Solomon Islands District - Territorial Leaders Visit (Day 8)

Officer's & Nominees Retreat

Saturday, 19th November 2022

The last day of the retreat commenced with Nominees Rex and Manalyn leading the morning devotions before Colonel Garth presented the final two sessions. As with the previous sessions, the topic on ‘Attitude’ spoke directly into the lives of the local leaders. The Colonel referred to the lives of several biblical characters—Moses, Joshua, Joseph, Ruth, Elijah, Daniel, Job, David, Barsabbas, and Paul—providing case studies to identify the relationship between attitude and character. Two key points emerging from the case studies were, “Your attitude cannot take you where your character cannot sustain you” and “Your attitude, not your aptitude will determine you’re altitude.” Finally, the question was asked, “What do you bring to Jesus in your pot?” (John 2:1-11), with three suggestions offered:

1. You carry a conviction
2. You carry a revelation from God that confronts culture
3. You carry a vision

After a final meal together, the District Officers led a closing Worship Service that provided an opportunity for testimonies from the congregation leaders. Once the first person stood up to speak, it unleashed a wave of open sharing that revealed the value and impact of this retreat to the leaders. Majors Robert and Vanessa then discussed the District’s progress with the Territorial Strategic Plan (TSP) Local Action Plan to celebrate the mission goals achieved this year and share the mission goals for next year. The recent change of appointment for Solomon Islands was also officially announced with Envoys Alick and Esther welcomed as Area Officers for Malaita, in addition to their current role as Area Officers for Western Province. Major Vanessa then concluded the Officer’s & Nominees Retreat with a message from Isaiah 30:21 entitled ‘God Whispers’, reminding everybody that “you won’t hear Him if you aren’t near Him.” Auxiliary Captain Wency extended heart-felt words of thanks to Colonels Garth and Patti, acknowledging their leadership and investment into the lives of the Solomon Islands leaders. The venue for the retreat was a real blessing, providing a pleasant, relaxing and suitable environment for the leaders to enjoy each other's company and get the most out of the time with the Territorial Leaders. An expression of thanks was also extended to Pastor Andrew Fanasia from SWIM for the use of their facilities. This vote of thanks was reciprocated by Andrew, as he expressed his appreciation to The Salvation Army for choosing the SWIM base for this event. After a well-earned rest back at their motel room, the Territorial Leaders were driven to the airport by the District Leaders for their return flight to Port Moresby. The week Colonels Garth and Patti spent in the Solomon Islands was an enormous encouragement to the District and a great opportunity for them to see in person the mission and ministry they read about in monthly newsletters and through regular posts on Facebook.

Solomon Islands District - Territorial Leaders Visit (Day 7)

Officer's & Nominees Retreat

Friday, 18th November 2022

Day two of the Officer’s & Nominees Retreat began with Nominees Jimley and Joana leading morning devotions. Colonel Patti then continued on from yesterday with a session on ‘Practical Holiness’, speaking from Romans 12:1, Galatians 5:16-26 and Romans 7:14-20. She highlighted The Salvation Army’s 9th Doctrine—”We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ”—to emphasise the process of surrendering our whole selves to Jesus Christ, which is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, a session on practical holiness isn’t complete without reference to one of the great historic holiness teachers of The Salvation Army, Samuel Logan Brengle, whom she quoted, ”Holiness equates to having the mind of Jesus in control over every issue of life.” The session was wrapped up with Colonel Patti outlining 3 conditions of discipleship identified by Jesus: complete surrender, identifying in His suffering and death, and obediently following Him (Mark 8:34-37); before concluding with Paul’s testimony declaring “it’s no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Colonel Garth led the second session for the day on the topic of ‘Honesty’, unpacking seven definitions:

1. Honesty means telling the truth
2. Honesty is not just truth-telling, but truth-living
3. Honesty means truth over tolerance
4. Honesty is always the best policy
5. Honesty makes you complete
6. Honesty pleases God
7. Honesty is a value to be taken seriously

The session concluded with a discussion around the importance of trust and how that applies to a Salvation Army officer or leader. The lunch break was hampered by heavy rain, keeping everyone under cover. This was followed by a business session led by the District Officers to discuss the Mission Support Projects (MSP), statistics and other mission matters. Major Vanessa spoke about the newly purchased sewing machines and starter kits that will be handed over to 5 Home Leagues as a skills development and income generating project to support local mission and ministry initiatives. Major Robert updated the leaders on the other MSP’s and explained the use of the ‘Called to be a Soldier’ and ‘Day by Day’ books, which had finally arrived after being held up in customs, as a follow-up to the recent District Renewal Campaign. The session was very interactive and went longer than planned, with a number of leaders asking clarifying questions, eager to be fully equipped as church leaders. Unfortunately, the rain continued all afternoon, causing the cancellation of the scheduled recreation activity and a modified version of the renewal activity to under shelter. The evening devotions was led by Envoys Alick and Esther Hagi, which was a fitting conclusion to an amazing day that was full of blessings and helpful leadership insights.

Solomon Islands District - Territorial Leaders Visit (Day 6)

Officer's & Nominees Retreat

Thursday, 17th November 2022

On Thursday morning, the District Team travelled out to SWIM (Supporting Work in Ministry) Conference Centre and Transit House to set-up for the Officer’s & Nominees Retreat ahead of the arrival of the congregation and Territorial leaders. Colonels Garth and Patti joined the delegates for lunch before the District Officers launched the retreat with an Opening Worship session. The District Emergency Services Coordinator Festus, together with his wife Freda, prepared lunch and the rest of the meals for the retreat. During the Opening Worship, Major Robert introduced the leaders from each of The Salvation Army congregations across the District using a PowerPoint presentation to feature mission highlights from each location. Major Vanessa then introduced the Nominees/Candidates who have applied to enter the Officer Training College in PNG. A message was given on ‘Choosing a Covenanted Life’, based on Deuteronomy 30:11-20, to set the tone for the three days together.

The first session was led by Colonel Garth, who spoke from 1 Samuel 15:1-35 on ‘Spiritual Integrity’. After highlighting some of the barriers to spiritual integrity, Colonel Garth outlined the requirements for leading with integrity. His message resonated strongly with the leaders present, providing a challenge that spoke into each of their cultural contexts. The second session was led by Colonel Patti who spoke from Matthew 5:43-48 and Philippians 4:8-9 on ‘Spiritual Perfection’, building on the verse—”be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Colonel Patti explained the biblical context for spiritual perfection and gave some practical guidance on how to live a holy life that is set apart from sin and for Christ. Both sessions were powerful and timely messages that complimented each other and incorporated the Territorial theme ‘Rebuild, Restore, Renew’ that has been taught across the Territory, including Solomon Islands for the past two years.

Following another delicious meal prepared by Freda and Festus, everybody gathered in the communal lounge for evening devotions, led by Auxiliary Captains Wency and Fostina. It has been wonderful to see Fostina’s growth, as she is now standing alongside Wency with more and more confidence in an upfront leadership role. As she emerges from the shadow of her husband, her God-given gifts and abilities are shining brightly, inspiring the other women to break free of the cultural constraints placed upon them because of gender and lack of education. Nominee Jimley led the evening worship and everybody joined together in a time of prayer to end an inspiring day. The rest of the evening was kept free to encourage unstructured social interaction between the leaders, who are normally separated by the seas and remoteness, with very limited mobile and internet coverage in many locations. The value of fellowship becomes very evident during these types of events.

Spiritual Formation Journal - Chapter 5

Master of Transformational Development

Leadership & Organisational Development

At the beginning of this semester, we launched the Territorial Strategic Plan for Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands Territory in the Solomon Islands. The strategic plan is based on the theme: “Rebuild – Restore – Renew” taken from the Scripture, “They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations” (Isaiah 61:4). The vision driving this theme states, “The Salvation Army will actively rebuild, restore and renew where a broken world needs it most.”

In the last six months, the relevance of this theme for Solomon Islands has been punctuated by the riots in November 2021, the community outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2022, proceeding lockdowns and curfews, economic hardship, China security pact, localised flooding and food shortages; all of which exacerbates the brokenness that normally plagues this nation. The impact of COVID-19 related restrictions on meeting together and travelling has greatly hindered The Salvation Army’s ability to put into effect this strategic plan in ways that come naturally to us. It has also slowed down the rapid mission growth we have experienced over the past four years. So, as an action-orientated leader, I have found this period of time to be immensely frustrating!

A time will come soon when we can return to our normal program and set into motion mission activities that will ‘rebuild’ and ‘restore’ but maybe this hiatus has given us time and space to ‘renew’. Ironically, renewal means to ‘resume an activity after an interruption’ but I sense there is space for renewal amid the interruption in this context. For me, this time has led me back to the journal I kept during our pilgrimage to the Holy Land back in 2019, just three months prior to the pandemic. At the end of each full and rich day of exploring places where Jesus walked, I spent some quiet time over a double espresso recording the experiences and insights from our adventures. Reflecting back on those experiences and insights over the past couple of months has indeed been a time of personal renewal in the absence of significant activity and adventure. Ascension Sunday this year provided me with one such moment as I recalled our trip to the Sea of Galilee to the place where Jesus reinstated Peter before His ascension into heaven. This is what I recorded in my journal on that day:

“The first location we visited today had the most profound impact on me! We travelled to the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee where Peter was reinstated by Jesus after his denial of Christ. Here the words of Jesus, “Do you love me?” spoke powerfully to me. We stood on the shore of Galilee and sang the words of Howard Davies song, “Lord, You Know That We Love You.” This was a most fitting song for a very sacred moment. Three rocks shaped as love hearts imbedded into the ground nearby added to the impact of the moment. As we sang the final verse I was overwhelmed with such deep emotion I could no longer sing but could only allow Christ to speak through the singing of the rest of our group…

“Lord, you know that we fail you;

Our sins, how sorely they grieve you!

Many times we have fallen,

Lord, lift us up again.

May we walk to be worthy

Of the call that is ours.

May your will and your purpose

Claim our undivided powers!”

Following this powerful moment, I went and stood in the Sea of Galilee and allowed Christ’s deep, deep love for me flood my soul.”

Remembering that experience in our current circumstances was a powerful challenge to me that ‘my walk may be worthy of the call that is mine’. This has also spoken into some personal conversations with Vanessa about whether we want to extend our time in the Solomon Islands for a third term of another three years. We have been wrestling with this decision, flipping back and forth between our desire as parents and duty as officers, unsure of which way we ought to go. This period of renewal and reflection has given us space to find clarity in our own spirits that our work here is not done and claim the last line of the song that spoke to me on the Sea of Galilee three years ago: “May your will and your purpose claim our undivided powers!” While there are processes outside of our control about whether we stay or go, we are content to say, “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).