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Have you heard the saying that God uses broken people to do great things?
That’s good news for all of us, and if you haven’t yet been personally invited to know more—consider this episode especially for you.
Lt. Paul Chisholm is the corps officer of The Salvation Army in Fountain Valley, Colorado.
He was ordained as a minister of the gospel and commissioned as an officer this past June. But his story starts well before that day. His story is one of transformation—of making the choice to do things differently, to evolve.
He’s on the show today to share more about his own testimony and why he knows firsthand that discipleship—relationship—makes all the difference.
Show highlights include:
- On dedicating life to ministry with Salvation Army: Get to be hands and feet of Christ
- Personal love for The Salvation Army: Only group that took him in during his struggle and helped transform him
- What led to being a pastor with The Salvation Army: Almost lost daughter, had to change ways and The Salvation Army helped walk him along the path to be saved
- What changed in understanding and acceptance of who Christ is: Never felt at home in church before The Salvation Army, which spoke in ways that he understands and relates to
- The Salvation Army’s holistic approach to addiction and recovery: Ways The Salvation Army helped physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually
- Discipleship relationship: Christ is in the middle of the relationship between two people
- Goal of personal officership: Be an example, help guide person to man or woman that God intended them to be, to bring the love of Christ to those around us
- First step to get closer to Christ: Get Bible, “ABC’s” of worship
Good words from Lt. Paul Chisholm in this show:
“The Salvation Army has a very unique ministry. We like to help the disadvantaged and the marginalized and it is just such a joy that I get to be the hands and feet of Christ in my community where The Salvation Army puts me. Not only do I get to help somebody out of the situation that they are in, but then I have the opportunity to introduce them to Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior and help walk them along this spiritual path into developing into the men and women God had originally created them to be.”
“You either get to replicate or evolve and in recovery, it’s very similar. You can either replicate the same actions, the same way of thinking over and over expecting a different result. Or, you can evolve and you can move on and learn how to process these feelings and process the way that you think and turn it into a positive way of life.”
“It was okay to fail because every time we fail we actually learn something new. We learn how not to do it or we learn how to do it better.”
“God uses broken people to do great things… I was broken, but God could still use me to do great things. The life that I had lived, the life of sin, the life of addiction, none of that mattered because God could still use me to do great things.”
“When you have somebody who is invested in you, that is when the growth can happen.”
Additional resources:
- The Salvation Army Fountain Valley, Colorado
- See Lt. Paul Chisolm’s testimony, given while in training to be a Salvation Army officer.
- Visit The Salvation Army to join the fight for good in your community.
- What’s your story? Take our free email course to see why your voice matters and how to find your story.
Download this episode wherever you get your podcasts. Find show notes for this episode and more at caringmagazine.org/podcast. Connect with Lt. Paul Chisholm via The Salvation Army in Fountain Valley, Colorado.
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