The recording of the live event can be found online at: https://www.facebook.com/SalvationArmyNZFTS/videos/8413988152005110
I start speaking around 1 hour and 27 minutes into the recording.
Kia-ora
Ni Sa Bula Vanaka
Malo E lelei
Talofa lava
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, esteemed quests, members of the faculty of Booth College of Mission, Commissioners, and other ranks.
Fourteen years ago, I stood here on this very platform and delivered the valedictory speech for our season, The Witnesses for Christ! After my name was drawn out of a hat. My wife, Rochelle has informed me that she has absolutely no recollection of that speech. She has suggested that I need to make todays speech memorable than the last.
I am honoured to be here and to be able to congratulate and encourage you graduates on your attaining the qualifications that you are presented with today. You have achieved significant outcomes, spurred on by, your families, by the wonderful tutors and support staff of BCM, guest tutors and officers, the encouragement you received from one another, and I am sure many others who have walked along side you in the past two years and previously. Let’s not forget the guidance of those texts, the dictionaries, the concordances, and other study material. I am also sure that if your time at BCM has been anything like mine was, some of you may have had a conversation or two with Major Garth over teacups, the better-behaved cadets are wondering I am talking about. You all sit here as graduates due to your hard work. Well done!
You leave the Booth College of Mission adequately equipped to engage as officers of the Salvation Army in the Salvation War! For that is what it is, you are equipped to win souls for the kingdom of God, helping them to be saved from their sins and in doing so bringing glory to God’s name and rejoicing in heaven! Adequately equipped, is an interesting term. Fully equipped would be great but, I know that in my case I wasn’t fully equipped when I hit the ground running in our first Corps appointment at Sydenham Corps and am so blessed to have Rochelle with me. While I dealt with the blur of coming to an understanding that I was now a Salvation Army officer, I took part in practical aspects of Corps life like repainting the lines in the Sydenham Corps carpark and tidying up the garden as low hanging fruit, yes. those easy picked victories that would hopefully endear me to the people of the Corps. Cleaning the toilets also does this. While I did that, Rochelle dealt with the things that required deeper knowledge of things Salvation Army that I had a knowledge gap in.
There has been some comment about my qualifications, I gained them to fill in gaps in my knowledge, there have been plenty of those gaps and some still need filling and I would encourage you to do the same, either formally or informally. The Salvation Army is a great movement, in that we officers are encouraged to continue learning. I would encourage you to travel the path of lifelong learning and studentship, for your own sakes, but also for the credibility of your appointments and the reputation of the movement. Studying hard is also good for your character but be careful not to overdo it.
Your sessional name is quite the challenge, “Reflectors of Holiness,” “Life has its challenges to our walking in God’s presence. But we are presented with an opportunity in regard to reflecting holiness, in all things remember that “the closer you are to God, the more defined and visible will be the image of him that you reflect.” Jesus told us to take the narrow gate. For the wide path leads to destruction, I would say that being destroyed is a good place to stay clear of. Be holy, reflect his holiness.
Paul in Philippians 2:6-8 gives a bit of a heads up on holiness, in the way he describes our Lord and how we should relate to one another:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
We have this privileged responsibility to seek after an attitude of humility, in our relationships and that’s all of them, to be like Jesus, humble, obedient and bringing glory to the Father and freedom to our fellow man even at the cost of our own lives. No pressure! Your Tongan/Solomon Islander session mate the now Lieutenant Peter Otainao mentioned in part of the Reflectors of Holiness, Fiji final presentation two weeks ago at the School for Officer Training in Suva that “we, [reflectors of holiness] are accountable partners” and yes you are accountable partners with, Christ, with one another, with The Salvation Army. Serve as people who are accountable to our Father and one another.
The thing is, that God has called us to a life outside of ourselves, and the reward for this is incredible, we get to engage with people who are wanting to soak up a way forward from the web of lies they find themselves stuck in. There are those who want to know what you know, there are those who will see something of God reflected in your persons, something that they know will set them free. However, there is an enemy who wants to kill, rob and destroy them. When this is pointed out to them they know this, it has in many instances been lived by them, their addictions, their past mistakes, the once ‘oh that would be exciting’ stuff, that sin that has left them broken. But you know the way out, you have the gospel written on your hearts, you know the one who has plans for the those who are seeking to “give them a hope and a future.” To see that very same gospel written on their hearts. When I first encountered it, it surprised me how their countenance changes, how they move from bent and broken to upright and radiant when they understand about that enemy wanting to destroy them and that God himself has a plan for them, a plan that gives them hope and a future. Hope ignites a spark of possibility for the future God has for them. You are gathered before us all today as a group that reflect the possibility of a life of abundance, and not only abundant but an eternally abundant life. Material abundance, not likely, but connection with God, in his glory, through The Holy Spirit as you grow deeply into the soil that is Christ Jesus. The deeper your roots penetrate the soil that is Jesus the more visible and abundant will be the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in your lives, the less the old self with its sinful desires will present and the greater real fruit that builds relationships that matter will be seen in you.
But you know this, you are ‘reflectors of holiness.’
Be encouraged that you are not only called, trained and soon to be appointed, but celebrate that God has made this possible for his good purposes. That while there will be challenges, that there will be struggles and even persecution, God himself has called you. You have something that will bring his kingdom here to earth, life change in some of the people you encounter will occur because you are you, and you are living lives committed to and inspired by Christ!
Will this life change occur for all the people you encounter? Some will be offended by you and the gospel you share, but, share the gospel any way, without compromise, it is the power of salvation, and sharper than a two-edged sword. Gain all the knowledge you can of God’s kingdom, for it is eternal.
In your roles, in Corps, social services, community ministries, wherever you are serving are, manage yourself well, be careful to rest well, Jesus took time aside, burnout has a long road to recovery, eat well, be part of your community wherever you are and love your family, care for one another as session mates, stay in touch, get mentoring and coaching, listen to older heads, ministry is not a competition, share your achievements and disappointments. There is much to be learnt from those challenging moments they can be difficult and expensive lessons. Sharing them can save others the same cost.
In your roles, Mum or Dad, spouse, as a friend, son, daughter, sibling, student, member, Lieutenant or whatever future rank you have; engage, pray, listen, speak, be present for there are those who depend on you.
In your role as a child of the Most High God, allow him access into your life in a way that opens a world of possibilities to not just those you are serving but allows you to know that you are certainly living in his will and that the ‘one life’ you have is a story worthy of telling. Your lives dedicated, adequately qualified, reflecting the life of Christ as he equips you and leads you.
I would like to leave you with some practical advice, you will each iron around 300 shirts a year, plus other items; invest in a good quality iron. Keep your vehicle logbook up to date, because it is a dog of a job to recall all those journeys, and lastly attend to property issues as soon as they occur, they will only get worse.
Again, congratulations what you have achieved is extremely significant. Quoting Proverbs 3:5-6 which I know to be true; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
