WOW Christianity and the Real Warfare

Catherine Booth wrote, “Christ’s Soldiers must be imbued with the spirit of the war. Love to the King and concern for His interests must be the master passion of the soul. Without this, all outward effort, even that which springs from a sense of duty, will fail. The hardship and suffering involved in spiritual warfare are too great for any motive but that of love. The image and glory of Christ must be engraven on the heart of every faithful soldier of Christ.”

“It must be the all subduing passion of the soldier’s life to bring the reign of Jesus Christ over all the hearts and souls of men. A little child who has this spirit will subjugate others to his King, while the most talented, learned and active without it will accomplish comparatively little. If the hearts of the Christians of this generation were inspired with this spirit and set on winning the world for God, we would soon see nations shaken to their center, and millions of souls translated into the Kingdom.”

This was the spirit of the early Salvationists. They changed their world. Dear God can you give us this kind of commitment and passion for the souls in our sphere of influence? Help us model it from leadership so that it may be caught by every soldier. Win One Woman. Win Our World.

At the Aggressive Christianity conference, General John Gowans gave the last address and during the altar call gave his most powerful message of the weekend. As he gave the altar call, a man who was obviously from the streets came forward and asked if he could speak to the General. General Gowans replied, “Yes, certainly. After I finish here, I will meet with you.” The man asked where and General pointed to a place and said, “I will talk with you there.” We watched and waited for the sign for rescue, but he turned the altar call over to someone else and went to speak with the man. He came back to his seat and grabbed his water bottle and went back and gave it to the man. They talked and prayed together. General Gowans could have passed the man off to any of us who were waiting to step in so that he could go and pray with other people. The General’s care and concern for the soul of this man spoke volumes and word has come back of the power in that message.

In Alaska, Major Sherry Tollerud was convicted to share her personal WOW goals and efforts with her women. She wrote, “It was hard to do. I did not want them to think I was bragging. I wanted to set an example.” God has been working in my life as a territorial leader. Sometimes my life can be so sheltered from opportunities to share my witness so I have to ask God to help me be sensitive to His leading. I have asked Him to make me more aware to the opportunities I have to share His love. I pray for my neighbors and when I fly I pray for the flight crew and the passengers. Occasionally I even get a chance to share a witness. I have four family members on my prayer “hit” list. The other day while we were in a restaurant, I caught the smile of a waitress from another table. Before I left I thanked her for her lovely smile. She took my hand and squeezed it and said, thank you for what The Salvation Army does.” We did not have time for more, so I can only guess that she came through one of our programs and God had placed me there to give her encouragement that day. I am so glad I was looking for a divine appointment and caught her eye. Sometimes you plant seeds, sometimes you water seeds, sometimes you get to harvest fruit, and sometimes you are tending the vines.

Our sincere hope is that the WOW Initiative is making a difference for the Kingdom of God, for The Salvation Army, for your corps and in Women’s Ministries. It won’t make a difference unless you choose to use it as a reminder that the passion of every Salvation Army soldier is to Win Our World for Jesus Sake. It happens on person at a time. So plant those seeds, water them, harvest them and tend the vines. Be faithful and have a passion for souls.