Worship
Salvationist, acclaimed journalist, and writer John Cleary points to the two traditional forms of Salvation Army Sunday worship services well known before in 1990's - the "holiness and salvation meetings": "The evening service, or salvation meeting, was directly evangelical, looking to win new converts for Christ. The morning service, or holiness meeting, while still emphasising the importance of a personal relationship with God, was more reflective, almost sacramental in tone... Anyone seeking to make a commitment [to God] was urged to do so publicly by coming forward to kneel at a simple bench in front of a platform - the mercy seat or penitent's form. Soldiers stood ready to provide support and counsel."
In recent years The Salvation Army has moved away from these two distinct meetings. In a very real sense, the Army has developed culturally relevant styles of music, presentation and preaching the good news of God's grace and love. The Salvation Army aims to re-capture the same fresh approach to worshiping God that pioneer Salvationists enjoyed, when putting new words to the pop tunes of the day to be relevant to the people.
While the Army studiously avoids copyright infringement, the principle of harnessing pop culture to meet people "where they are at" is one that Salvationists hope to embrace throughout Australia. Many corps throughout Australia tailor their evening service to attract young adults.
Depending on the individual location and culture of a corps, or church within the Army, worship can be characterised by a certain level of informality. This is particularly true when Salvationists' worship is compared with that of their brothers and sisters in the older Established and Orthodox Churches.
When Salvationists "opened fire" in India, their efforts provoked mixed reactions from the government and the community. The Statesman and Friend of India was one of several newspapers to comment on suggestions of irreverence on the part of Salvationists:
"The apparent familiarity, the free and easiness, with which these men address the Deity, appears... to result from their extraordinarily vivid realisation of His continued presence... The Salvationists... never enter His presence because they never leave it... without any ceremonial preparation they break out in prayer as in the ordinary language of conversation, and with as little ceremony they break off and address the audience. Matthew Arnold speaks of the dissenter as addressing God as if He were a man in the next house. The Salvationist addresses God as if He were a man at his elbow."
That tribute to the spontaneity and joy of early Army worship could still be applied to many Salvation Army centres today.
During the last 25 years there has been a groundswell of interest and participation in Bible study cell groups throughout The Salvation Army in Australia. The biblical literacy of Salvationist participants has increased in that time; an expression of the reality of the priesthood of all believers and evidence of the growing recognition of spiritual gifts and the need for lay involvement in Christian mission.
The Salvation Army is increasing its discipleship programs and resources. Traditionally there has been a concentration on the discipling of children and teenagers, with not a lot of attention paid to the discipling of adult members. This is being addressed. Programs designed to help disciple children are being renewed, and it is accurate to suggest there is a diverse local response to the issue of discipling across ages and locations.
Within the two Salvation Army Territories in this country, Australia Eastern (Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory) and Australia Southern (the remainder of the nation) there are renewal visions for Salvationists: Mobilise 2000 in the east and Future Now! in the south.
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The symbolic value of music in worship is manifested in the way the art form points members of Army congregations to something greater and other than themselves. Salvation Army brass bands and songster brigades (choirs) grew with the movement. This use of music has been part of The Salvation Army's history and socialisation. Drama, dance and music play an important role in Salvationist worship and their use increasingly reflects and caters to the music tastes of contrasting generations.
The Salvation Army is known world-wide for its musical groups such as brass bands, choirs and timbrels. Of course, modern expressions of music have gone beyond the formats of traditional brass bands, "songster brigades" (choirs) and "singing companies" (children's choirs). The Army boasts musical ensembles of various instrumental make-ups - from rock to classical to pop - and vocal combinations.
It is fair to say that the rich heritage of Salvationist music has been augmented by contemporary Christian composers from many denominations. Music is seen as a means of bringing people closer to God, but care is taken not to manipulate people emotionally through its use.
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Equality is pursued vigorously, in terms of gender, age, cultural background etc. As early as 1875, Salvationists (then members of the "Christian Mission") declared in their constitution that "the rights of females to be evangelists or class leaders" would not be "impeded or destroyed" and that women would not be rendered "ineligible for office". This stance, still radical for some denominations, has enriched the Army immeasurably. Booth's boast that some of his "best men are women" was not idle. If it wasn't for Alice Barker's strength and wisdom (the brilliant partner of James), the Army's inroads into Australian life and culture would not have been made so quickly, so cleanly or so durably.
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The Psalmist's admonition that God's word would not return to Him void is believed by Salvationists. The preacher's role in delivering sermons and teaching is a prominent one. There is a transactional process involved, as people come to worship anticipating that they will receive guidance for their living, support for their faith and courage for their moral and ethical stance.
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The Salvation Army's penitent form is a bench at which people are encouraged to kneel, pray and commit their life to Jesus Christ. The penitent form is also known as the mercy seat. It holds a primary position in worship. As with the movement's stance on teetotalism, the use of the penitent form derives from The Salvation Army's evangelical heritage.
Anyone has the right and privilege, at any time, to kneel in prayer at the mercy seat, claiming guidance, forgiveness, reconciliation and compassion from God. They will be offered human solace and counsel, and may be led into an antechamber for extended counselling and conversation if the circumstances warrant it.
The role of public commitment in Salvationist practice and worship is vital, as testifying to God's grace from the congregation and publicly kneeling to pray at the mercy seat are regarded as genuine aspects of Salvationists' faith. Coutts records that "... by the 1930s the simple row of chairs in a hired hall had often become a varnished bench adorned with texts and fenced off with ropes".
The delineation between sacred and profane, or dedicated and ordinary, is one that Salvationists have to recognise as relative. In the Congo, for example, Salvationists quickly did away with the notion of roping off a mercy seat as the superstition that no witch could touch the ropes and survive came to be believed.
It is hoped that those who make a commitment to Christ at the penitent form will, at some future stage in their faith, participate in several weeks of instruction regarding Salvation Army principles and practices. This, again it is hoped, would precede that person's decision to be sworn-in as a senior soldier.
