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.