - Belief

A war cry 7
Washed in the Blood 12
An authentic gospel 21
Ignited by the Fire 33
Power tools 48
What God has joined together… 60

SECTION TWO - Action

Missional Methodology 71
A Vision: Simple Mission and the Way Forward 84
Sent Out 91
Epilogue: A Spiritual Declaration 97
Appendices:
(i) Resources for your fight 99
(ii) The Ward System 102
About the author 121

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: : Introduction : :
Many of those who find themselves in the ranks of The Salvation Army today
are experiencing a new hunger for a new day. There is an insatiable sense
that God is doing a new thing. New initiatives are springing up all over the
world, bringing a fresh expression to what it means to be The Salvation Army.
There is a desire for The Salvation Army to rise once again and take its God-
ordained place in the strategy to win the world for Jesus, beginning right
where we are. Being positioned in 113 countries at the time of writing, The
Salvation Army is well placed to extend the Kingdom in a significant way in
such a time as this.
However, there is much more to these desires than just desperation for
missional effectiveness. At the heart of this call upon The Army is a deep
desire to be renewed spiritually. The now multi-national Roots Movement in
the UK, Canada, USA and Australia as well as the Primitive Salvationism
propaganda emanating from sources such as the 614 Network and
armybarmy.com are fuelling the fire of a new generation of Salvationists who
are starting to bang different drums to that of their parents and
grandparents. Young people especially are capturing the essence of
Salvationism as God ordained it and moving forward like never before.
When Israel were in exile, sitting by the Rivers of Babylon singing their song in
a foreign land, God promises them a new generation. In Isaiah 49:19-21 we
see that God promises there will be a time when the bondage and shame of
exile will be forgotten by a new generation. This generation will be free from
the shame and the constraints of earlier decline and will bring the hope of
restoration once again.
God is raising up a generation in The Salvation Army who will embrace the
covenant love of God, who will show a level of sacrifice, commitment and
dedication like never seen before, who will lift up the banner of the Lord
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before all people and gather in the harvest of souls that should have been
won by their forefathers.
The Salvation Army in Western society has suffered the pain of exile for some
years. It is into this context that the fresh call to renewal is coming.
It is the author’s contention that in order for this renewal to take root and fly,
there must be something very stable at the core. Ultimately, it is the will and
love of God. However, it is also about confidence in the central message of
the gospel. This, coincidentally, is also the core of The Salvation Army’s
mission.
For years now, The Army have expressed this central theme of the gospel in
the international war cry, ‘Blood and Fire!’
This book is about understanding the passion behind those words and
offering practical ways for every Salvationist to own the passion for
themselves. It is about applying the Blood and experiencing the Fire afresh.
There are some helpful questions for reflection at the end of each chapter.
While there are practical elements contained within the book, the best
application will be how the Spirit interprets the material to your mind and
situation. It is hoped that this book will be a launching pad for you as you
seek to engage your heart, mind and energy in the Salvation War.

Andrew Clark
Captain

October 2008

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: : SECTION ONE : :
Belief

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: : A war cry : :

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I will never forget the impact that watching the First Gulf War had on me as a
young lad. It was one of the first fully televised conflicts that had come to our
screens. There were very few battlefields that the viewer was not taken to. I
will never forget the sight of the inscription written on the side of one of the
missiles, glimpsed as it was being attached to the underside of a British
bomber: ‘This one is for you Saddam!’
War is sadly familiar to us all. We are constantly bombarded with the news of
international conflicts, civil war and political strife. We become de-sensitised
to the plight of the refugee, the military funeral and the embittered political
wrangling of the international community.
When William Booth and his contemporaries sparked the war-like terminology
of The Salvation Army, I wonder if they could possibly have foreseen the way
in which The Army they were birthing under God would itself become de-
sensitised to the plight of the lost, be overrun by haemorrhaging Salvation
Army corps and see theologically watery rumblings ripple throughout The
Army worldwide.
General Booth himself predicted that demise would come if The Salvation
Army lost sight of its central message, declaring
“I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century
will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ,
forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration,
politics without God, and heaven without hell”
Whilst the threat was clear, whether Booth could have imagined that his own
‘Blood and Fire’ Army could ever begin to espouse such a position seems
unlikely. For them, ‘Blood and Fire!’ was a war cry of passion declared aloud
to any enemy resistance in the mop-up operation of the victory that Jesus
Christ won on the cross at Calvary. It was a call of confidence that in the
Almighty Combination of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God the Father,

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death had been defeated and everything was now possible as the Kingdom
of God was being ushered in, dispelling darkness that crossed its path.
When the Salvationists were opening more outposts than they could count,
enrolling more soldiers than they could name and investing all the hours that
God sent to invade the whole world, there was no time to stop and become
desensitized to anything. As they battled on the front line for the souls of men
and women, the pain of their plight was daily in their faces. There was no
room for doubt that what the world needed was an application of the Blood
and the Fire. In response to anyone who failed to be motivated to save the
lost, he gave the instruction, ‘Try tears!’
In the opening years of this century, the complexities that threaten to
compound the modern-day warrior abound. Multi-culturalism, international
terrorism, post-modernism, nominalism, clericalism and pretty much every
other ‘-ism’ you can think seeks to distract the Salvationist from his or her high
calling. In the confusion of the battle, if we do not have our rallying cry, our
declaration of intent and our passion verbalised, then we run the risk of losing
ground to the fog of the 21st century battle.
There are two positions that were always quickly re-filled on a historic
battlefield if the soldier bearing the position should fall: the standard bearer
and the bugler. The tools they carried captured the essence of the cause
and instructed the soldier in the fight. Blood and Fire is a combination of
both. The cause is the cause of Blood shed at Calvary and its implications for
the redemption of the whole world. The instruction is the Fire of the Holy Spirit,
guiding and equipping the soldier in battle with all he needs to win his war.
If ever we needed a war cry it is now. Google.com defines a war cry as “a
slogan used to rally support for a cause; a yell intended to rally a group of
soldiers in battle” We must continue to keep our mission clear and our
objectives set. We must continue to rally round a call that moves us beyond

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ourselves into the thick of the fight to liberate the captives of the enemy and
ensuring the victorious spread of the Kingdom of God.
William Booth declared,
“What is the use of a doctor who cannot cure, a life-boat that cannot reach
and rescue, an overseer who cannot relieve? And what would be the value
of a Saviour who was not good and gracious, and strong enough to save the
vilest and worst, and to save him as far as he needs? But our Redeemer is
mighty to save. Hold the standard high. Let us tell the world of the Blood and
Fire.”
Of course, the actual phrase, ‘Blood and Fire’ only appears in scripture in
Joel 2:30 and Acts 2:19 with reference to the impact of the Holy Spirit on the
world when he comes.
As we make a journey of discovery into all the richness of our clarion call, we
do so with every confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name every
enemy flees. We go on now to explore the significance of the Blood and the
Fire.

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: : Questions : :
1. In what ways are you becoming de-sensitized to the plight of those
who face eternity without a saving faith in Jesus Christ?
2. Take time to reflect on the quote from William Booth on page 6. To
what extent can you see these prophetic words coming true in the
context you find yourself in?
: : Action : :
1. Pray that the Lord will restore and increase in you a heart for the
lost.
2. Study the scriptures, noting the contexts that the blood of Jesus and
Holy Spirit manifesting as fire appear. You may find a bible
concordance helpful.
: : Scripture : :
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior;
gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
that we may glory in your praise."
Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said "Amen" and "Praise the LORD."

1 Chronicles 16:34-36

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: : Washed in the Blood : :

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I have in my possession a CD created by the English artist, Gavin Bryers. In
1971, when he lived in London, he was working with a friend, Alan Power, on
a film about people living rough in the area around Elephant and Castle and
Waterloo Station. In the course of being filmed, some people broke into
drunken song - sometimes bits of opera, sometimes sentimental ballads - and
one, who in fact did not drink, sang the hymn “Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me
Yet”.
Having taken the recording of the loop to a studio, several musicians listened
as they worked out the accompaniment to the singing of the tramp. After a
few moments, Bryers went to find himself a coffee. On his return he recalls
how he “found the normally lively room unnaturally subdued. People were
moving about much more slowly than usual and a few were sitting alone,
quietly weeping.”
He goes on to say “I was puzzled until I realised that the tape was still playing
and that they had been overcome by the old man's singing. This convinced
me of the emotional power of the music and of the possibilities offered by
adding a simple, though gradually evolving, orchestral accompaniment that
respected the tramp's nobility and simple faith. Although he died before he
could hear what I had done with his singing, the piece remains as an
eloquent, but understated testimony to his spirit and optimism.”
This rough voice booms out the words of the hymn with such confidence,
sincerity, faith and certainty. You could be cynical and consider that since
this man was without a home the blood had certainly failed him, yet after
your first hearing of this piece, you could never be reduced to cynicism. The
composer takes the 16 bar recording and plays it in a continuous loop,
building up accompaniment over the course of the CD eventually adding
the backing of a full symphony orchestra, a full choir and a professional
baritone duettist. Gavin Bryers recognises the grandeur of this simple
statement sung from the heart in faith.
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Over the years, Salvation Army hymnology has been full of heart-felt
expressions extolling the ‘power in the Blood.’ We find several references to
its healing and cleansing properties, its crucial role in redemption and the
fact that it continues to flow from Calvary to reach even us. Recent years of
‘modernisation’ have deemed these songs to be old fashioned and whilst it
remains a key theological idea, many have dismissed the teaching as
Christian jargon from a bygone era.
Scripturally, there is much treatment of the Blood of Jesus and in fact, the link
with blood for the remission of sins and with redemption is as old as Abraham
himself. The instruction of the Lord to the Hebrews to apply the blood of
lambs to their doorposts in order to escape death provides for us a powerful
picture of the biblical reassurance that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all
sin (1 John 1:7).
One of the most important sprinklings of blood for the Israelites was carried
out by the high priest. Once each year he went into the Holy of Holies to
make atonement, which means "reconciliation." This act was meant to wipe
away the people's sins, so they could have renewed fellowship again with
the heavenly Father.
The priest would carry into the Holy of Holies a handful of incense, a censer of
burning coals of fire from the altar, and a container of blood from a slain ox.
Within the Holy of Holies was an ark, on top of which sat a flat, golden top
with a lip around it. This was the mercy seat, where God ‘sat’; it was His very
presence.
After cleansing himself in an elaborate ceremony, the priest went inside the
Holy of Holies with great reverence and fear. He dropped the incense into
the fire, causing an aroma and smoke to ascend. Then the priest dipped his
finger into the blood and sprinkled it seven times on the mercy seat:

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“He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the
front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger
seven times before the atonement cover.” (Leviticus 16:14).
When the blood was sprinkled on God's seat, forgiveness of all sins was
accomplished, and all past sins were covered. When the high priest came
out, the people knew God had accepted the sacrifice, and their sins were
pardoned. Israel never doubted it!
Hebrews informs us that we have a Great High Priest -- Jesus. And He is our
High Priest not just once a year, but for all time. Jesus took His own blood to
the true mercy seat, into God's very presence, the ultimate Holy of Holies,
and presented it for the remission of all sins, of all believers, of all time. It was
a final sprinkling! You will notice here that it was not just enough to present
the blood in a bucket. It had to be applied for the remission of sin. In the
same way, the blood of Jesus must be sprinkled on every heart. It must be
applied. The ongoing process that enables this to happen is simple
repentance and continued obedient faith.
Paul declares to us that, “in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have
been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace,
who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall
of hostility” (Ephesians 2:13-14). God has bulldozed the dividing wall of sin.
The curtain of the temple has indeed been torn in two, allowing full access to
the throne room and to the presence of God (Hebrews 10:19).
It is crucial for the Salvationist to understand the process that must go on for a
person to be saved. It is not simply the case of ‘believism’. James tells us
that even the demons believe and shudder! (James 2:9) Salvation comes
only though the application of the shed blood of Jesus to the heart of an
unregenerate person.

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We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has by His suffering and death made an
atonement for the whole world so that whosoever will may be saved. We
believe that repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and
regeneration by the Holy Spirit are necessary to salvation. (Doctrine 6 & 7 of
The Salvation Army). Is it any wonder then that ‘Blood’ is a vital part of the
war cry of the Salvationist?
William Booth said, as he announced the new name of The Salvation Army,
“WE BELIEVE IN SALVATION.— We believe in the old-fashioned salvation. We
have not developed and improved into Universalism, Unitarianism, or
Nothingarianism, or any other form of infidelity, and we don’t expect to. Ours
is just the same salvation taught in the Bible, proclaimed by Prophets and
Apostles, preached by Luther and Wesley and Whitefield, sealed by the
blood of martyrs — the very same salvation which was purchased by the
sufferings and agony and Blood of the Son of God.”
If we are to be true to our calling as a Salvation Army, the salvation we
preach will not be a half-baked theology containing grains of wisdom but
lacking in power. “We have no other argument, we want no other plea. It is
enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me.”
So what effect does the declaration of the Blood have on the unsaved?
Perhaps there will not be an understanding. Perhaps it will seem strange.
However, a war cry was never meant to be for those not on the side of the
force declaring it! It is much more important that the Salvationist understands
the significance of the Blood. However, throughout my years of being a
Salvationist, I’ve had countless opportunities to explain the origin of the blood
in ‘Blood and Fire!’
In spite of that, there is another reason why a fighting soldier must have an
experience of the Blood of Jesus. We call on the power and authority of
Christ's blood when the enemy wages war against us personally. When those

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who have not been saved are in trouble, they call their best friend or they
wallow in fear and condemnation. But in the midst of battle, the Salvationist
immediately stands strong on Jesus' blood!
We often hear the phrase “pleading the blood” used in Christian circles. That
isn’t really a scriptural term. The word plead here means ‘argument’; it
suggests begging, beseeching. We don’t stand before our Father in doubt
that He will respond. We approach the throne in the confidence that in
Christ we are secure. I believe our attitude must be stronger than begging
We are warriors: blood-bought, blood-saved, more than conquerors through
Jesus Christ! We are not in a courtroom with the devil, pleading a case. It is
not the case of being reliant on God to let us off the hook from enemy
attack at every turn because we are victors already! The enemy has no
place in our lives. Jesus has won the victory for us; His blood has prevailed.
And I believe our understanding of the blood in our battle cry should be, “I
proclaim the victory of the blood of Jesus! I am blood-washed, blood-
bought, blood-justified, blood-safe, blood-ransomed therefore Satan has no
business here”
This brings an added dimension to our war cry. It is a statement of threat to
the enemy himself. When we declare it, he knows exactly what we mean.
When we write it on our banners, he knows exactly what it entails. Yet, he
knows those for whom this war cry doesn’t apply. Satan will not fall for the
trap of allowing an unsaved soldier to hide behind a statement that doesn’t
cover him. How important it is that we are sure of our salvation.
Being under this blood brings its own responsibilities. Firstly we have a
responsibility not to deny the blood.
When the high priest came out of the tabernacle it was a sure sign that his
offering of atonement had been accepted. It was all the assurance they
needed. The fact that the high priest entered the Holy of Holies with a rope

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round his ankle and bells on his clothes speak volumes about the fact that
there would have been no doubt if the offering hadn’t been accepted. The
bells would simply stop jingling, signifying that the priest had been struck
down. The rope would ensure that the priest could be pulled from the tent
without his rescuers succumbing to the same fate.
When Jesus Christ passed through death, it was a sure and certain sign that
his offering was acceptable to God. No one had to pull Jesus out of the
grave with a rope. God was please to raise him to life again. The debt had
been paid. How then is it possible for the Salvationist to doubt that the blood
of Jesus lacks power?
I have heard many soldiers declare that they are saved and protected, yet
on the other hand, deny the possibility of being free from sin in their day-to-
day lives. This is not to say that the Salvationist will never sin again. However,
there is a blatant denial floating around the camp that denies the power of
the blood when a soldier resigns himself or herself to sinning daily. This is
where the blood of Jesus comes into effect in our experience of holiness.
As we have already established, it is perfectly possible for the soldier to
withstand the enemies attacks on the grounds of the security he has in Jesus.
The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. There is nothing to which we need
to be in bondage. Jesus has set us free. Freedom and holiness are
intrinsically linked for holiness is the outworking of the freedom we have in
Jesus. So much so that even if we do sin, the blood can still be applied. His
grace is sufficient.
Our second responsibility as blood-washed warriors is to rejoice in it. Paul
explains that “when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him
through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall
we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation” (Romans 5:10-11).
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This is the true source of joy in The Salvation Army. It is not because we are
happy-go-lucky do-gooders with not a problem in sight. Our joy springs up
like a never- ending stream in sheer celebration that we have been made
free. The Psalmist declares that we should “Rejoice in the LORD and be glad,
you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” (Psalm 32:11)
This is a severe case against miserable Salvationists. A former Archbishop of
Canterbury declared that he had never met a miserable Salvationist. He
clearly hadn’t visited any of the corps that I have visited. When we lack joy
in our salvation, there is something in our lives that is proving to be a
hindrance. King David, after killing a man in order to have an adulterous
affair with his wife, noted that his sin caused him to lose the joy of his salvation
(Psalm 51:12). This could only be restored to him by cleansing. There was no
other remedy.
The Salvationist can only declare ‘Blood and Fire!’ with passion when the
Blood of Jesus has been thoroughly applied to the heart for salvation and
continuing to effect holiness in their everyday experience. Let us make sure
that our experience is as real and authentic as the testimony of a homeless
tramp. May we be able to say every day, “Jesus’ Blood never failed me
yet!”

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: : Questions : :
1. How key has an understanding of the Blood of Jesus been in your
grasp of the nature of salvation?
2. In what way can you ensure that this crucial element of doctrine finds
its secure place in your faith sharing?
3. Have you ever been in the situation where you have doubted the
power in the Blood of Jesus to keep you pure and protected?

: : Action : :
1. Pray through Psalm 51. Ensure that your heart is sprinkled and that your
joy is intact.
2. Worship the Lord using some old Salvation Army songs that speak of
Jesus’ Blood and praise him for his provision for you.
3. Testify in the next Salvation Army meeting you attend about the power
of the Blood.

: : Scripture : :
And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation;
they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb. Therefore,
“they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.”

Revelation 7:14-15

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: : Ignited by the Fire : :

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When I recount to people that the village I was brought up in was full of
homes that were fuelled by coal fires they look at me, and wonder why I look
so youthful! I remember walking home from school as a young teenager and
being unable to see from one end of the street to another with all the smoke
from fires that had just been lit for the evening.
Of course, having about 800 households in the same housing estate all
fuelled by coal, made for some interesting events! Twice or three times a
year someone’s chimney would catch fire. As flames billowed out of the
rooftops, the crowd would slowly gather to watch. The fire brigade would
arrive all lights blazing and sirens blaring. By this time there was a sizeable
crowd and someone would be offering tea and biscuits. It was a real
community affair!
When I look at the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, I am reminded of those
occasions. If something is on fire, people will come for miles to watch. As
the disciples of Jesus poured out of the house on that first Pentecost, the
crowds gathered around to watch and listen to the phenomena. I wonder
whether the tongues of fire were visible to those who were not believers or if it
was perceived by faith by Luke. Even if they couldn’t see the tongues of fire,
they could certainly see, hear and feel the effects of it on those upon whom
it fell.
As we consider the second part of our war cry, we move into Pneumatology
– the study of The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit appearing as fire, however, is not
an exclusively New Testament concept. Yahweh often made appearances
in the form of fire in the Old Testament. He appeared to Abraham when he
was agreeing the covenant with him (Genesis 15:17). He appeared to Moses
from the bush (Exodus 3:2). He led the Israelites through the wilderness by
night (Exodus 13:21). He met Moses on Mount Sinai surrounded by fire
(Exodus 19:18). The Lord himself is described as a consuming fire (e.g. Isaiah
30, Hebrews 12:29).
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As we explore the significance of the fire of the Lord, we will explore two
different aspects of the Holy Spirit’s working: refining and strengthening,
empowering and enabling.
Refining and strengthening
Going back to my childhood and early teenage years, you could walk down
the streets of our working class village and not find a scrap of litter on the
streets. On the day when the refuse was collected, families would have one
or two bags of rubbish each for a whole family. The fire that burned in the
centre of the home acted as a useful means of getting rid of waste.

Not so long ago, a friend sent me some thoughts from Malachi 3:3. Here, the
Lord is described as the refiner’s fire, the purifier of silver. It talks of a woman’s
confusion over that particular verse. Wondering what it meant, the woman
went to watch a silversmith in action.
“As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let
it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver
in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the
impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she
thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of
silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of
the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but
he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the
silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.”
If the ‘Blood’ of ‘Blood and Fire!’ refers to salvation, then the ‘Fire’ certainly
refers to the holiness process, not only at conversion, but afterwards too. As
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Isaiah had his vision of the throne room of glory of the Lord in the temple and
experienced a touch from but an ember from the altar of the Lord, so we, in
a full sense, can experience the purifying of the Spirit (Isaiah 6).
This experience of fire provided the necessary cleansing for Isaiah’s mission
that was to come in the same way that Moses’ encounter with God, his
standing on the holy ground, was a necessary experience for the work he
had been assigned. If our mission today is to be a prophetic engagement
with the world, calling it to repentance and faith, then our holiness is of
paramount importance. However, it is not simply for mission’s sake that we
must be pure. The Lord’s command is that we are holy as He is holy (1 Peter
1:16).
When we see the Lord as the refiner, we become aware of the dual work
that happens at conversion. The process of applying the Blood of Jesus by
the Holy Spirit to the heart is accompanied by the purging of impurities in
such a gentle way that we are not consumed. We are, in essence, filled with
the fire of God like Moses’ burning bush. We are set alight but not
consumed, making it possible for the fire to burn in our hearts continually after
impurities are removed.
That initial refining, however, may not be a complete work. The Spirit’s task
here is to do the work of regeneration. It is from that point that sanctification
begins in earnest. Paul urges the Corinthian believers, “Since we have these
promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that
contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God”
(2 Corinthians 7:1). The invitation is to live a life continually obedient to the
Holy Spirit and open to his searching not for our own glory, but to the glory of
the Father and in his honour.
We begin to see the importance of Spirit-birthed character for the
Salvationist. The very first thing that the non-believer will pick up on is an
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undesirable quality in the life of the believer. Whilst no one may expect the
believer to be absolutely perfect, blatant contradictions in behaviour, which
everyone knows should be ‘under the Blood’, will be a negative witness.
How can a believer co-operate with the Spirit in this process? It begins with
honesty. Being willing to keep the heart soft before the Lord will ensure that
we can be receptive to his leading. We are part of a spiritual heritage that
has always promoted healthy inspection of the heart. From our roots in
Methodism, William Booth brought to the attention of his soldiers some
questions for self-investigation. The purpose of this exercise is not to lead us
into a pool of pity, but to move us on into the hope of holiness.
Here is a set of questions that Booth suggested we ask ourselves. Consider
using them in the context of your prayer life, asking that the Holy Spirit
continues his good work in you. Ask the Lord to reveal to you the areas he
wants to change and renew.
Did I rise this morning with a grateful sense of the goodness of God?
Did I offer myself anew to Him in consecration?
Do I deny myself at all times, and take up my cross, as the Spirit of the Lord
leads me?
Is the life I live by the faith of the Son of God, so that Christ dwelleth in me?
Do I feel any pride? Or am I partaker of the meek and lowly mind that was in
Jesus?
Am I firm and resolute in duty? And does any part of my time run to waste?
Have I always the presence of God? And am I saved from the fear of man?
Am I improving all my opportunities for doing or getting good?
Am I just – doing in all things as I would others should do unto me?
Do I indulge in evil speaking to any extent? Do I mention the faults of any in
their absence?
Am I becoming more scrupulous? And do I faithfully listen to the whispers of
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conscience?
Do I love the searching means of grace? Does plain dealing in the pulpit find
sympathy in my heart?
Have I meekness? Am I poor in spirit? Am I temperate in all things?
Do I daily search the Scriptures? And has the reading of the Scriptures
profited me?
Am I now fully consecrated to God? And now trusting Him for a present and
full salvation?
Have I the witness of the Spirit, testifying to the sanctification of my soul?
Have I the fruit of the Spirit without alloy? And am I now breathing out love,
and gratitude and praise?
Have I sweet, sensible communion with God now? And is my soul resting in
Jesus?
Whilst refining may seem like a negative aspect of the Spirit’s work, dealing
with sin and impurity, this is still in order to bring into the life of the believer
something beautiful. Purifying makes room for the fruit of the Spirit to be
planted and grown. When there is an absence of the negative, the positive
is more able to flourish. However, as you see from these questions, there is
much value in keeping account of how those positive things are growing in
our lives too.
In this process of refining, you may well discover that there are some things
that are tougher to remove.
Remember: the enemy is at war with our souls and longs to devour us (1 Peter
5:8). He wages war with our mind and emotions, seeking to lead us into sin in
thought, word and deed. If he wins the battle here, it will not be long before
our bodies will become instruments of sin again (Romans 6:13). Although this
may often be your experience, it does not have to be like this!

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With our spirits being alive to God, the Holy Spirit now alerts us to the danger
of sin. We can resist the enemy at every turn, refusing to give into temptation.
If we resist him, he will flee from us (James 4:7) because the One who is in us is
greater than the enemy (1 John 1:4).
The enemy will not only attack you with temptation, he will also exploit
spiritual strongholds in your life. These are areas where satan may still have a
foothold. These can exist for several reasons. Perhaps there is an area in your
life where you have a problem with habitual sin. Perhaps there is simply some
non-Christian thinking you still entertain (racism, worthlessness, unforgiveness,
bitterness, worldliness). By entertaining non-Christian thoughts, we hand over
rights to satan to use these to spread his poison throughout our lives, keeping
us defeated and enslaved although we are supposed to be free.
We may also experience demon oppression because of these strongholds.
Demons cannot invade our spirits, but they can inflict their negative effect on
our mind, emotions, will and our physical appetites, even taking up residence
in our lives and stopping our spirits from doing their work.
The question of whether Christians can be possessed or influenced by
demons is an interesting one. Not only that, there may well be some who
doubt that demons exist at all. Yet, in reality, we all know the answer is that
the enemy is very capable of attacking us. satan is not omni-present,
omniscient or omnipotent like God at all, so we must assume that he uses
agents, from a rational point of view, let alone from a scriptural point of view.
In this segment of teaching, we will explore a little bit of what satan can and
cannot do with the Christian. I simply want to raise the question of how sin
and the enemy can affect us, and offer a tool to work for freedom.
As to the existence of the demonic, the bible is very clear. They are
described as possessing people, things; they are worshipped by some; they
27
promote unbiblical doctrines and false teachings; they were regularly cast
out by Jesus and his disciples; they cause sickness and several character
defaults; they believe in God!; they can be discerned spiritually...so, if you are
a Salvationist and you have some doubt, simply pray to ask the Holy Spirit to
give you discernment in this area.
The following texts are texts dealing with demons and evil spirits through the
New Testament only. Note, this does not include texts just talking about the
devil himself. The list is not exhaustive.
Matthew 4:24; 7:22; 8:16; 8:28-33; 9:22,23; 10:1; 11:18; 12:22-28; 12:43, 45; 15:22;
17:18
Mark 1:23; 1:26; 1:32-39; 5:15-18; 7:26-30; 9:25
Luke 4:33-41; 6:18; 7:21; 7:33; 8:2; 8:27-38; 9:1; 9:42-49; 10:20; 11:14-20; 11:24,
26; 13:32 John 6:70; 7:20; 8:48-52; 10:20-21;
Acts 5:16; 8:7; 19:12-13;
1 Corinthians 10:20-21; 12:10
1 Timothy 4:1
James 2:19
Hebrews 1:7
Revelation 9:20; 16:13-14; 18:2
You will notice that very many of these scriptures contain the concept of
casting OUT, you will also see some evidences of effects on believers. You will
also notice that they were cast out by normal, believing Christians, not
professionals.
Demons cannot invade our spirits, which are complete light, completely alive
to Christ. In that sense, the Christian CANNOT be possessed of a demon, but
we can be demon inflicted, influenced or troubled in our physical beings and
in our minds, emotions and thoughts. We can get to the stage where our

28
spirit is surrounded like in a glass cage because satan has been allowed to
influence us, debilitating our Christian walk.
There remain, after conversion, many stongholds in our lives. Say you had 60
acres of land, and you sold an acre in the very centre. You would legally
have to provide access to the property. It is the same in our spiritual lives. We
have strongholds of the enemy in our thoughts, will and emotions.

Paul says, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On
the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of
God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And
we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience
is complete." 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

We have the power in Christ to break the influences of the past and present
in Jesus’ name, claiming the power of the Blood and the Fire! One of the
ways that the Holy Spirit will help us to ‘spinkle the Blood’ in these situations is
to minister the word of truth, the living Word of God to our lives. As warriors of
Jesus, we will do what we can to co-operate with the Spirit to keep ourselves
free.
We need to have our lives grounded in the Word of God. A basic
understanding of who we are in Christ is a fundamental concept to get a
hold of. The bible says "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you
free." Jesus, the Word, the Truth, will set you free as you choose to believe
what He says is true, as opposed to what we think is true.
Here are some scripture to feed on, taken from Dr Neil T Andersons teaching
on Freedom in Christ (see appendix (i) ):

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John 1:12, I am God's child.
John 15:15, As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
Ro 5:1, I have been justified.
1 Cor 6:17, I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
1 Cor 6:19-20, I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
1 Cor 12:27, I am a member of Christ's body.
Eph 1:3-8, I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
Col 1:13-14, I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Col 2:9-10, I am complete in Christ.
Heb 4:14-16, I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

Ro 8:1-2, I am free from condemnation.

Ro 8:28, I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances
Ro 8:31-39, I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I
cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Cor 1:21-22, I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
Col 3:1-4, I am hidden with Christ in God.
Phil 1:6, I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in
me.
Phil 3:20, I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Tim 1:7, I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a
sound mind.
1 John 5:18, I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.
John 15:5, I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His
life.
John 15:16, I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Cor 3:16, I am God's temple.
2 Cor 5:17-21, I am a minister of reconciliation for God
Eph 2:6, I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Eph 2:10, I am God's workmanship.
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Eph 3:12, I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Phil 4:13, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
When the Holy Spirit applies the truth of the Word to our hearts, we will begin
to function as an effective member of the Body of Christ. The fruit of the work
of the Spirit will be evident and we will position ourselves for effective warfare.
Empowering and enabling
The Fire does not only refine and strengthen our ability to resist sin and spiritual
attack, however. He is actively supplying us with all we need for engaging in
battle. God not only calls, but he equips.
I used to own a 1975 Volkswagen Camper. If I ever came close to being
attached to a physical thing, it was the camper! It served our family well
during the time we owned it, providing some valuable family holidays. I
laboured to restore the bodywork, giving it a new coat of paint, removing
rust, and making it habitable for our trips. There was, however, something I
neglected. I neglected the inner workings of the engine and forgot to put oil
in it. As we drove through the countryside one day, there was a loud hiss
from the rear of the vehicle and it stopped dead.
That day, the engine seized up. There was no oil, and because there was no
oil, the engine was not able to pump the fuel into the engine, ignite it, and
propel it forward.
As the disciples of Jesus gathered together, waiting for the coming of the
Holy Spirit that Jesus promised, they were promised that they were waiting for
power to enable them to propel the gospel into the whole world. They
would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the
Earth. Without the infilling and empowering of the Holy Spirit, they wouldn’t
have got anywhere fast. They simply had an experience of the Blood. This

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was sufficient to save them but they needed something else to propel them
into the world.
We run the risk of stopping short of experiencing the Holy Spirit in all his fullness
and because of that, we remain less effective in mission that we could be if
we were firing on all cylinders! The Holy Spirit and Fire is the oil that enables us
to minister all that God has done in us, to minister the Word and spread the
news about the Blood. Yet, he is also the fuel, for without him we have no
real and authentic ministry.
"Let others whose blood is fired and whose hearts are melted after the same
fashion join hands with you. Make a Mount Carmel of some ante-room, or
barracks, or kitchen and offer yourself up as a sacrifice, body, soul and spirit,
and believe and wait until you receive the Holy Fire"
General William Booth
My mind turns to the story of a man of God (a former Salvation Army officer!)
who had an incredible ministry healing the sick, saving the lost, preaching
with all signs and wonders following (c.f. Mark 16. 17-18). The key moment for
him was when he took himself into a room, drew a circle around himself and
shouted to God that he wasn't moving until the Holy Spirit came upon him.
He waited, the Spirit came.
And what about those early believers? Their Jesus had died; their Jesus had
risen; now he is telling them to wait, to hang around in Jerusalem, for the Spirit
to come. They waited; I guess they prayed with great expectation because
the risen Jesus had suggested it to be a good idea. They waited, the Spirit
came.
I'm of the theory that when a person is born again, they receive the baptism
of the Spirit and potentially every spiritual gift. It seems that it is right that this
should happen, it is the Spirit that regenerates and creates new life in us; we
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are born again by the Spirit. But there seems to be a problem. There, in these
days, does not seem to be much evidence of this baptism having been
received. Every evidence in scripture of people receiving the Spirit for a first
time, and for the second time top-ups for that matter, begin to see the
power of God manifest through a variety of spiritual gifts.
I've seen evidence in these days of people maturing in the fruit of the Spirit,
but we're often slow on the gifts. There is a whole co-operation aspect that
needs to go on, as well as a need for fuller education. The Spirit empowers us
all with an array of powerful gifts. Frankly, any Christianity, which is not
charismatic, is not Christianity at all.
For me, it was the case of waiting for the Spirit to be released in fullness in my
life, although I am not good at waiting for anything. Convinced of having
new life, convinced of having the Spirit, I had to go through that process of
opening up all the vaults and valves, moving the blockages in life that mean
that the Spirit could pour out and be released in my life. We all receive the
Spirit, just like a boiler always has a pilot light. However, that pilot light, when
the switch is pressed for the boiler to come on, becomes a flame that can
heat a building.
How many of us are on pilot light mode? How many of us need to turn the
switch? Go into a room, draw a circle round yourself, seek God, wait
expectantly for him to come...and he probably will.
With regards to spiritual enabling, William Booth gives this encouragement:
“And, first and foremost, I commend one qualification which seems to involve
all others. That is, the Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Ghost. I would have
you settle it in your souls forever this one great immutable principle in the
economy of grace, that spiritual work can only be done by those who
possess spiritual power. No matter what else you may lack, or what may be

33
against you, with the Holy Ghost you will succeed; but without the Holy Spirit,
no matter what else you may possess, you will utterly and eternally fail.”
The Lord delights to give his children good gifts too (Matthew 7:11). We will
give some special attention to spiritual gifts in the next chapter.

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: : Questions : :
1. What things do you believe that the Lord may be refining in your life
right now?
2. What are you doing to make sure that the Blood of Christ can do its
full work in you, allowing the Spirit to apply it to every area of our
being?
3. Are you as full of the Holy Spirit as you can be?
: : Action : :
1. Spend some time praying through the Spiritual Questions for Self-
Examination.
2. Spend time thanking God for what he has made you in Christ.
3. Aggressively take every thought captive and submit it to Christ,
evicting every undisturbed stronghold in your life.
: : Scripture : :
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth.
Acts 1:8

35
: : Power Tools : :

36
You only need to mention ‘Do it yourself’ to me and I would gladly drive a
thousand miles to avoid it! I am absolutely no good with screwdrivers and
drills. Every project I touch that involves drilling a hole in a wall always ends
up in catastrophe! Added to my natural inability to do that sort of thing, I
have had no tuition or training in DIY whatsoever so I do what any normal
person does…I give up! I don’t even try.
Sadly, when it comes to the gifts of the Spirit, many Christians and
Salvationists give up! If you haven’t been in an environment where the gifts
of the Spirit have been explained and expounded, then you may well be
tempted to either leave it to someone else, end up in error or giving up when
it doesn’t seem to be going right.
There is not enough room in this book to go into the use of spiritual gifts in a
great amount of detail, but a key to operating in the Blood and Fire involves
a willingness to learn about, understand and utilise spiritual gifts.
Firstly, I would make a clear distinction between the fruit of the Spirit (see
Galatians 5:22-23) and the gifts of the Spirit. The fruit are about character
whereas the gifts are about ministry. The fruit is singular, the gifts are plural
because there are several open to us.
The bible doesn’t actually come out clear with a definite description of what
a spiritual gift is, but we have enough to go on to promote a useable set of
guidelines. The gifts are to be used for the building up of the Body of Christ.
They are not a personal bonus to hoard for ourselves. God wants the Body to
experience fullness and uses these ‘charismata’ or ‘gifts of grace.’
Opinions vary as to whether we are simply limited to one or two gifts, or
whether we have access to the whole arsenal of weapons at our disposal.
From my own experience, I have noticed that I tend to operate in a few key
spiritual gifts, but others have been given when needed. God distributes his
37
gifts where he desires, to be used for his glory. This brings together both
camps in a way that makes sense of all the teaching in this area. I can testify
to having operated in a multiplicity of gifts.
The clearly identified spiritual gifts are as follows:
• word of wisdom, 1Cor 12:8

• word of knowledge , 1 Cor 12:8

• faith, 1 Cor 12:9

• gifts of healing, 1 Cor 12:9, 12:28

• miracles, 1 Cor 12:10, 12:28

• prophecy, prophets, 1 Cor 12:10, 1 Cor 12:28, Rom 12:6, Eph 4:11

• discernment of spirit, 1 Cor 12:10

• speaking in tongues, 1 Cor 12:10

• interpretation of tongues, 1 Cor 12:10

• apostles, 1 Cor 12:28, Eph 4:11.

• teachers / teaching, 1 Cor 12:28, Rom 12:7, Eph 4:11

• helps, 1 Cor 12:28

• administrations, 1 Cor 12:28

• ministry / serving, Rom 12:7

• encouragement / exhortation, Rom 12:8

• giving, Rom 12:8

• leading, Rom 12:8

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 • showing mercy, Rom 12:8

• evangelists, Eph 4:11

• pastors, Eph 4:11

Some lists go on to add musicianship, artistry, poverty, celibacy, intercession

and prayer, however the above list is the more commonly accepted list. The
others may be abilities that the Lord uses. There is also a lack of substance in
the scriptural evidence to show that prayer is a spiritual gift, although we
certainly pray by the Spirit’s help.
These gifts are often divided into ministry gifts and supernatural gifts,
separating God ordained roles such as pastors, teachers, evangelists,
apostles, and prophets from the others. The reason for this is simple.
A person may be able to prophesy, but that doesn’t make them a prophet.
Just because someone evangelises, that doesn’t necessarily make him or her
an evangelist. Also, the context of Ephesians 4:11 seems to suggest that
these gifts are mainly roles in existence for the building up of the church
whereas the other gifts are things that are exercised without the person
functioning in a role.
If we are going to operate in the spiritual gifts, we must be people who will
make it our determination to listen to and co-operate with the Spirit. We
need to ask the question, “Holy Spirit, what are you saying? What are you
doing?” All the time, we want this intimacy.
This will take discipline. We're self-absorbed...we must slow that storm down to
hear the still small voice. To slow ourselves down to hear the Lord is a pain, we
don't want to do it. That's why he has to tell us to desire spiritual gifts in the
context of 1 Cor 13...its about taking the time to love the Lord. To cultivate
that relationship of intimacy. If gifts are exercised without love, they will lose
39
their effectiveness and focus. It is important to remember that the significant
teaching on the gifts revolves around 1 Corinthians 13.
The responsibility of every Salvationist is to earnestly discover and learn about
spiritual gifts. We cultivate a heart to hear from and minister in the Spirit. If
you are familiar with spiritual gifts, let us remember to be faithful in exercising
those gifts. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 reminds us the benefit to
ourselves and to the Master in investing our gifts in the Kingdom of God.
If you are not familiar with spiritual gifts, please be encouraged, using the
resources in appendix (i) to help you discover how God may want to equip
and use you.
Some closing encouragement from Catherine Booth:
“And what is our work? To go and subjugate the world to Jesus; everybody
we can reach, everybody we can influence, and bring them to the feet of
Jesus, and make them realize that He is their lawful King and lawgiver; that
the Devil is a usurper, and that they are to come and serve Christ all the days
of their lives. Dare any of us think of it without this equipment of power?
Talk about `Can we have it?' we are of no use without it. What can we do
without it? This is the reason of the effeteness of so much professed
Christianity; there is no Holy Ghost in it. It is all rotten. It is like a very pretty
corpse--you cannot say there is this wanting or the other wanting; it is a
perfect form, but dead. It is like a good galvanic battery. It is all right--perfect
in all its parts--but when you touch it there is no effect--there is no fire or
shock. What is the matter? It only wants the fire--the power.”

40
: : Questions : :
1. Has the environment you were discipled in coloured your view and
understanding of spiritual gifts?
2. Are you clear about the difference between the fruit of the Spirit
and the gifts of the Spirit?
3. How can you ensure that your spiritual gifts are constantly in check
and exercised in love?
: : Actions : :
1. Use some of the study aids listed in appendix (i) to explore spiritual
gifts further.
2. Actively use and desire the spiritual gifts, using what God gives you
responsibly and faithfully for him and his glory.
: : Scripture : :
Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the
church.
1 Corinthians 14:12

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: : Holy Holy Holy : :

42
Human beings are made up of body, soul, and spirit. Salvation addresses all
three aspects of a person. I was saved through justification; I am now being
saved through sanctification; I will be saved at glorification. Salvationists
preach that it is necessary to be entirely sanctified - to completely submit
themselves to the Lordship of Christ in every known area of their life; to
consider themselves dead to sin and alive to Christ; to be determined that sin
will not be their masters; to set themselves apart for God's exclusive use of
their body, soul, and spirit.
At the moment of conversion, the Spirit entered, giving life to my spirit - I was
born of the Spirit and I received the righteousness of Christ. My spirit, which
was previously dead because of sin, was brought to life by the indwelling
presence of the Spirit of God. I received Jesus with all of His righteousness,
love, healing, and other attributes. The penalty of my sin was dealt with, my
sinful nature was overcome by the Righteousness of Jesus, so that God can
look on me and forgive me.
At that moment I was also set apart by His Spirit. I was set apart to and for
God: spirit, soul, and body. I was branded as His very own possession with the
Holy Spirit given as proof of ownership. The Holy Spirit acts like a deposit. You
could liken it to joining a gym. You sign up, become a card carrying
member, but that is not enough for you to experience fitness.
Like most Christians I found myself doing things as a Christian which I knew
were wrong and I ended up in cycles of sin. As Paul said, “I found this law at
work in me that continues to keep me from doing what is right - the law of sin
and death.” It is like being in a gym and eating chocolate!
To be wholly sanctified means to be entirely cleansed and separated from all
sin, and to be completely dedicated to God’s will and purpose for our lives.
Too many Salvationists today are of the ‘I sin every day’ breed of Christian.
This way of thinking totally denies the power of God to keep us from
temptation, let alone over sin!
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There is a greater power at work in me that is able to put an end to this
otherwise endless sin-confess cycle that we may have experienced at some
point of our lives. God is greater than the law of sin and death. It is a
greater power than the lesser law. I find that if I allow myself to be led by the
Spirit I do not gratify my sinful nature. This is sanctification at work in its simplest
sense. Sanctification deals with the power of sin and the ability of sin to drag
us down into the pit. By the help of the Spirit, we can go through a spiritual
examination of our heart which then ensures we are in good condition
before we commence our exercise and growth in strength! This is a special
work of the Spirit distinct from salvation.
Certainly, my soul (mind, will, and emotions) must go through the process of
being conformed to Jesus and requires my cooperation, renewal of my mind
by the Word, and the ongoing empowerment of the Holy Spirit but this
process can only begin by first being planted in Holiness before growing in it.
The mind is the source of all our thinking, the emotions are our feelings, and
the will is the decision making centre of the human being. After conversion,
each of these three areas still follow our old nature after salvation. It is still
running on behaviour we have learned as opposed to running on the Spirit.
A person can be legitimately saved and still be in bondage to sin because it
is just our sinful nature that has been crucified, not every part of the tarnishing
effects of sin. This is why we need to be wholly sanctified.
Our unrenewed mind contains strongholds. A stronghold is a mindset that
causes us to accept as standard something that is clearly opposed to the will
of God. Satan can influence us through these, this is why we need to allow
the Spirit full access to all areas!
Many make the mistake of wanting to keep a bit of their sin. Others fail
because they want to turn from sin to self - meaning they want to be free but
don't want to submit to Jesus. Let us not be fooled - Salvation is found in no

44
other name but Jesus. We cannot expect to be free without a complete
ongoing reliance on Jesus Christ.
Areas of past pain and sin can be the foundations for these strongholds.
Fears, phobias, pride, unforgiveness, sexual addictions, etc., are just a few of
the possible strongholds a person could have. Living a defeated Christian life
is not enjoyable! This is why we must allow the Holy Spirit to plant us in
holiness to allow us to grow. If we let him do the major pruning, we will find
that we will grow.
Most of the many resources around to help us are often nothing more than a
detailed self-examination and confession. They often cover potential
problem areas such as sexual sins, occult sins, unforgiveness, generational
sins, pride, submission to authority, ungodly beliefs, bitter roots, judgments,
etc. We expose our heart to the Holy Spirit. When we get rid of these
unwanted enemies, all that is left in us is the holiness of God…we can
experience freedom! Done in the power of the Spirit, we can find ourselves
clean from all unrighteousness, however we then have to maintain that
freedom.
We cannot expect to be free from demonic influence and the sin that so
easily entangles while we retain areas of moral darkness within our hearts. We
must allow the Spirit to purge us and make us Holy every moment. Jesus said
that we must make sure that the light in us is not darkness! (Luke 11:35)
Satan and his demonic host have been bound in eternal chains of darkness
awaiting judgment on the great day. That means they live in darkness,
wherever they can find it. They are legalists and will take their rights whether
or not we like it. If we want to be completely free from their contamination of
our souls we must remove all of their legal rights. We do this by confession of
sin.

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Confession of sin destroys moral darkness (the sin itself) by exposing it to the
light. That is the only way to remove darkness…let the light of the Glory of
Jesus shine upon us. Confession removes the legal rights that demons may
have to the landscape of our souls. When we bring our sin into the light by
confessing it completely and openly before God the promises of God
guarantee our forgiveness and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all
sin and purifies us from all unrighteousness. Blood and Fire together!
Don't get overwhelmed and think that freedom is not possible. It is! Freedom
is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. A complete change of heart with
respect to any area of bondage followed by a definite turning from the
given sin to Jesus is foundational for freedom. This is planting ourselves in
holiness through the cleansing and purifying of the Spirit.
We retain our freedom by walking in the light as Jesus is in the light. We do it
by refusing to surrender our members (our body and soul) as instruments of
darkness and giving them to God for His exclusive use. The best way to retain
our freedom is to abide in Christ- to make Him our source, our strength our
life. Remember salvation is found IN no other name.
Holiness is nothing short of making sure that the Holy Spirit is empowering our
own spirits to rule over our bodies and souls and the daily living by the Spirit
over sin.

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: : Questions : :
1. Can you discern any patterns of sin in your life?
2. Do you sense that desire to be rid of sin? Ask God to help.

: : Action : :
1. Make it your intention to break those patterns by confessing,
renouncing and receiving the healing balm of the Spirit.

: : Scripture : :

“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:
"Be holy, because I am holy."[ Since you call on a Father who judges each
man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.”

1 Peter 1:15-17

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: : What God has joined together : :

48
Laurel and Hardy. Dastardly and Muttley. Marge and Homer. Morcambe
and Wise. Abbott and Costello. Wilder and Prior. Bread and butter!
We have seen through our thinking so far how intrinsically linked the Blood
and Fire really are. They are almost like different sides of the same coin. We
can see how clearly how one lacks something without the other and
hopefully we can see how vital it is to keep our understanding and
experience of the Blood and Fire fresh to keep our fight effective. Is it any
wonder that these two scriptural ideas are so closely linked? They emanate
from the same God, the same Son, the same Holy Spirit. They are both
central to his will and plan for the world.
Why then, does there appear to be a divorce between evangelicalism and
charismatic expression of the Christian faith? At their extremes, those
expressions can be poles apart and sometimes that division sneaks into our
Army. Surely the two must be kept together to maintain the scriptural
balance.
The strength of evangelicalism is the focus on the cross and resurrection…on
the Blood, if you like. There is a strong confidence in the word of God and its
power to transform. There is a strong commitment to preaching, both to the
saved and the unsaved. There is a commitment to doctrine and sound
teaching. There is a commitment to evangelism and mission.
The weakness of evangelicalism is that it can distort scriptural teaching to
produce a theology which teaches that spiritual gifts and the manifestations
of the Holy Spirit are either counterfeit or false (or both). It can be a form of
godliness without power. It can also over-emphasise the power of the written
Word about the activity of the Spirit.
The strength of charismatic Christianity is the focus on the place of all that
happened at Pentecost in the life of the church…on the Fire. In fact, for
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many years this has been out of balance and the charismatic renewal has
re-addressed this. There is a strong commitment to worship, especially
intimate worship. There is a strong commitment to exercising the spiritual
gifts, building up the church and increasing the expansion of the Kingdom.
There is a strong emphasis on the leadership of the Holy Spirit as well as a
renewed focus on the reality of spiritual warfare, both for the individual
believer and in the world.
The weakness of charismatic Christianity is a weakening and blurring of
doctrine - sound teaching, sometimes elevating revelation by the Spirit
above scriptural revelation. There can be a strong commitment to ministry
without secure foundations. There can also be a tendency to create a false
sub-class of Christians, distinguishing between ‘spirit-filled’ Christians and
those who are not experiencing fullness of the Spirit. There can be an
emphasis on some gifts over the others, creating an unscriptural inequality
between all the good gifts of God.
I have said already that I believe that Christianity which is not charismatic is
not Christianity at all. As William Booth says, “Spiritual work can only be done
by those who possess spiritual power.” The Holy Spirit comes as part of the
package but we must firmly hold onto the evangelical emphasis for mission,
teaching and the place of Scripture in our experience.
If the Blood represents the Word and the Fire represents the Spirit, our battle
cry becomes a strong please to keep the Word and the Spirit in close
harmony.
“This I am convinced, is the one great need of the Church. We want no new
truths, agencies, means, or appliances. We only want more of the fire of the
Holy Ghost. ...” (William Booth)

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Symbolism is one of the things through the history of religion which has helped
people to grasp the essence of God and of their faith. A look into the Old
Testament only ever so briefly shows a vast depth of symbolism in every day
things like the clothes they wore, the place where they worshipped.
Christianity has its own set of symbols that are used to help people connect
the truth and immense majesty of God with everyday life. Rich symbolism in
sharing a meal, baptism, symbols of the old life gone and the new life begun.
And when we come to our Salvation Army, we too have our own rich
symbolism. However, our symbols have suffered the same difficulties that
every religious symbol has suffered. The nation of Israel was often told off for
forsaking God in place of the items. The Christian Church has been guilty of
turning the simple sharing of food and drink in remembrance of Jesus into a
highly ritualized practice and baptism, which, in some places, has become a
means to salvation and not a symbol of it.
In this generation, where our own symbolism has had been turned into
something it is not (and yes, when a symbol become something other than a
tool which helps us to focus on Jesus we should quickly throw it out) we must
be aware of throwing the baby out with the bath water. So, we can decide
whether we throw our flag out with the garbage or whether we use it to
inspire our faith and our work for God. If it doesn’t they are taking up space.
But, when we look at this symbol of our faith and covenant, we can see
clearly how we can use the ‘Blood and Fire’ to remind us of our faithful God
and inspire us to rally round his cause.
We have that wonderful declaration in Exodus 17:15 that “The Lord is my
banner.” This declaration was made by the war hero Moses when Joshua’s
army had just conquered the Amalakites. You see, just before this battle,
Moses and the gang had been wondering if God was with them or not, and
Moses challenged God to show his faithfulness to them and God chose to do
this by helping them to be victorious. Moses had to stand on the hill, raise his
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staff to the heavens, and as long as his hands were raised, his troops won,
when they lowered, they began to lose…so Aaron and Hur stood beside him
helping him keep his arms raised.
God reminded them to keep looking to him, reaching out to him and the
victory would be theirs. As Moses worshipped God after his victory he built
an altar and called it “The Lord is My Banner.”
We are reminded of the way that God has been so faithful to us as an Army
in the past, we can all think of the many battles he has helped us to win.
Song 777 in the song book says that our flag is “the emblem of a thousand
battles.”
Of course, we realise that our flag in essence represents the trinity: Blue
representing the purity of the Father, Red representing the blood shed for us
by Jesus Christ at Calvary, and the yellow for the fire of the Holy Spirit refining
and empowering. Our banner truly is a testimony to God and his faithfulness.
It’s no more ridiculous than saying a loaf of bread reminds us of Jesus’ body
and the wine his blood.
The Song of Solomon, 2:4, further reminds us that the way God expresses his
deity is by extreme love…“his banner over me is love”. God is love and he
wants to declare it to us. Song of Solomon is a very descriptive book of a
deep love between man and woman and God loves us with this same
passion, he wants to declare that not only is he our banner, but that the
message of that banner is love…that same love which caused God to
defend his people from the threat of the Amalakites and which made him
delight in the praise he received from his people when they declared to Him
that he was their banner.
Is there anyone who needs to be reminded that God loves us passionately,
enough to show us the way that we can have victory through our battles?
May every look at those pieces of cloth remind us of that great treasure.

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As we look further into God’s word, we see another banner that would be
raised by God’s people. It is prophesied here by Isaiah that the heir to
David’s throne, Jesus, would be a banner of Salvation. In Isaiah 11 we see a
promise of all that Jesus would bring to the world.
So, Isaiah declares that “the heir to David's throne will be a banner of
salvation to all the world.” We see that Jesus brings justice and wisdom,
understanding, peace. Advocating the cause of the poor. Those magnificent
verses that talk about innocent children living peacefully amongst the
wolves…we can see the symbolism of what that would mean for us today,
the innocent being treated well by the powerful, but we also see the reality
when creation is redeemed in heaven, when the babies will play amidst the
animals who were once wild.
He will destroy evil and he will be full of truth. When Jesus came to earth, that
is the Kingdom values that he began to establish, it will only be seen in all its
fullness when Jesus comes again. The Kingdom of God has been established
by Jesus but we don’t yet see it in all its fullness, but it’s our task to take these
glorious truths and this glorious Kingdom and begin to establish his Kingdom in
the places where the kingdom of darkness reigns.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could raise that spiritual flag of the Kingdom
for all to see…a standard of truth and justice, of righteousness and peace.
To lift up Jesus as the banner of Salvation; does that thought inspire you? Can
you imagine the people you know being refreshed because you have
decided that you will try and live like Jesus, you will try and wave that banner
of Salvation that will cause a breath of fresh air, a breath of the Spirit to come
into your places of work and rest that will bring great blessing?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful when people see our banner, if they would equate
that with all those wonderful standards of the Kingdom? William Booth had a
vision that he would see the Army flag flown from every building in the world

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in place of every nation’s flag. Why? Because he was a nutter? Well, yes! But
really because to him this symbolised the full salvation that he sought to bring
to the world his Army worked in. It symbolised the true Kingdom established
by Jesus…a banner of salvation. May every look at our piece of cloth
remind us of the glorious standards of his kingdom and of his great salvation
he has made possible to every nation, and may it inspire us to lift Jesus up
high.
So we see that God is our banner of victory declaring his past faithfulness and
of his passionate love. It is a banner of salvation, raising Jesus high as the
champion of our faith, but when we look further into scripture we see that
God told the people to raise a banner as a declaration of war and set it as a
rally point behind which the people of God will gather to fight.
Psalm 60:4 says “But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be
unfurled against the bow, or against attack.” This verse talks of protection
against attack for those who fear the Lord. David wrote this Psalm when he
was at war with Aram in the north and Edom invaded Judah from the south,
when he was surrounded at all sides. The New Living translation expresses this
verse as “But you have raised a banner for those who honour you – a rallying
point in the face of attack.”
If we look at this in light of that fact that God is our banner we discover that
in honouring God and not anything else, we find our unity and our purpose
as we prepare for battle. In 2 Samuel 8, which is the point in history where
David wrote Psalm 60, we see that David honoured God above everyone as
he led his nation and this led to him being loved because this caused him to
love his people because he was leading them in God’s ways, with fairness.
If we, together, fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith,
the writer of Hebrews declares that we will be able to win the race, fight the
battle. When we honour God and make him the standard at which we rally
as we take the Kingdom to the streets, our mission stays focused on the main
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thing. We need that in these days when it is a struggle to keep the main thing
the main thing. May it be that when we look at the pieces of cloth in the
corner of our halls, that we see our united purpose, our one goal to be united
in taking forward the gospel message, battling theough a world of darkness
with our source of great light.
As I draw these thoughts together, where better to look to close than some
more inspirational words from Isaiah? Isaiah 18:3 says: “When I raise my battle
flag on the mountain, all the world will take notice.” Later in Isaiah, when this
prophecy was fulfilled for them, the world did sit up and take notice as God
let his justice loose on the nations which threatened his people.
But when we consider that God is our banner, that he is so incredibly faithful,
willing to help us fight our battles…when we consider that our banner is Jesus,
the one who embodies that standards of the Kingdom of God, the one who
has the answer to the worlds needs, it will be no wonder that the world will sit
up and take notice.
We have a symbol that reminds us that we have a God who is faithful who
will lead us to praise him for the victories he gives us, an emblem of a
thousand battles; we have a symbol that reminds us of Jesus, our great
salvation and to spread this glorious kingdom and all its wonderful attributes
until Jesus brings the Kingdom comes in its fullness; we have a symbol which
stands for our unity in battle, as we keep our focus on taking this great
kingdom to the world.
Let’s affirm again our intention to do what we can to bring God’s kingdom to
our worlds and let’s choose to use this symbol to remind us again and again
of these great eternal truths of God’s love, provision and his plan for his world.
Let’s hope that in these days, this flag can come to symbolise everything the
Kingdom of God would want to bring into our communities...that when
people see it they will say “God is really great because his people live out the
great saving love of Jesus!”
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“So we’ll lift up the banner on high, the salvation banner of love. We’ll fight
beneath its colours ‘til we die then go to our home above.”
(SASB)

Let us firmly proclaim Blood and Fire in unity!

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: : Questions : :
1. What can you do to promote the unity between the evangelical
and charismatic schools in your corps?
2. What ways can you recall that show the Spirit and the Word working
in combination?
3. Can you think of the many benefits of keeping Blood and Fire firmly
together?
: : Action : :
1. Ensure that your spiritual experience is balanced between Blood
and Fire, Word and Spirit.
2. Buy yourself a small Salvation Army flag and allow its symbolism to
speak to you and remind you of your calling.
: : Scripture : :
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest
on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

1 Corinthians 2:3-5

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: : SECTION TWO : :
Action

58
: : Mission Methodolgy : :

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If I believed that I could fly, I may well be inclined to jump off a 10 storey
building! If I believed that I could eat cream cakes without any negative
effect on my blood sugar or weight, I may well be inclined to eat a great
deal of them! It is often true that what we believe dictates what we do. The
current missional emphasis of identifying the values of the corps, as well as
the mission and vision of a corps bolsters this position and is becoming very
important.
The question that must be asked is what are the ways in which a passionate
belief in Blood and Fire should manifest itself? In many ways, the answer to
that question may well differ in detail depending on the context in which it
being asked, but I would argue that it always produces a Salvationism which
is true to our original and divinely intended destiny.
Increasingly, Salvationists are becoming more and more reclusive. ‘Citadel’
may not be as popular a name for our corps buildings these days, but we
have more impenetrable citadels today that we have ever had! This retreat
into our buildings seems to be fuelled by several things.
Firstly, there is fear. The world continues to change at a staggering rate. The
communities we live in today are vastly different to those in which many of us
were born into. There can be an almost legitimate fear of ‘the world’. which
leads us to lean more to self-preservation than to sacrifice. When we remind
ourselves that The Salvation Army bonnet was invented to provide protection
from missiles, we perhaps begin to see our fear in context. However, I am
certain that the enemy exploits, or even creates, this fear of the world. If he
can manage to keep the walls between our communities and our buildings
firmly erect, then he is winning victories all over the place.

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Secondly, there is the myth of cultural relevance. When we look at Catherine
Booth’s book, Aggressive Christianity, we see the strong principle of
adaptation coming through. We have a strong heritage of using whatever
seems to work. However, as previously stated, we must never fall into the
trap of believing that everything behind the cry ‘Blood and Fire!’ is irrelevant.
We must be relevant to the extent that it serves the gospel, but when it
comes to the gospel message, the only thing we must adapt is the
communication of that message, not the message itself.
Thirdly, there is the increasing tendency for Salvationists to retreat from the
front line. If The Salvation Army continues to lose touch with the ‘man on the
street’ then we become the kind of church that existed when Booth felt that
he had to start out on his own. If we continue to follow the pattern of
Salvationist losing touch with the heart of proactively impacting the life of our
communities, then we become a highly insignificant force.
All these things and more are symptoms of an Army without a war cry! They
are symptoms of an Army that has lost sight of the passion behind ‘Blood and
Fire!’
I sat recently in a mission seminar with a group of Salvationists. The group
had a wide range of age groups with a mixture of soldiers, local officers and
officers. Each person was invited to offer their greatest hope and their
greatest concern about Salvation Army mission. Everyone had a chance to
respond. There were some interesting and thought-provoking responses, but
none more so that the recollections of an octogenarian Salvationist. After
naming all his grandchildren and children who had become officers or local
officers, he began talking about his own missional exploits as a younger man.
He recalled the days when his comrades held regular ‘pub raids.’
Salvationists would group together and invade a local public house,
dragging the customers out the door to the hall where they would be
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sobered up and spoken to about their souls. The ageing Salvationist recalled
with passion his role as Penitent Form Sergeant. He didn’t go out on the raids,
he stayed behind at the hall and as the ‘captives’ were brought in, he would
pray with them at the mercy seat. Tears came to his eyes as he remembered
the professions of salvation. “This hall was full to the ceiling every week”, was
his lament. His concern was that we needed to do something!
This is a small example of ‘Blood and Fire’ in action, however, we must be
aware of the fact that it is not in returning to methods that we will recover our
losses. It is returning to the passion behind the method that will achieve that.
It is as simple as believing the power of the gospel, ministering in the power of
the gospel and allowing our passion and Holy Spirit guidance to lead us into
more creative effectiveness. Intrinsic to this is also the belief that people can
be changed, that their lives can be impacted and that what that often
needs is for Salvationists to engage with them.
The Primitive Salvationism movement currently sweeping The Salvation Army
is about rediscovering the passion. Many critics look at its outward expression
(high collar uniforms, war terminology, strong emphasis on soldiership, open
airs and the like) and write it off as regression. However, a closer look will
reveal the beginnings of a Blood and Fire Army rising from the ashes of an
institution that has become tired. You will find a strong emphasis and
commitment to our heritage without cold formalism and traditionalism. You
will find a strong missional emphasis, focused on winning the world for Jesus.
There is a desire for purity and holiness in a world that rejects both qualities.
You will discover, in essence, a sold-out, passionate and fresh expression of
rampant Salvationism that is reaping benefits that can only come with a
rediscovery of Blood and Fire.
My dissatisfaction with the status quo in The Salvation Army was fuelled by a
black and white video. At the Roots conference in 1997, the Holy Spirit spoke
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to me very loudly through some video footage that was played out in loop in
the background of the worship. As we sang songs like ‘The World for God’
and ‘Send the Fire!’ with their new, modern melodies with images of Primitive
Salvationists on the march in the back ground, something strongly clicked in
my mind.
I discovered a Salvation Army which had been so much more than all I
encountered so far and so my journey began to try and live out what it
meant to be a Salvationist. Discovering for myself the passion behind ‘Blood
and Fire’ has been key to that process. I still look at The Salvation Army I
serve in and desire to see a more effective Army. In my own context, the
United Kingdom Territory, much that I see in Salvationism leaves me tired and
rather lethargic! It is clearly not The Army that God birthed.
It is unlikely that The Salvation Army will cease to exist…we are much loved,
well financed, and an integral part of society. However, the way in which
The Salvation Army continues to exist depends on how each generation
responds to the Holy Spirit. I want to set forward a vision for future missional
practice that springs from the passion of Blood and Fire. Whilst the obvious
fruits of a Blood and Fire theology is an emphasis on salvation and holiness, I
want to highlight some other key transferable principles (in no particular
order) that spring from a passionate belief in ‘Blood and Fire’ and then go on
to give an example in the next chapter of how those principles may look in
The Salvation Army in the Western Hemisphere.
Transferable Principles
1. ‘Whosoever will may come’
We have an incredibly strong heritage of believing that people are worth
redemption. More than that, that even the least and the worst can be
redeemed. This is a recognition that the blood can cover the worst of sin.
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The ‘elevator effect’ of the Christian gospel can mean that whilst a great-
grandparent might have been a saved drunk, the power of the Gospel can
lift a family out of the dregs more and more. The gospel brings morality, a
good work ethic, honesty and integrity which can lead to good jobs, but if
we continue to become an increasingly middle class Salvation Army, we will
lose touch with ‘the worst.’
You simply cannot read the gospels without noting the fact that Jesus cared
for, spent time with, invested in, and more importantly, accepted
unconditionally those who we throw out of our citadels today. Blood and Fire
theology reaches the worst, especially the worst, so we cannot ignore them.
2. ‘Visibility’
Salvationist uniform sprung from Elijah Cadman’s Blood and Fire passion to
convert Whitby and George Scott Railton’s eccentricities! Blood and Fire
theology gives the Salvationist a burning desire to be seen and identifiable as
a Salvationist. The form visibility takes makes no difference, it is certainly the
principle that counts. General John Larsson caught the essence of this when
he stated just after his election, that it was the spirit and not the form of
uniform wearing that was important. He said this:
“We are a gloriously visible part of the Body of Christ. We even witness
by what we wear. It is the principle rather than any particular style of
uniform that is important. Many young Salvationists of today, even in
their informality, are showing their grasp of the principle. The principle
of visibility needs every encouragement.”
Whether it is a Red Shield adorned ‘hoodie’, the regular uniform, or the high
collar uniform of the Primitive Salvationist movement, our visibility will continue
to be a strong contribution to the success of our mission. The question is not
so much about style, but about effect. We remain one of the most
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approachable Christian ministries in the world. We simply must utilise that
truth!
The Salvationist only needs to do one thing to discover the benefit of uniform:
wear it more often. The opportunities for service and conversation are
multiplied incredibly when couple with an approachable manner.
3. ‘Going out’
The best thing that could happen to many corps is for our buildings to
disappear. Blood and Fire propels The Army from its citadels to the market
place because it recognises that people need saved! We have become
aware that the Kevin Costner-esque notion that ‘If you build it, they will
come’ mentality from his film, Field of Dreams, doesn’t work. A Salvation
Army without walls is the vision. A fluid movement that is as happy in the
citadel as it is in the city!
4. ‘Passionate Worship’
When the Blood and Fire is doing its work in the life of the Salvationist, there
will be no dull meetings. Meetings will pulsate with the very presence of God.
There will be an expectation that God will be there to save and sanctify.
Worship will become intimate, celebration will become inspiring, and the
passion will be declared in songs of intent to God! Interestingly, the war song
is becoming more fashionable simply because Salvationists are discovering
the power in declaring before God and the enemy what they intend to do
because of the Blood and Fire: Storm the Forts of Darkness, We believe we
shall win, Marching On, Shout aloud Salvation. They are becoming the
theme tunes of a passionate Army once again. There is a recognition that
there are different types of songs: those that praise God and are addressed
to him, those extolling his qualities and abilities, and songs about our intent to
follow him and serve him.
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This passionate worship will also find its place on the streets again. Blood and
Fire will spill out into the public arena as an act of warfare prayer. We will
capture back from the enemy the sheer joy of witnessing to our faith through
joyful and exuberant public worship.
5. ‘Sacrifice’
When we catch a good dose of Blood and Fire, the command to take up
the cross will become real. The passion for salvation and holiness will move
the Salvationist to dedicate him or herself more fully to the war. There will
never be enough hours to serve him. It will also forbid the Salvationist to stay
silent on difficult and controversial issues. He or she will be compelled to
speak out.
However, this sacrifice will be willingly endured for Jesus Christ. There is simply
a passion to see His Kingdom come.
6. ‘Getting alongside’
It is not a 21st century phenomenon that salvation is best worked out in the
context of relationship. The Salvation Army has a long history of getting
alongside people. The Gutter and Slums Brigades of the early Army are proof
of this. This is getting stuck in with people, ‘doing life’ with people.
The tension that needs to be held in balance, however, is the tension
between the urgency of the gospel and the need to build relationship. We
must never get the idea that the gospel can only be shared after a
relationship is built. The sharing of the gospel will always be understood when
it comes from a sincere heart. No, our getting alongside is not our key
evangelism strategy, it is our strategy for rebuilding the ruins of society,
repairing broken hearts, setting captives free and releasing prisoners (cf. Luke
4).

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7. ‘Spiritual Warfare’
Quite simply, the battle for the souls of our nations, cities and communities will
become very real. We will invest our efforts in battling against the enemy in
the spiritual realm, making intercession and prayer a priority. 24-7 prayer,
prayer walking and the invigorating prayer meeting will become essential.
Linked to this is a strong commitment to living our lives as covenanted
soldiers…seeing the battle in reality, and approaching it with lives handed
over to our Great Commanding Officer, the Lord Jesus Christ in covenant
with him through our Articles of War.
8. ‘Commitment to the last, the lost and the least’
In our care for the last, lost and least, the Blood and Fire is crucial. Without it,
we become another agency delivering services. We fall into the trap where
we think that we can talk people out of addiction. We think we can counsel
them away from drugs. We think we can re-train their mind to 'manage'
addiction. We think we can rehabilitate them. We think we can re-settle
them in society. We think we can teach them a new lifestyle. We think we do
a better job because we call our treatment 'holistic'.

And because we think all that, we see it more important to use unsaved
people with education, skill, learning, great new technologies and
programmes to achieve that aim. We only insist on management being
Christian...I even heard of a story of a centre sending a potential unsaved
manager on a course to learn about Christianity so that they could get the
job.
That is foolishness. It will only succeed in as much as worldly methods will
succeed. The government can offer that. Any agency can offer that. As the
body of Christ we can offer much more.
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We need to give up our words. There is no amount of talking that will remove
from the mind addiction, bondage and oppression. We cannot renew the
mind, that is God's job. There is no amount of counselling that will transform
the heart of a man. There is no amount of technology that will so educate a
man enough that he will control his life well. You can call it holistic if you like,
but if it only pays lip service to the spirit and soul, we waste our time and
money.
Only God has the power to set people free, turn their darkness into night,
break the chains of bondage and addiction, the power of sin and hell. Only
through the Spirit of God can a man or woman be transformed. The only way
a person will live life well is if he is living it by faith.
I feel that the Lord's heart aches as we close him out of our centres. We fail all
those who trust us when we set them on their way without lives transformed in
the power of Christ.
So what? We lose some funding! But you know what else? God will release his
treasure when he is honoured. I would sell the shirt on my back in order to
release my finances to an Army Social Services that says to the world 'we
have nothing to offer you but Christ, no power but through prayer, no
wisdom except by God.'
The foolishness of God is wiser than mans wisdom, says the word.
Providing social work and community work, as a valid expression of the Missio
Dei (mission of God) can become divorced from its redemptive heart.
Transformation/salvation is our business and authentic transformation must
always include the spiritual. Whilst we accept that our actions and words
play a part in what can sometimes be a journey to salvation, I wonder how
often we miss something.
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1) That people may be ready to receive Jesus
2) That their current need may actually be met straight away by the
supernatural provision of God.
I think about the ministry of Jackie Pullinger....you know, the one in Hong
Kong. There is a lady who has seen thousands not only saved, but come off
drugs and out of prostitution with nothing but prayer and Jesus.
She doesn't spend hours and hours building relationship. In fact, the first words
that come out of her mouth are something akin to that of Jesus 'do you want
to be well?' 9 times out of 10 the people say yes, she introduces them to
Jesus, they are filled with the Holy Spirit and the addicts and new converts
are given the gift of praying in tongues for themselves, they are prayed over
for 10 days, they are prayed through cold turkey without pain and then they
are built up in their faith.
I've seen and heard testimonies each time I have heard her speak of those
she brings with her, all of whom testify to meeting Jesus, being filled with the
Spirit, praying in tongues and being used to pull others out of the hell of
addiction.
There is no hidden agenda with Jackie. Her agenda is plain and out in the
open and she is used by God to transform lives...not tickle them as they go
on their merry way.
My challenge again is this...perhaps we should worry less about having a
hidden agenda and simply recognise that Kingdom business, done in the
Spirit of love and not arrogance or judgement, is at its purest and best when
we allow the Spirit to cut to the heart of things.

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Contrary to the nice shiny brochures, the success rates aren't as good as they
sound. I remember seeing 'sorted' clients drunk on the side of the street or
having to return within a few weeks of being sent out 'sorted' of the centre I
worked in before I became an officer.
The saddest was the day one of the drunken men appeared on the front
page of the Salvationist with an Army band in the forefront with the sort of
idea that here was a drunk man captured by the ministry of a Salvation Army
band when in fact, only a few weeks previously, he'd left the hostel 'sorted'
and here he was lying in the gutter with a can of beer.
It is nothing to do with hidden agendas...I don't want people to be sold short.
I remember every day of the pain of what it means to live without Christ. And
the Salvation Army soldier needs to understand, either from experience of
from contact with the unsaved, what it feels like to be in need of Jesus and
for no-one to tell you.
I am fortunate...it only took 15 years for someone to explain the gospel to me.
What about the 78-year-old tramp? What about the 15-year-old prostitute
selling her body to feed her three month old baby? Does she need rescue or
not?
It comes back to the fundamental issue. When shipwrecked people are
drowning in the sea do we spend the time building relationship before we
toss them a life jacket?
There may well be other things that the Holy Spirit will manufacture, but these
are just a few of the things that seem to be key to me. Ultimately, what we
believe and what we experience will determine how we behave. Blood and
Fire will provoke the Salvationist to holy activism for the salvation of their
generation.

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: : Questions : :
1. Think about your current involvement in Salvation Army mission. How
does what you believe determine what you behave?
2. What other transferable principles do you think may arise from Blood
and Fire theology?
: : Action : :
1. Take a month to experiment with increased uniform wearing. Do your
opportunities to speak about the Lord increase or decrease?
: : Scripture : :
This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16

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: : A Vision : :
- Simple Mission and the way forward

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I have a vision of how a Blood and Fire theology might affect our missional
activity in the 21st Century and offer it here. The finer details may look
different on your front, but I hope this vision will simply help you dream and
receive your own vision from the Lord. It is, unapologetically Primitive
Salvationist in the sense that as we stand at these crossroads for our
movement, it is the ancient paths that will lead us to discover the way our
walk should look in these days. Fundamentally, it is a vision that makes the
lost, the last and the least the focus of what we do, rather than pandering to
the desires of the saints.
Simple Mission
A Blood and Fire theology produces Simple Mission. Simple Mission is simply
as it suggests: a people of God who live to communicate the gospel in a
natural and passionate way.
It is a corps of soldiers and local officers working a geographical area. It is, of
course, a ward based corps, so the main teaching, prayer, worship and
pastoral care happens in a network of small groups. The early Salvation Army
had an embryonic concept of modern day cell church. Wards are led by
Ward Sergeants and are overseen by the Corps Officer or the Ward
Sergeant-Major (see appendix (ii) for more information about Wards).
New converts are also plugged straight into these groups because this corps
doesn't hold conventional meetings...not every week anyway. The focus is on
relationship and community in the small groups context, ensuring that the
gospel is understood, experience and lived out in community as it was
intended to be.
It is a good job that the corps doesn’t meet altogether every week because
this corps doesn't have a very expensive building to maintain. It is much
more Kingdom efficient to just rent the local school hall when all the wards
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come together for celebration. The corps does, however, have a decent
sized shop front in the main street of the town. This shop front is the hub of
the mission.
There might be a couple of offices at the back, but the front is just kitted out
with sofas, a few tables and chairs and a coffee machine, and it’s open as
much as possible. It is not a scant building, though it is simple yet attractive,
modern. People float in and out all day, the young people gravitate there in
the evening. It is the kind of place you want to spend some time.
The Hub also has a 24-7 Prayer Room. This is a recognition that ‘spiritual work
can only be done by those who possess spiritual power.’ Prayer is the oxygen
of this mission. Blood and Fire so moves the Salvationist, that they are keenly
aware of the fact that they will fail without prayer.
As well as the ward meetings, the soldiers engage in brigade activity. As well
as living intentionally in the communities they serve in, they all get together at
another time in the week and get out into the community together. Maybe
there is some outdoor worship; maybe some will be out doing prayer ministry
door to door; some will be ministering practically to the poor.
Others will be using the hub providing a course for new parents. Others will be
prayer walking. Some might do an after-school club at the hub to keep kids
busy until bedtime. Others might be leading midweek worship at another
church. Others are mingling in the local pub with the regulars. Yet more are
befriending elderly folks, encouraging them to come down to the hub and
meet a few people. Salvationist just ‘do life’ with people, empowering them
and sharing the gospel naturally.
People from all the wards get together to have a band practice now and
again because they spend their Sundays spreading the Word at as many
public parks and events as possible during the summer and they love to go
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caroling at Christmas. No God given talent is wasted in simple mission:
everything is utilised for the gospel and for the glory of God. Bandsmen are
realizing the power in music to save the lost.
Others give free hours to the local Salvation Army hostel to help maintain the
important spiritual work of saving men and women from addiction.
The whole corps is involved in mission yet everyone has much more time to
be building personal networks of friends to invite to their ward because they
are not down the Army doing all manner of stuff every night. This is about life.
At the bare minimum, people are attending their ward and doing a couple
of hours brigade activity. Others are so enthused that mission is happening
that they just want to give as much time as possible to the corps mission and
they love manning the hub and supporting as much brigade activity as they
can.
The corps officers devote their time to training the soldiers and local leaders,
as well as modeling simple mission because they get stuck in along with the
rest of the soldiers with the brigade activity. They make the hub their base for
most of the week. They may even be overseeing two or three hubs. The Army
now has a less officer-centred ministry because of this dedication to simple
mission because the whole Army is mobilised. The officer is now released to
lead, direct and oversee...pointing out gaps in the strategy, maneuvering
troops, providing coherence, overseeing the pastoral work of the Ward
Sergeants.
The Army has come into its finest hour and we're opening new corps all over
the place. Getting alongside people and creating authentic community are
magnets themselves to the gospel. Thousands are being saved, resources
are plentiful and joy has returned to The Salvation Army.

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Lord, let it be!
Can you see it? Can you see a leaner, more efficient Army arising from a
passion to let people experience the Blood and Fire? Can you see the
Kingdom benefits of freeing ourselves from burdensome buildings? Can you
see the benefit of releasing and equipping Salvationists from internal corps
work to community interaction? Can you see the benefit of growing faith in
the context of small group community? This can firmly close the back door
to Salvation Army corps forever…we can prevent loss so easily like this.
Can you see a greater integration between ‘community work’ and
‘evangelistic work’? Can you see a greater integration between ‘corps
work’ and ‘social work’? Can you see people saved and sanctified? You
don’t need to see it necessarily though my vision, but you need to see it for
your context. You can if you ask the Lord for it. This is Primitive
Salvationism…not in the sense of old methods, but old passion re-ignited!
My prayer is that our Salvationists will once again become envisioned by
something that will move us to invest our lives in the Kingdom to the glory of
God! This is Primitive Salvationism…not in the sense of old methods, but old
passion re-ignited!
It is Primitive Salvationism that launched The Salvation Army around the world
from the East-End of London. A passion for the least and the lost, coupled
with strong reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit was a recipe for success.
Today, it is not all about uniforms, bands, big bass drums and old methods. It
is about re-igniting that passion in the hearts of the men, women and young
people who serve in the ranks of The Salvation Army today and reminding
them of our mission to win the world for Jesus.

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Primitive Salvationism has been defined by Captain Stephen Court as
"charismatic-flavoured, mission-focussed heroism."

"charismatic-flavoured..."
- its about operating in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit;
fully open to all the the Holy Spirit might accomplish in and through us,
believing on Him for more!

"...mission-focussed..."
- it is about recovering a heart for the lost and a passion for the
gospel. It is about the desire to move beyond maintaining the status quo to
being driven by our God given mission.

"...heroism!"
- it is about recognising that we are to be voices for the oppressed
and suffering as well as being lifters up of the fallen. The world is in the grip of
hell...we are sent to the rescue!

Only this kind of passionate Salvationism will win the world for Jesus, starting
right where we are. It is a Salvationism of Blood and Fire!

What about now though? Many of us serve in corps that are a million miles
away from this highly idealistic vision. That is the point of it, it is a vision! There
are principles here that can be discerned and emulated: mainly that of
community. If The Army is failing in modeling authentic community to the
world, then it is failing in its task. We all must be brave enough to take steps
into greater relationship with our fellow believers and with the lost
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: : Questions : :
1. What principles are there in this vision that may help you move
forward in mission in your setting?
2. Are the poor and marginalised neglected in your ministry?
: : Action : :
1. Take active decisions to ensure that you are connecting with the
lost.
Start conversations with people in your corps, exploring ideas that can help
you connect more with your community.
Invite someone from your corps that you do not speak to very often for a
coffee or a meal.
: : Scripture : :
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and
many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the
believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their
possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day
they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in
their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and
enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number
daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47

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: : Sent out : :

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We see how clearly belief leads to experience and experience leads to
action. It is time for ‘Blood and Fire’ to grow legs and begin to march. Let’s
look to the experience of the disciples to help us break out.
Put yourself in their place. The last three years have been amazing….you
have left your old way of life to follow Jesus. You have seen miracles,
wonders performed by him and you have done a few yourself. You have
watched Jesus make a mess of the temple, you have eaten with Jesus at the
Passover, you have observed his unfair trial. You have watch, with pain, his
crucifixion. You have mourned his death. You have been amazed at his
Resurrection, you have met with him several times since over a 40 day period
and now you are waiting in the upper room because Jesus has said:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will
be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth."
You have watched Jesus being beamed up to heaven like something out of
Star Trek and you are now absolutely petrified, you haveve no idea what to
do…but wait. We have evidence that the disciples spent much time in
prayer (Acts 1:14)…they were constantly in prayer, awaiting the next step.
They don’t seem to have much idea of what is about to happen to them…all
they know is that they are waiting for the Holy Spirit.
They needed the fire to push them out to proclaim the blood. There are
some very strikingly significant things about these days before the Holy Spirit
comes.
They retreat back to Jerusalem to hang about. Even after all the ‘’razz-a-ma-
taz of the resurrection, of Jesus walking around and seeing him go to
Heaven, the disciples are still locked away in an upper room somewhere.
Jerusalem, for years and years, had been the centre of their Jewish world.
Jerusalem, according to Jews, was where God lived…Jerusalem was sacred.

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They had a temple system there that suited them down to the ground. There
was a court for the Gentiles that was as far as Gentile god-fearers could get.
Inside that there was a court where the women were allowed to enter, no
further. Then there was a court for the Jewish men to enter, no further, then
their was the court for the priests (now, you didn’t even have the choice to
become a priest in those days…you had to be born into a special family to
be a priest), and then, in the very centre, was the Holy of Holies….the place
where God sat on the Mercy Seat and the only person who had access to
him there was the High Priest once a year. It was a worship system all about
exclusion, a religion that was a closed shop unless your face fitted. To
worship in the temple, you had to go through various rites, rituals, washings
and preparations so that you.
Without the Holy Spirit’s empowering, the church will retreat to Jerusalem, to
the temple. When the Spirit isn’t propelling us out into the world, empowering
us for bold witness, we resort to ‘temple’ centred worship. We believe that
our buildings are sacred as if God only lives here, we believe that people
must come if they want to find God, but only on our terms, when happen to
be open, otherwise God is closed. We even get protective of the mercy
seat…woe betide anyone who should happen to leave a cup on it.
I remember Steve Chalke telling a story about a visit to an Army hall once for
a conference he was leading. He was getting ready to speak, just waiting
for people to settle down so while he was waiting, he decided to sit on the
wooden pew at the front…he thought ‘now, isn’t that a handy bench…what
a considerate place to put it.’ Then all of a sudden the Salvationists in the
room gasped as he placed his bottom on the Mercy Seat. He said ‘who
would have thought that you weren’t supposed to ‘sit’ on the mercy ‘seat.’
Don’t you think it is interesting that the plan Jesus had was for the Holy Spirit
to meet them in Jerusalem and explode them ‘out’ into all the earth? Jesus’
death had already torn the temple curtain in two, signifying that God was
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accessible to all through Him. You may be tempted to think that God chose
Jerusalem to send the holy spirit upon the believers because that had
typically been the place of God’s residence over the past couple of
hundred years…however, I believe that there is a very strategic reason why
God chose Jerusalem…because thousands and thousands of people from
all over the known civilised worlds travelled to Jerusalem on special visits to
worship at the temple…and so, when the Holy Spirit comes and empowers
the disciples, there are people there from all over the world to be influenced
by the gospel! When Peter preaches, three thousand men (plus women, plus
children) were converted that day….from where? From all over the world.
Acts 2:9 shows us the scope of the multi-national gathering: Parthians, Medes
and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus
and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near
Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans
and Arabs. God is a missionary God and he sends his Holy Spirit strategically
to places where the gospel can be heard, accepted and spread through-
out the world. Isn’t that mightily clever of God?
Friends, God put an end to restrictive temple worship a long time
ago…hallelujah….if he didn’t, we’d all be lost sinners. God has made us, you
and me, the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to carry the light and the glory
of the gospel into the world, wherever we go.
Our places of worship can be our Jerusalem, in either the negative sense or
in the positive sense. We can become building focused, ritual focused,
exclusive, internal looking, worshippers of God, keeping him locked up in a
building and allowing only certain people to really experience him. Or, we
can become a people who have this building as their Jerusalem only in the
sense that when they come here, they meet with the Holy Spirit, they are
empowered, changed, charged and commissioned to spread the gospel.

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And, low and behold, God may even add to our number those who are
being saved because we are preaching the gospel with Pentecostal daring,
with fire, passion, commitment, integrity and a burning desire to see out
nation won for Christ!
What is it the Songbook song says? “To long at ease in Zion I’ve been
content to dwell, while multitudes are dying and sinking into hell. I can no
more be careless and say there’s nought to do, the fields are white unto
harvest, but labourers are few.”
The Holy Spirit, when he comes in all his fullness, comes to impregnate our
spirit with the desire to turn the world upside down, to be faithful witnesses of
Jesus first in Jerusalem, but ultimately to the ends of the earth!
That’s OK for you, I hear you say. Well, look at Peter. This is the boy that
didn’t get to stay on at Hebrew school and so had to become a fisherman.
This is the fool that denied Jesus, who got it wrong, who put his foot in it all the
time, who was still asking the wrong questions until the moments before Jesus
returned to glory. Peter is in the upper room when the Holy Spirit invades and
rests upon the disciples like tongues of fire. Moments later, we have Peter
standing up in public, explaining unusual spiritual gifts to a rowdy and
inquisitive crowd, preaching fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, telling the
Jews they are murderers for killing Jesus, preaching the gospel pure and
simple, repentance faith and regeneration, and 3000 men become followers
of Jesus (plus women, plus children). This is Bood and Fire in combination!
God can turn a failure like Peter, a persecutor like Paul, a scientist like Luke, a
reflective deep thinker like John into powerful men of God. Friends,
Catherine Booth said this: ‘We have tried everything else, now is the time for
the fire!’
Her husband echoes “’Tis fire we want, for fire we plead, The fire will meet our
every need. For strength to ever do the right, For grace to conquer in the

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fight, For power to walk the world in white. To make our weak hearts strong
and brave, To live a dying world to save, O see us on Thy altar lay, Our lives,
our all, this very day; To crown the offering now we pray, Send the fire, send
the fire, send the fire!
Let me tell you a story: two old ladies in their cottage praying for a revival in
their township. They’ve prayed forever, just the two of them, and one senses
the Holy Spirit coming closer. She calls for the minister in the morning. She
tells him about her vision and he says ‘what should I do?’ The old lady says it
would be a good idea to get his elders together to pray.
He gathers his elders and deacons in the church, they get down on their
knees day after day until one day, one of the young deacons reads up and
reads from the Psalm, “who may ascend the hill of the Lord? He who has a
clean hands and a clean heart.“ The deacon says to God, ’Lord, are my
hands clean, is my heart pure?’ And the Holy Spirit comes upon him in
power. With in an hour, there are 600 people outside the church crying and
weeping in repentance because the presence of God has swept all through
the island. People are getting saved by the side of the road, in the fields, the
minister can’t preach because the presence of God is so thick and there are
people praying all the way up the stairs to the pulpit anyway. Only fifty years
ago on a Scottish island. From two old ladies to a whole island isn’t bad.
Prayer is the key, and holiness is always a key in Holy Spirit revival. To make
our weak hearts strong and brave, to live a dying world to save! We cry out,
with Isaiah, ‘Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Let the battle cry resound: Blood and Fire! Let your understanding of the
theology lead you to the experience that transforms you into an agent of
renewal and revival for the world today.

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: : Epilogue - A Spiritual Declaration : :
My aim in this book has simply been to provoke in your heart and mind a
desire to see our movement fulfill its destiny and play our crucial part in
winning the world for Jesus. I invite you to respond in your heart to its
message.
Make it your determination to explore our spiritual heritage and passion as
expressed by our war cry, ‘Blood and Fire!’ Take time to pray through this
spiritual declaration before the Lord and may he take your dedication and
use it for his glory.
Spiritual Declaration
I make this declaration before you today Father:
I will make it my endeavour to experience, in all its fullness, the Blood and Fire
of God. Will you make my experience of the Blood and Fire real to me.
I will share a full gospel in my evangelism and will be faithful to the cross and
to the sacrifice of your Son, perfecting holiness out of love for you.
I will submit to you, resist the devil and watch him flee from me continually.
I will commit myself to allowing my passion for the Blood and Fire to influence
my lifestyle and service for you.
Lord, I declare these things with the desire that we might be just as you have
called us to be, Blood and Fire Salvationists, and that we might live out that
life and calling in all its fullness.
Amen!

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: : Appendices : :

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Appendix (i) – Resources for your fight
Here are some of the resources that have fuelled my fire!
Books by Dr Neil T Anderson:
‘Bondage Breaker’
‘Victory Over Darkness’
‘Steps to Freedom in Christ’
Books by Dr C Peter Wagner:
‘Radical Holiness’
‘Churches that Pray’ (and others in the Prayer Series)
Books by Rev Dr Mark Stibbe:
‘Know Your Spiritual Gifts’
‘Fire and Blood’
Books by Major Geoff Ryan:
‘Sowing Dragons’
‘The Siren Call of a Dangerous God’
Books by Cory Harrison:
‘Aggressive Christianity’ (Modern adaptation of the classic)
Books by Captain Stephen Court (and armybarmy.com):
‘Salvationism 101’
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 ‘Salvationism 201’
‘Salvationism 301’
‘Revolution’
Books by Ray Comfort:
‘The Way of The Master’
‘How to Win Souls and Influence People’
Books by Rev Steve Chalke:
‘Intelligent Church’
Books by General Shaw Clifton:
‘New Love’
‘Who are these Salvationists?’
Books by Matt Wilson:
‘Eden: Called to the Streets’
Books by Phil Wall:
‘I’ll fight…Holiness at War!’
Download from IHQ (http:/www.salvationarmy.org ):
‘Mission in Community’ (Integrated Mission Thinking)

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Websites:
http://www.armybarmy.com (Primitive Salvationism website)
http://www.armyrenewal.com (Primitive Salvationism website)
http://armyrenewal.blogspot.com (Blog of Captain Andrew Clark)
http://www.navpress.com/dj.asp (Discipleship Journal)
http://www.battlecry.com (Battle Cry)
http://www.armybarmy.com/jac.html (Journal of Aggressive Christianity)

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Appendix (ii) – The Ward System (including Job Descriptions for Ward Sergeants)
This resourcs is something that was a foundation to the Ward System initiated
at Pill Corps, South Western Division in the United Kingdom Territory. It is a 21st
Century rendition of the 19th Century Salvation Army ‘cell church’ system
which William Booth brought with him from his roots in Methodism. The
document leans on some teaching in SA301 on Wards also. It is presented
here as we included it in the handbook for leaders. You can buy this
resource from armybarmy.com
With regards to the positions of Ward Sergeant and Assistant Ward Sergeant,
our Divisional Commander was delighted to commission them as bona fide
local officers!

:: Chapter 1: Ward Concept

:: Chapter 2: Role of the Corps Officers
:: Chapter 3: Ward Meeting
:: Chapter 4: Ward Visitation
:: Chapter 5: Ward Evangelism & Expansion
:: Ward Sergeant Job Description
:: Assistant Ward Sergeant Job Description
:: Orders and Regulations for Wards: 1914.

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Chapter 1: The Ward Concept
The Ward System is what you could call the child of the Wesleyan ‘Class
System’, the father of the House Church movement and the grandfather of
the modern day cell church which has re-ignited significant church growth
and health in these days. All of these expressions and forms of church have
their roots in one thing: the desire to discover authentic Christian community.

There is no denying that the church in the form that we find it in today is
vastly different from the primitive church but let us not be fooled by thinking
that progression always means improvement. Congregational church life
only appeared round about the time of Christianity becoming the state
religion of Rome during the reign of Constantine (circa 400AD). It is from here
that the ‘institutionalising’ of the church began.
Until then, Christianity had remained more or less focussed around small
groups meeting in homes with the occasional mass meeting or church
council. In its very early days, the Christians still met in the synagogue to
worship as long as this was tolerated by the Rabbi. Persecution drove the
church out of the synagogue and into homes. It is fairly safe to assume that
when Paul is writing to the church at Philippi, or Corinth for example, that he is
not addressing a group of people who gather in their 100s. Certainly there
would have been more than a hundred Christians in these places, but there
were no properties that would have held the number of people involved.
The church found its shape mainly because of its environment, but we must
not overlook the fact that the church was experiencing huge growth in its
early days. Neither can we neglect passages in Acts that give us insight into
the early church and how it functioned. You cannot deny the dynamism of
the early church that during its first 30 years had ‘turned the world upside
down.’

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The focus of the Ward System is to harness the strength of the small group
setting. We want an environment where people can be actively discipled,
nurtured, enabled to function in their spiritual gifting and be joined together
with the rest of the body to be engaged in prayer and outreach.
The Ward System first finds its place in Salvation Army history in 1914. In “The
Why and Wherefore of the Salvation Army” we find Orders and Regulations
for Wards (see Appendix III). Here we find the concept very close to the early
church model designed to keep soldiers as well as just win them. This
concept was frequently adopted in areas where the Army was advancing,
and especially in areas where there were no corps officers appointed as in
the case of Vancouver Temple in the early 1900s (led by CSM Wilf Smith).
The Salvation Army Ward System is prevalent today in the very strong Korean
Territory and gaining popularity in Canada and the United States.
The basic idea is that the corps is split up into groups, called Wards, led by a
War Sergeant and an Assistant (collectively, the Ward Leaders). The Ward
Leaders simple provide a network of communication and care for the ward
soldiers/members, facilitating spiritual growth, discipleship and engagement
in the fight.
In Pill’s setting, the idea is that the Ward should seek to meet together at least
fortnightly. This provides a network of support for every Christian in the corps,
gives the opportunity for teaching and for the building of solid relationships.
The typical ‘Ward Corps’ operates at three different levels:
Cathedral: its seeks to maintain strong links with the wider Army
occasionally
Celebration: it meets together as a whole weekly
Community: it meets in small communities regularly

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This is large church, medium church and small church all at the same time.
There is a phenomenon in all of church life called the 200 barrier. That is, that
most churches have a great struggle to get beyond 200 members. At the
200 stage, you begin to get lost in the crowd, and this seems to be a huge
barrier in the growth of churches. Getting beyond the 200 provides logistical
problems too, with buildings and the like.

Actively connecting with the wider Army gives that sense of being part of
something big. The congregational level allows the local expression to
celebrate, harness gifts and provide attractive celebration worship that give
a positive taster to the unchurched whilst wards maintain the intimacy and
relationship of Christian community no matter what the size. Groups stay
around the 10-20 size, multiplying when they get larger. This is why the
development of leaders within the ward is important. Lack of leadership will
hinder growth.
Growth in the wards comes because each ward is actively involved in
mission. Each ward has a brigade activity, that is they will seek to have an
outreach arm to their group, both in praying for unsaved friends and
encouraging each other in personal witness, and by reaching out in a
defined geographical area as a ward. This should provide an ideal setting
for growth.
Becoming a Ward Corps is a process. Not everyone will be involved initially,
but in time, we want it to be the accepted norm that each soldier is an
active member of a ward. If we take discipleship, pastoral care and
evangelism seriously, then the ward system should prove a valuable catalyst
for Kingdom business. We wait on the Lord for all he will do. (see SA301 for a
deeper treatment of these issues).

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Chapter 2: Role of the Corps Officer
The role of the Salvation Army Officer has changes significantly over the
years. Major Harold Hill outlines these changing trends in his report, ‘The
Clericalisation of Officership’ in which he tracks the evolution of the original
officer through to today’s ‘officer-priest.’
Today, leadership, evangelism, preaching, teaching, pastoral care, general
administration, maintenance and public relations, are all the typical role of
The Salvation Army officer. This is a workload which exceeds any reasonable
expectation. Increasingly, we see less and less committed local officership
and whilst that is not as widespread in Pill, it is widespread in the wider Army.
The role of the Corps Officer in a ward corps not only allows the corps officer
to function according to his/her giftings, but also releases him/her to exercise
proper overall responsibility for the corps with some able assistance, providing
a much more successful leadership.
In the ward corps, the corps officer has several functions:
Firstly, the corps officer selects and sets the curriculum for the teaching
element of the wards. This will also be augmented by the preaching in the
Sunday morning celebration unless the Spirit leads differently or in the case of
a special occasion.
Secondly, the corps officer leads the monthly ward leaders meeting. Whilst
the ward leaders will find support in their ward from their ward members,
there needs to be an avenue for leaders to share together and to have
‘oversight.’ The ward meeting will provide the opportunity for feedback on
pastoral situations in their ward and to go over teaching to be presented to
wards in the coming month.
Thirdly, the corps officer responds to situations which the ward leaders
highlight to him with regards to serious pastoral concerns. The corps officer
will also be kept up to date with the general visitation of the ward members.
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Fourthly, the corps officer will visit wards from time to time to provide support
and to give greater opportunity for deeper interaction with corps folk.
Fifthly, the corps officer will oversee the brigade work of the ward and
provide a link in communication between leaders and in corps strategy.
Sixthly, unless a Ward Sergeant-Major is appointed, the corps officer will
administer the wards, ensure membership levels are appropriate, facilitate
the splitting of a large ward, and pioneer wards in areas that the corps
doesn’t currently work. In some cases the corps officer will lead or assist the
leading of a ward.
Far from detracting from the work of the corps officer, the ward system allows
the officer to function at a fuller capacity with the extra bonus of local
leaders being released to lead. The ward corps should easily be able to
effectively exist without a corps officer if that situation arises.

Chapter 3: Ward Meeting

An important part of the Ward System is the Ward Meeting. The ward
meeting is the central ‘fountain’ for holiness and discipleship teaching for
believers. It also provides a small group setting for the development of
spiritual gifts, spiritual accountability and for prayer. The ward is a source of
encouragement in evangelism and witnessing.
The Ward Meeting will follow the following structure:

• Welcome: this is the opportunity to share news, matters for

prayer, have a chat and a cup of tea. The Assistant Ward
Sergeant will keep a record of prayer requests for the group to
facilitate effective prayer.

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 • Worship: an opportunity for ward members to worship together,
either singing, using CDs or in any other way that helps the group
to worship God together as a group. This is the appropriate time
for there to be prophecy spoken, a tongue, a word of witness or
some other such spiritual gift.
• Word: this is the segment where the group studies and interacts
with the ward curriculum set by the corps officer.
• Witness: this is the segment focussing on the Ward’s brigade
activity. There will be sharing prayer requests for those we are
actively witnessing to, sharing reports of brigade activity and
planning new brigade activity.
Although the wards are for teaching and pastoral care, they must never be
allowed to maintain an inward focus. Each ward will always be open to new
members, even unsaved friends and contacts.
The Ward Leaders will seek to make sure their ward meets at least once a
fortnight, or twice in any month. The leaders will seek to make sure that ward
members who do not attend the ward meeting are kept up to date with
ward happenings and the ward teaching in some way, either through
sharing when visiting or through other written communication. The ward
leaders will decide how best to communicate with each ward member not
attending. Ward leaders will keep track on numbers attending, also frequent
non-attenders.
The ward leaders must do their best to keep gossip and negative talk out of
their group and will seek to lead the ward on the right agenda. There will be
situations where the leader will need to be creative in steering the meeting
and keeping them focussed on the purpose of meeting. The leaders will play
their part in creating an atmosphere of trust within the group, giving the
assurance that what is shared in the group won’t be carried beyond the

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group without their permission, except in the case of reporting to the corps
officer.
It is in the ward meeting that the ward leaders have the potential to do their
best work, providing opportunity for people to share, witness, prophesy, pray
and minister. Because of this, the ward leaders will seek to educate himself in
areas of spiritual gifts and their proper use and be able to facilitate the
‘orderly worship’ that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 14. The ward leaders will
also want to familiarise themselves with simple guidelines for prayer ministry.
Wards will be encouraged to meet altogether bi-monthly for a Soldier’s
Meeting led by the corps officer.

Chapter 4: Ward Visitation

It is not the intention that the Ward Leaders will become overburdened with
visitation of ward members. If ward members are taking the opportunity to
receive support on a long term basis in the ward meeting, visits for extra
support should only be necessary in special circumstances. However, it may
be that those who choose not to attend, or indeed who cannot attend, may
need more regular visitation.
The Ward Leader will record in the Ward Visiting Record any dates that
people have been visited, the scripture that has been shared and a brief
comment on the outcome of the visit. This record is confidential between
the ward leaders and the corps officer. Ward member will be entitled to see
any notes made in their regard should they ask. This record will be brought to
the ward leaders meeting and they will also be submitted for reference in the
Corps Pastoral Care Council Meetings.
As well as visitation, the ward leaders will seek to make contact if a ward
member is missing from any meeting without any known reason, taking care
to help avoid people ‘slipping out the back door’ of the corps. A simple
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note, card or telephone call can have great effect in assuring corps
members that their presence and contribution is vital.
When visiting a ward member, ward leaders will seek to keep the topic of
conversation mainly on spiritual matters as well as matters of importance with
regards to that individual’s welfare. Discussion about corps politics etc
should be avoided. The ward leader will seek to share in prayer and share a
suitable passage of scripture with whoever is being visited.

Ward Leaders will only be able to minister within their capacity, and a good
ward leader will continue to do all they can to develop their leadership skills.
It goes without saying that a ward will take his members to heart in prayer,
seeking to nurture the individual in whatever way they can.
The reading of ‘How to Help a Friend’ by Selwyn Hughes is recommended as
a way of developing any pastoral skills needed.

Chapter 5: Ward Evangelism & Expansion

Evangelism
If the ward groups are functioning as a mini version of the Body, it is vital that
evangelism is taking place. In the ward setting it is anticipated that
evangelism, and encouragement in evangelism will take place in several
ways:
1) Encouragement in one-to-one witnessing. Ward members will share
names of people they are praying for and actively witnessing to, thus
receiving support and accountability.
2) Prayer Outreach. Each ward will be given a defined area of the corps
district to prayer walk and to cover door-to-door with prayer ministry cards.
Prayer Ministry cards simply allow people in the ward area to note down
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prayer requests providing us both fuel for prayer and meaningful contacts for
the Kingdom. This will be the default brigade activity for each ward.
3) Extra brigade activity. Although the prayer outreach will be the base
brigade activity, wards are free to branch out in other areas of mission. The
possibilities here are endless. For example, regular BBQ or meal for
neighbours or friends, pub booming, War Cry distribution, ward open airs,
leafleting…anything that will be productive for the Kingdom.
4) Inviting friend to ward meetings. Ward members shouldn’t be
discouraged to invite unsaved friends to ward meetings. The ward is the coal
face of people’s adventure with Christianity and unsaved friends are more
likely to receive a more realistic understanding of the benefits and challenge
of the Christian faith in an intimate group setting than they would attending
the average Sunday meeting.
If wards are active in evangelism, people will be won to the Lord and the
corps as a whole will grow. If a ward does not have a mission focus, it ceases
to be a ward and becomes an inward looking, self-serving house group. The
lost must always have a priority in our thinking. Where possible, each ward
will have a Ward Brigadier, a ward member who has a special interest in the
organising and maintaining of ward evangelism thus removing the
responsibility from the Ward Sergeant. If wards are doing evangelism
alongside the corporate efforts as a corps, we are bound to see souls being
won.

Expansion
Each group, when achieving a membership of 12 attendees, will be required
multiply into two groups. Therefore, development of potential ward
sergeants is important. It is important to maintain the principle of being a
‘small group.’
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The Ward System also provides the opportunity to establish wards in areas the
corps does not currently work in as an embryo for an outpost or corps plant.

Job Title: Ward Sergeant

Aim: To lead a group of soldiers in discipleship and mission and
to provide the general pastoral care of the ward
members.
Responsible to: CO, or to the Ward Sergeant-Major if appointed
Responsible for: Assistant Ward Sergeant, Ward Brigadier, Ward Members,
the Ward’s allotted geographical area.

Introduction
The corps ward system is a close relation to the cell church model being used
widely in the body of Christ today. It is a Salvationist system for pastoral care
and for the promotion of effective mission fighting. Ward will meet fortnightly
for study, prayer, fellowship. Each Ward will also be assigned a geographical
area in which they will seek to evangelise through brigade activity. Brigade
activity is the missional aspect of the Ward System, promoting every member
ministry and outreach. In an ideal situation, a Ward Brigadier will be
appointed to facilitate the ward’s outreach.
It is also expected that Wards will split and grow, so the existence of an
Assistant Ward Sergeant is crucial for long term growth.
While it is the responsibility of the corps officers to provide oversight for all in
the corps, it is often impossible for the officers to attentively meet all the

100
needs of all of their people. The Ward system allows for ward sergeants to
help take some pastoral responsibility for some of the people in the corps.
The ward sergeant should remember that all persons in his/her ward are
given for a period of time by God for his/her responsibility. As such, the ward
sergeant must respect all persons in the ward remembering each individual
has their own unique abilities and situation. The ward sergeant should pray
regularly for all the names listed on the ward list and for all who come under
his/her influence. Often encouragement is the greatest gift a ward sergeant
can give.
A Ward Sergeant must remember that he/she may be asked to change
his/her ward to another district or may be asked to give up his/her service as
a ward sergeant. Any change initiated by the commanding officer should be
received positively and seen as an opportunity to support the development
of the corps in a different area of ministry.
The Ward Sergeant will be a uniformed Salvationist.

Main Responsibilites

1. To Lead the Ward Meeting. To lead the fortnightly Ward meeting and to
facilitate the teaching of the material selected by the CO.
2. Attendance at Ward Leaders Meeting . To attend the Ward Leader’s
Meeting, led be the CO once a month for instruction, study, prayer,
fellowship and pastoral care.
3. Pastoral Concern for Ward Members. Ward sergeants must be
concerned for the spiritual, emotional and physical well-being of
people within their Ward. If a member seems to be going through a
difficult time, the ward sergeant must attempt to discern the problem
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 and seek to help wherever possible. This may mean praying with and
for the member or referring the member to a corps officer for
counselling or other help if the situation is outwith the experience or
scope of the Ward Sergeant ministry.
4. Spiritual Accountability. Ward sergeants should regularly inquire as to
the spiritual condition of members. This will include pertinent
questioning and discernment. The Ward Sergeant will want to create a
safe environment for open sharing and encourage the necessary level
of confidentiality within the group.
5. Nurture Leaders. To ensure the nurturing and development of the
Assistant Ward Sergeant, ensuring that there are opportunities to share
leadership.
6. Visitation. The Ward Sergeant will want to visit those in his/her care on
occasion. Ward sergeants are obligated to inform their CO of any
concerns arising out of pastoral visitation. The corps officers are
themselves spiritually responsible for each member of the corps and
must be kept informed of the well-being of members. Ward Sergeant
and Assistant Ward Sergeant should share this ministry, and present a
brief written account of any visitation carried to the CO at the monthly
leaders meeting.
7. Awareness of Ward Members. It is important for ward sergeants (and
their assistants) to be aware of the Sunday attendance patterns of
members within their Ward. If a member is not present at a Sunday
meeting or Ward Meeting for any unknown reason, he/she should
receive some form of contact during the following week.
8. Brigade Activity. Each ward will have a brigade activity, that is a
regular outreach ministry. The Ward Sergeant will seek to identify a

102
 suitable brigade activity and a ward member who could assume
responsibility for co-ordinating this ministry.
9. Evangelising of the Ward’s Allotted Area. Each ward will be allotted a
geographical area in which the ward will carry out their brigade
activity. The Ward Sergeant should count the unsaved people living in
that area as members of his ward who simply do not attend yet. The
whole groups should seek the salvation of all in their area. The base
Brigade Activity will be prayer walking, and the systematic covering of
the area with prayer request cards which will then be collected and
used for prayer in the Ward Meeting.
Suggested Reading
Ward Leaders will be provided with instruction and training by the CO, but
these books may prove to be helpful as ministry is developed.

How to Help a Friend, by Selwyn Hughes.

Courageous Leadership, by Bill Hybels
Becoming a Contageous Christian, by Bill Hybles
I’ll fight, Holiness at War, by Phil Wall
This Means War, by Major Chick Yuill
Chosen to be a Soldier (Orders and Regulations for Soldiers).
Prayer Ministry (Video) by Sandy Miler.

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Job Title: Assistant Ward Sergeant
Aim: To assist the Ward Sergeant in leading a group of soldiers
in discipleship and mission and to assist in providing the
general pastoral care of the ward members.
Responsible to: Ward Sergeant
Responsible for: Ward Members, the Ward’s allotted geographical area.

Introduction
The corps ward system is a close relation to the cell church model being used
widely in the body of Christ today. It is a Salvationist system for pastoral care
and for the promotion of effective mission fighting. Ward will meet fortnightly
for study, prayer, fellowship. Each Ward will also be assigned a geographical
area in which they will seek to evangelise through brigade activity. Brigade
activity is the missional aspect of the Ward System, promoting every member
ministry and outreach. In an ideal situation, a Ward Brigadier will be
appointed to facilitate the ward’s outreach.
It is also expected that Wards will split and grow, so the existence of an
Assistant Ward Sergeant is crucial for long term growth.
While it is the responsibility of the corps officers to provide oversight for all in
the corps, it is often impossible for the officers to attentively meet all the
needs of all of their people. The Ward system allows for ward sergeants to
help take some pastoral responsibility for some of the people in the corps.
The assistant ward sergeant should remember that all persons in his/her ward
are given for a period of time by God for his/her responsibility. As such, the
assistant ward sergeant must respect all persons in the ward remembering
each individual has their own unique abilities and situation. The assistant
ward sergeant should pray regularly for all the names listed on the ward list
104
and for all who come under his/her influence. Often encouragement is the
greatest gift an assistant ward sergeant can give.
An assistant ward sergeant must remember that he/she may be asked to
change his/her ward to another district or may be asked to give up his/her
service as a ward leader. Any change initiated by the commanding officer
should be received positively and seen as an opportunity to support the
development of the corps in a different area of ministry.
The Assistant Ward Sergeant will typically be a uniformed or non-uniformed
soldier.

Main Responsibilites
1. To assist the leading of the Ward Meeting. To assist in the leadership of
the fortnightly Ward meeting and to help facilitate the teaching of the
material selected by the CO, occasionally leading the whole or
sections of the ward meeting.
2. Attendance at Ward Leaders Meeting . To attend the Ward Leader’s
Meeting, led be the CO once a month for instruction, study, prayer,
fellowship and pastoral care.
3. Pastoral Concern for Ward Members. Assistant Ward sergeants must be
concerned for the spiritual, emotional and physical well-being of
people within their Ward and assist the Ward Sergeant in the care of
those under their care. This may mean praying with and for the
member or referring the member to a corps officer for counselling or
other help if the situation is outwith the experience or scope of the
Ward Sergeant ministry.
4. To deputise for the Ward Sergeant in his/her absence.

105
5. Prayer Recording. The Assistant Ward Sergeant will keep a record of all
the prayer topics prayed for in the ward to build faith and focus the
prayers of the group.
6. Visitation. The Assistant Ward Sergeant will want to assist the Ward
Sergeant in the visiting those in his/her care on occasion. A brief
written account of any visitation carried to the CO at the monthly
leaders meeting.
7. Brigade Activity. Each ward will have a brigade activity, that is a
regular outreach ministry. The Assistant Ward Sergeant will seek to be
as fully involved as possible in the outreach of the Ward.
8. Evangelising of the Ward’s Allotted Area. Each ward will be allotted a
geographical area in which the ward will carry out their brigade
activity. The Assistant Ward Sergeant should count the unsaved
people living in that area as members of his ward who simply do not
attend yet. The whole group should seek the salvation of all in their
area. The base Brigade Activity will be prayer walking, and the
systematic covering of the area with prayer request cards which will
then be collected and used for prayer in the Ward Meeting.

106
 Wards: From the 1914 O&R
The Why and Wherefore of The Salvation Army
Orders and Regulations: 1914, p81-82.
1. What is a Ward?
The town or neighborhood where a Corps exists is divided into a number of
districts. Each of these districts is called a Ward, and comprises all the soldiers
living in that district.
2. Who is responsible for these Wards?
Two local officers, a man and a woman, who are called ward sergeants.
3. What are the duties of the Ward Sergeant?
(a) If ward meetings are being worked by the corps, the ward sergeant must
meet the soldiers of his ward, once a week, in a room agreed upon by the C.
O.
(b) The ward sergeant must keep a record book, in which he will mark the
attendance of each member of his company. In this book he must also
record whether any are sick, backslidden, or removed, with any other
information helpful to the ward.
(c) He is responsible for the visitation and care of the any of his Soldiers who
are sick or in sorrow, or who are growing cold, or in any way need looking
after for God and The Army.
(d) He must collect the Cartridges, and hand them to the Treasurer, who will
inform the Ward Sergeant of the total amount.
(e) He must visit and generally look after the Converts residing within his
Ward, and do all in his power to help them on to Soldiership in The Army.
(f) Each Ward has a Local Officer, who is known as the Ward Publisher. He is
responsible to the Publication Sergeant for the sale of Army literature in the
107
Ward to which he is appointed, and for keeping the names and addresses of
all customers.
4. What is the order of Service at the Ward meeting?
At the ward meeting each soldier is expected to speak and be spoken to
about his soul, or to pray and be prayed with.
5. Then one of the objects of a Ward Meeting is that all shall have
opportunity of taking part?
Yes; something should be done in which all can take part. Everything must be
short, lively, and on fire with the Spirit of God, so that all may be cheered up
and encouraged to go ahead. Two or three verses from the Bible should be
read; but there must be no long talking about anything.
6. May sinners come to the Ward Meeting?
Yes. Each soldier in the ward must be encouraged to bring a sinner or
backslider to these meetings; and all should pray and believe for their
salvation.
7. Is the conduct of these Ward Meetings confined to the Ward Sergeant?
No.
8. Will the C. O. attend?
The C. O. will, as frequently as convenient, conduct ward meetings; he will
also arrange for united soldiers’ meetings, when all the wards will meet
together.

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: : About the Author : :
Captain Andrew Clark (DipHE Theology, DipHE Salvation Army Officer
Training) was commissioned as a Salvation Army officer in 2004. He is married
to Tracy and has two children, Benjamin and Ceitidh.
He is committed to the lost being won and The Army experiencing deeper
and significant spiritual renewal to the extent that it is better equipped to win
the world for Jesus.
Other than having a passion to see the world won for Jesus, he has an
admiration for Volkswagen Campervans.
He has written two other books, ‘Who would have guessed?’ and
‘Salvationism Out Loud!’, both available from Lulu.com.
He also maintains the content at www.armyrenewal.com

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Notes

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