Woody's Words

Vale Bexley North By David Woodbury Having just attended the final closing ceremony at The Salvation Army School for Officer Training at Bexley North in Sydney, I found myself coming away with a disturbing sense of disquiet and uneasiness, and have spent some time reflecting on the decision to move training for officers nationally, to Melbourne. Among much of the paraphernalia circulating around the merger of the two territories was a logo entitled; Inclusive Australia . My understanding is that it refers to The Salvation Army’s Multicultural Department which is focussed on making migrants and refugees welcome among us and part of our mission and ministry; a ministry, that I personally know, is highly beneficial and effective in some parts of Sydney. I would commend those participating in such ministry for their dedication, love and understanding. However, if we were to apply the same logo to recent amalgamations and the merger of the two Australian territorie...

A LETTER FROM JAMES Chapter 2 – part 1 By David Woodbury My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? 2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? (James 2:1-4 - NLT) The sin of discrimination James once again returns to the concept of the egalitarian church and it seems he may well be addressing a problem of discrimination that had risen. The society of the day was eminently class-conscious and the presence of servants and slaves were commonplace. However, in the early church the master ...

THIS IS WHY I don’t drink alcohol By David Woodbury Recently I sat across the dinner table with a very attractive 20+ young woman as she explained to me how she was taking care of herself by being careful about the correct food she ate and the chemicals she would not use on her skin. She had beautiful, clear white skin and pearly white teeth testifying to the strict regime she applied to her way of living; all the while she held a glass of wine in her hand. After commending her on the way she cared for herself I asked the question : So you don’t mind putting into your brain the same chemical that is used these days as motor vehicle fuel? Naturally, there was a pause in the conversation and I think the connection I made was not lost. It got me thinking as to why it was that I don’t drink alcohol when it is so much an accepted part of the Australian culture? A number of reasons spring to mind and some have to do with a strict Salvation Army upbringing. As a teenager,...

A LETTER FROM JAMES Chapter 1 – part 4 By David Woodbury 26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. (James 1:26-27 – NLT) James has already touched on the use of the tongue in verse 19 and he will go on later in his letter to explore the subject in more detail. However, here he is making the point that unrestrained use of the tongue demonstrates a religious profession that is of no value. We fool ourselves if we think that careless use of words will not give us away. What James is focussing on here is not so much religion in itself, but rather how the image of faith is perceived by those outside. Perhaps no other age in history has been as obsessed with image as the era in which we live, and whole industries have grown...

A LETTER FROM JAMES Study notes - Chapter 1 – part 3 By David Woodbury 19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.  (James 1:19-20 – NLT) The art of good communication As we have discovered James tends to jump between subjects and there is a sense that he is quickly trying to impart sound doctrine and advice to these new Christians and must cover much ground as possible in this one letter. In the light of his previous teaching, he feels it necessary to give some sound, practical advice on human relationships and communications. He attempts to grab his readers attention with the phrase; Understand this, in other words, listen to me, this is important . And he is quite right, for in any assembly of people, be they Christian or otherwise, the fellowship is enriched or broken, through the quality o...

A LETTER FROM JAMES Chapter 1 – part 2 9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. An egalitarian church Here we get a cameo of what the early church looked like. It was an egalitarian society where the poor, the rich, the slave and free served and worshipped together without any distinction whatsoever. The poor felt comfortable and valued since Christianity treated them with the same respect and honour as the rich. The poor were honoured and the rich were humbled. Consequently, James feels free to address this situation affirming that all classes have the same thing to boast about. All were aware t...

LEST WE FORGET By David Woodbury After a long and sometimes painful process, we have arrived at the vision of a national territory. Although I was unable to be present in Melbourne, images and video streaming from the event branded it as an impressive spectacular, with its camels, donkeys and top-line performers. Such celebrations are important and beneficial for they enable us to celebrate our faith and encourage the community of faith. However, they are not indicators of success, growth, or, for that matter, divine approval. I found myself reflecting back on similar spectaculars at Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral . His TV ministry, The Hour of Power , along with his opulent Crystal Cathedral marked out his philosophy with all the hallmarks of American excesses and consumerism. However, it is worth noting that his whole empire crumbled amidst bitter family squabbling and his church filed for bankruptcy in 2010. His Crystal Cathedral was sold off to the Roman Cat...

THE CHURCH – INVINCIBLE By David Woodbury In 1865, the year The Salvation Army came into being, Sabine Baring-Gould penned the words of his classic hymn: Onward, Christian Soldiers. In that era most of the populace would have acknowledged some sort of religious affiliation,   consequently, the opening lines of the 4 th verse, which reflect the invincibility of the church,   would have held an unquestioning authenticity; Crowns and thrones may perish, Kingdoms rise and wane, But the Church of Jesus Constant will remain.   Today, the religious landscape is vastly different with probably only a minority of the populace acknowledging any sort of religious affiliation, and the words of Baring-Gould’s hymn may well be viewed with cynicism and scepticism, if not open derision. The reality is that many of the mainline churches have fallen on hard times as congregations and membership declines and churches close their doors.   Government and ju...