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).

Spiritual Formation Journal - Chapter 4

Master of Transformational Development

Doing Theology in the Context of Poverty & Injustice

I must confess that after I read the unit guide for this semester, I approached the subject with a degree of reservation. The minor essay question asking to “Identify a key point of tension or difference between your ‘inherited theology’ and your emerging theology that is evolving in response to the challenges posed by your vocational calling” evoked a tension in my theological sensibilities. I struggled to connect with the notion of an ‘emerging theology that is evolving’ in response to my ‘experiences’, rather than God’s revelation. From the outset, I found my theological roots (The Salvation Army comes from a Wesleyan Methodist theological tradition) reacting to any thought that human experience is an equal or greater authority in forming a contextual theology.

I come from a theological position that there are core beliefs about God’ as revealed in Scripture, that are unchanging regardless of culture, time or experiences. Obvious examples include: Authority of the Scriptures, Monotheistic God, Trinitarian God, Divine & Human natures of Christ, Salvation through Christ alone, etc. So, to encounter Stephen Bevans as the first reading for the semester, who places experience above revelation, only fuelled my reservations about the subject. The author’s explanation of ‘contextual theology’ made me incredibly nervous, especially if the "experience of the present" is at odds morally, ethically or spiritually with the "experience of the past". I wrestled with the question, “If there is space for “self-theologising” to be included in Henry Venn’s 3-Selves model for indigenous churches, then, how do we genuinely invite and include a “new agenda, new methods, new voices, new dialogue” (Bevans, 2009, p. 13) without losing biblical integrity in arriving at and applying a contextual theology?

However, throughout the reading period the breadth of readings and diversity of thought on the subject balanced Bevans’ views with an understanding of contextual theology which “leads us to the realization that the fundamental transformation that must take place is not the transformation of an ancient message into a contemporary meaning but rather the transformation of our lives by means of God’s Word” (Segura-Guzman, 2010, p. 130). The other authors and our cohort discussions enabled me to engage with contextual theology, not as a threat to biblical truth, but as an endeavour to allow God’s voice to speak through other cultural contexts in a way that will provide a contextual revelation from within their respective cultures and life situations. I was reminded of previous undergraduate study where I encountered authors like Clark Pinnock who affirmed, “We do not affirm the possibility of God’s revealing himself outside Christianity begrudgingly - we welcome it! Not only does such a possibility suggest bridges in other cultures to enhance mission, but it also allows us to hear the word of God from others and deepens our own understanding of revelation” (Pinnock, 2015, p. 208).

The subject also provided an excellent reference point for retrospective reflection on interfaith dialogue I had with leaders from the Ahmadiyyah Muslim Community and Afghan Muslim asylum seekers in my previous appointment. It has given me new language and fresh understanding for these conversations where I felt theologically way out of my depth at the time. It also has affirmed, that despite my inadequacies, the Holy Spirit was clearly present and guiding this dialogue and I was simply joining in on a conversation that had already begun.

In my current vocational context, navigating a course for The Salvation Army as still a relatively new mission in the Solomon Islands has been a process of discovering what this movement needs to look like in this cultural context. The major essay has allowed me to apply the learning of this semester into a culturally specific challenge that could open the door for future mission and ministry for The Salvation Army by engaging in critical theological reflection and application. It has contributed significantly to conversations I am currently having with local community and church leaders and I believe will provide a useful paper, not only for the Solomon Islands, but also for The Salvation Army in Papua New Guinea. Learning how to ‘do theology in the context of poverty and injustice’ in this context could not be any more relevant and timely!

Spiritual Formation Journal - Chapter 3

Master of Transformational Development

Economics, Development & Human Flourishing

One of the biblical themes interwoven throughout this semester is the Hebrew idea of ‘shalom’ that depicts a state of holistic well-being. Studying the extent to which modern economic systems and structures contribute to a state of shalom has been a new challenge for me as I have reflected on the impact of our DME Coconut Oil Plant and the recent diplomatic switch from Taiwan to China in Solomon Islands. From the micro to the macro, it has been an interesting journey considering the impact of ‘development’ or lack of development on the well-being of communities from within my cultural context.

The Salvation Army has a long history of alleviating human suffering by demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ in practical ways. It is this mission intent that drives our social enterprise at one of our remote village churches in an endeavour to raise the standard of living and generate a sustainable income to resource our mission in the Solomon Islands. However, a quote from the reading “Reclaiming our Future: The Vision of Jubilee” has challenged the scope of my mission intentions to consider the space of shalom from another cultural perspective.

“Throughout the Torah and the economic teachings of Jesus, shalom is valued as more important to human happiness than a constantly rising standard of living” (Goudzwaard, p 183).

Remote villages have a unique rhythm of life that incorporates social and cultural values that are more centred upon maintaining a complex network of relationships than facilitating production and profitability. These relationships define daily routines, use of land and livelihood activities. To an outsider, these relationships may appear to get in the way of development when significant social and cultural events take precedence over everything else. For a task and results orientated person like me, this is something I can easily misinterpret as a cultural weakness when relationally driven disruptions compromise development initiatives. But are these ‘disruptions’ the actual point of development? Is development the servant or the master? Who defines what development looks like and its ultimate purpose? How does development promote shalom in village life? These are just some of the questions I have been pondering this semester.

I have visited a number of villages over the past three years and each time has been something of a soul-restoring experience. There is a simplicity and synergy in the rhythm of village life that reconnects you with what really matters. Yet, I find myself frustrated by the very thing that rejuvenates me. Despite the organic beauty, my cultural conditioning still sees a deficit in village life that appears to limit the development possibilities that could improve living conditions, provide education and create employment opportunities. How does one respond to such a tension? I can push harder to try and manufacture a state of shalom as a cultural outsider or I can sit with the tension long enough to discover what a state of shalom looks like for cultural insiders. I suspect this kind of relational enquiry would go a long way to answer the questions I have been pondering about the nature of development in a Solomon Islands village context. I also suspect that it may even reframe my own sense of well-being to be a little less result driven and a little more relationship orientated.

When Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10), He did so knowing what fullness of life looks like in a Kingdom culture, despite the prevailing Greco-Roman culture of His day. His sense of shalom was not defined by the dominant cultures but cast a counter-cultural vision for “a way of life that is best of all” (1 Corinthians 12:31b, NLT). Navigating the space between two cultures as Christ followers challenges us to assume a posture of humility to look beyond our own cultural ways to discover a revelation of ‘Christ in culture’ (Niebuhr 1951) to experience a deeper sense of shalom as fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God. Translating this into my role as the District Officer of The Salvation Army in the Solomon Islands invites a different approach to development. It opens the door to a mutual exploration of social enterprises and other mission endeavours that seek to find what a Kingdom-orientated fullness of life might look like in specific cultural contexts. Guiding a community towards a clear picture of a preferred reality would provide a basis for transformational development where success is measured by the degree to which it contributes to human flourishing in the village.

Spiritual Formation Journal - Chapter 2

Master of Transformational Development

Biblical Justice, Human Rights & Advocacy

At the beginning of this year, The Salvation Army began operating a DME (Direct Micro Expelling) Coconut Oil Plant at one of our churches in North Malaita to provide local jobs in the surrounding villages and generate a sustainable income to fund our mission in the Solomon Islands. While setting up this project, I encountered a number of challenges along the way with the ‘here and now’ mindset of local opportunists attempting to exploit money out of The Salvation Army during the construction of the plant. After months of perseverance and strong leadership, we were up and running. Then in July, I received a phone call to say that our generator had been stolen from the plant by some disgruntled workers who felt they weren’t being paid enough money for their work. While trying to retrieve our generator from the known thieves, they extorted $2,500 SBD from the plant manager for its return. Dealing with this matter at the beginning of the semester was an interesting alignment of circumstances, given the subject matter I was studying at the same time as responding to this situation.

My indignation at the initial theft and subsequent extortion evoked a reaction that leant more towards a form of ‘retributive justice’ than ‘restorative justice’ with little tolerance shown for the cultural thinking driving this behaviour. I was determined to ‘lay down the law’ (so to speak) about what was acceptable behaviour at the plant, which included an uncompromising declaration that the boys responsible would never work for The Salvation Army again, even if the money they took was repaid. The motive behind this hard-line was intended to challenge cultural thinking that has a long history of sabotaging development in North Malaita and to prevent similar attitudes from disrupting the operation of our social enterprise and mission in the future. However, during my follow-up visit to the plant in October my position on handling this matter began to soften after all the reading I had being doing about biblical justice. In particular, during the long journey to North Malaita, I began reading “Compassionate Justice” by Christopher D Marshall, which deeply challenged me with a vision of restorative justice. Marshall’s brilliant exposition of the parable of the Good Samaritan exposed a legalistic spirit within me and caused me to examine who really is my neighbour in the context of this situation. His lens of compassion broadened my expectations of restoration to be more than the recovery of stolen money and the resumption of production, but also a pathway of restoration for those who had wronged the community.

Marshall wrote, “If it is to flourish, then, restorative justice must be anchored in alternative “communities of value,” that is, in communities of people who accord the highest importance to the values of mutual care and accountability, honesty and compassion, confession and forgiveness, and peacemaking” (Marshall 2012, loc. 283). The values highlighted in this statement, which are at the heart of the ethos and mission of The Salvation Army, are better achieved when we “administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another” (Zechariah 5:9). This change of posture and pathway of restoration led to a powerful moment on my final night in the village when the boys responsible for the theft approached me one by one to apologise for their actions, after making a commitment to repay the money they stole from the plant.

This situation was not only a significant leadership challenge but a confronting spiritual challenge for me as my investigation and handling of the theft had turned inward to self-examination of my own sense of justice and righteousness. Initially, my compassion and desire for justice centred on those who had been wronged by having their source of income disrupted, which included both the village and The Salvation Army. By extending to the offenders the same compassion and restorative justice my response was reorientated more towards grace than legalism. My reorientated response also had an impact on the local church leaders, who were caught in the tension between their feelings of anger and shame towards the behaviour of the boys and their sense of responsibility for them as members of their community. Culturally, retributive justice is normal with ‘compensation’ being the Solomon Islands way to right wrongs. Community reconciliation only ever occurs after the payment of compensation, which can include cash, shell money, fresh produce and pigs. While seeking compensation beyond the return of what was stolen was never a consideration in my dealing with this matter, the offer of restoration with no demand for compensation was a powerful counter-cultural experience for this church. Who knows, maybe my personal transformation in this space may cast a vision for community transformation in North Malaita?

Spiritual Formation Journal - Chapter 1

Master of Transformational Development

Climate Change, Justice & Sustainability

Since December 2017, together with my wife Vanessa, we have been serving in the Solomon Islands as the District Officers in charge of The Salvation Army. During this time I have been on a journey of learning and discovery that has challenged my cultural values, strengthened my faith and opened extraordinary opportunities for mission.

The Solomon Islands is a country consisting of over 900 islands and a population of around 650,000 people with 92% professing a Christian faith. Christian values are clearly evident in every area of life with prayer and worship being central activities, not only in the churches but also in the public and political arenas. Every public meeting or event I attend, secular and sacred, is opened in prayer. Every village has a church that is central to community life and pastors hold more influence among indigenous people than politicians. In this context, being a Christian leader with responsibilities in both ecclesial and community work has a very different feel to Australia. As a Salvation Army Officer in Australia, when networking among secular organisations I encounter polarised responses to my ministry as a church pastor and my mission as a community welfare worker. Government, business and community leaders are more than happy to support our community work, but shy away from anything related to the church. This is a challenging space when your social and spiritual mission is integrated. However, Solomon Islands offers a very different space that enables me to freely interact with indigenous leaders who see Christian faith as an integral part of life without the dualism imposed by Australian secular culture. In fact, I have found that the integration of the spiritual and social mission of The Salvation Army, often expressed as ‘heart to God, hand to man’, resonates strongly with many Solomon Islanders who want the church to be more than a worshipping community. While I have never been shy in sharing my faith, there is a freedom of expression here that is liberating when interacting with people of influence and seeking their support for our ‘whole’ mission.

Yet, underneath this hyper-spiritual environment that projects a façade of Christendom, is a deeply entrenched culture of corruption, along with multi-layers of social evils that strains the credibility of this Christian nation in the eyes of international observers. Whether it is domestic violence, gender injustice or environmental degradation, the lack of alignment between faith and life gives false witness to the Christ this nation serves. Therefore, networking beyond religious indigenous leaders with secular expats and international NGO’s presents a number of faith challenges. On one hand there is a growing recognition that working with churches is essential to effective program implementation, on the other hand they look upon Christianity as ineffective, superstitious and even destructive. I get a sense from a number of external agencies that churches are tolerated as a means to an ends rather than an actual vehicle of community transformation. I have always held to the view that “the local church is the hope of the world” (Bill Hybels), in so far as it is the manifestation of Christ’s mission today. Regrettably, external observers do not see this manifestation of Christ in ways that brings hope and healing to a nation crippled by its own form of dualism that contradicts any aspiration of integrated mission. As I interact socially with High Commission, NGO, AFP, and ADF personnel, I am confronted with scepticism and resistance because of the stark incongruity of belief and behaviour. Fortunately, their respect for The Salvation Army allows me to engage in dialogue that ventures into this contentious faith space. I was recently introduced to the new Defence Advisor for South West Pacific, whose opening greeting to me was, “I’m not interested in your religion. As long as you understand that, we’ll get along fine.” I discovered that his rejection of anything ‘religious’ comes from years of military service where he has seen horrendous things done by people who profess faith in God or Allah. This includes having previously served in the Solomon Islands during the ‘Tensions’ where civil and ethnic unrest brought down the government and led to a period of total lawlessness in this Christian nation.

I see my challenge and role in this space including discipling indigenous Salvation Army leaders in Holiness so that their faith and life intersect in a way that transforms their worship from singing nice songs on Sunday, to living Christlike on Monday. And casting a transforming vision of Christianity to external networks that demonstrates how integrating faith into community life can bring belief and behaviour into alignment so that kingdom values transcend cultural values. This begins with an honest and humble acknowledgment of the current state of faith and culture by local Christian leaders and a call to lament and repentance for what has previously been done in Christ’s name. The Salvation Army is a relatively new church movement in this country with an international reputation that uniquely places us to respond to these faith challenges.