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By Bob Docter
No! It’s not a mistake.
It’s not even a typo. I believe that every once in awhile an organization has to examine its core values, and ask itself whether or not the membership is satisfied with its current level of commitment to its basic value structure. This is especially important at the place where the rubber hits the road—the corps and other service institutions of the Army. That’s where the organization’s values become evident and reveal why we do what we do.
As a Christian organization, obviously, our core values grow from the pronouncements and behavior of Jesus. This means that the organization involved, let’s say, The Salvation Army, an evangelical Christian organization, chooses to live out the values of Christ. It assumes that individual members, of its highly diverse membership, embrace those same values. This is held in that the individual signs a statement of faith enshrining those values.
We are also Americans. We pledge allegiance to the nation, and to its value structure. All of us have roots elsewhere, some from a lengthy past and some from a very near present. This contributes immensely to our worldview and thus to our values and thus to our interpersonal behavior.
All of us have values. Most of us don’t know what they are, and some who do embrace them in an inconsistent fashion. We need to know our values, be consistent in reflecting them and act on them.
The primary value of western culture focuses on individualism. Elsewhere in the world the primary value is community. I believe there needs to be a developmental progression from a value focus, first as an individual whereby we discover who we are, our belief systems and then our identity. Second, we need to grow into a value focused on community. We are all “our brother’s keeper.” We need to embrace otherness.
The United States in general, and the West in particular, reflect a multicultural population. Those who migrate to this country bring their values with them, which affords us both the benefits and the challenges of cultural and value diversity.
Conflict arises both between and within cultures as individuals interpret the behavioral meaning of a value independently. The Army strives to teach how the values are interpreted and explain why it chooses certain behaviors over others. Nevertheless, differences occur. We recognize that not everyone shares a common skill base, and we accommodate a range of individual differences within the corps worshipping community. Gradually, corps members begin to share common value interpretations as well as behavior patterns that reflect them individually.
What are yours? Got any ideas?
Brian Edgar, director of theology and public policy with the Evangelical Alliance of Australia, selected eight corps values from a list of over 100 biblical values that he believes reflect the life of Christ. I offer them to you as a starting point for your thinking, planning and self-discovery. I believe these need to be core values for every corps. They are relationship-oriented. They reflect both spiritual and social dimensions. We need to expand them and practice them in our daily life.
Grace—unmerited favor and love of God for us who fail him in our humanness—the act of forgiving debts. God has showered his grace on us. In the corps, we must do the same in our relationship with others. “Giving people more than they deserve.” Grace needs to be shared extravagantly.
Love—a caring for others that communicates acceptance and worth regardless of social status—loving the unloved and unlovely without reckoning the cost. Self-sacrifice on behalf of others.
Hope—“Taps,” the bugle call that ends the day, concludes with the words: “All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.” All is well and we are “safe” because God is with us, in us, around us, not only protecting but also encouraging. The unknown is safe. The future awaits our courage. Imagined fear is hopelessness.
Faith—We sense the nature of our relationships. It’s heart action, not head. We believe we can have an in-depth relationship with others and with God. We sense its risk, but when we reach out, our courage rewards us.
Justice—We live and act ethically, guided by truth, reason, fairness. We treat others the way we would want to be treated. We live according to principles, standards. Our desire to show equitable treatment according to what is deserved requires us to have special consideration for the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized of society.
Service—We embrace “otherness” and find rich meaning in life as we serve others rather than self. We are “saved to serve.” Service is our middle name. It is our ethic, our raison d’etre. Corps leaders need to schedule opportunities for everyone to serve.
Joy—Is it true where you worship? “Joy, joy, joy, there is joy in The Salvation Army,” because it’s the Army of the Lord. If you are without joy in your life, it’s because you have not put it there.
Peace—the absence of tension, anger and fighting, which provides a positive spirit that cannot be contained and is felt and recognized by those around you. We need to eliminate hostilities to find peace in our life.
These are the qualities of Christ. Are they present in your church?
Now—what do you want to add to this list? Where do you succeed and where do you fail? Do you have a conscious intent to live your life knowing and acting on your values?