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TerritorialMen’ sConference
Conference exhorts Southern men to stand tall spiritually
By Brooke Turbyfill SOUTHERN SPIRIT STAFF
If there were a subtitle to the men’ s conference“ Pursuing Holiness in Everyday Life” held at Atlanta Temple Corps June 3-4, 2016, it could easily be this:“ Men, stand up.”
When delegates of the conference were asked which message stood out most to them throughout the weekend, almost every single one mentioned a different aspect of guest speaker Jonathan Evans’ three sessions. Still, several men repeated common themes: Stand up … in your family. Sometimes, standing up in your family is as simple as sitting down at the dinner table. Captain Michael Harris said Evans’ message“ Kingdom Man” reminded him of the discipline he’ d been neglecting: making family dinners a priority.“ I was reminded of the importance of stopping and getting around the table because it refocuses you,” he said.
Charles Gage, from the Alexandria, Virginia, Corps echoed the importance
Continued from page 1 music, kettles, open air / canteens, spring missions and local corps outreach. The evening concluded when both sessions sang an arrangement of“ Carry Your Candle,” and Cadet Whitney Tomberlain shared her testimony of God’ s transforming power in her life.
Session speaker Lieutenant Chris Doborwicz drove this message home in a powerful address to the session and territory on Sunday afternoon.
“ This is a showcase of God’ s grace and power in the lives of 62 people,” he said of his session mates sitting on the stage.
Doborwicz, a graduate of the Suncoast ARC, alluded to the tough times that he had already experienced and the faithful God who brought him to this moment. of standing up as the leader of one’ s family.“ If we are not making God the focus of our life, then our wife and children follow. Being a man as the head of the family … determines the kind of family we have.”
Stand up … in your community and in the world around you.
Robert Satterlee has been selling the War Cry magazine for 34 years. He sells it on the steps of the Asheville, North Carolina, courthouse, mostly to veterans who fought in World War II and Korea. He sells it to some people who say they were helped by The Salvation Army as a child. He said the sale of the publication helps remind people that Christians – and Christ – are for them, not against them. Asheville has recently been part of an ongoing debate about allowing mixed genders to use the same public restrooms, and Satterlee said he believes the answer is not to portray bickering and conflict but love.“ There’ s got to be common ground; ultimately, it’ s up to the courts to decide. But I try to live by this: I
Allison Hogue
Major Rick Raymer, the men’ s conference coordinator, went uniform-retro with the high-collar look. should treat a person like I want to be treated,” he said.
Lieutenant David Birks from the Jonesboro, Georgia, Citadel Corps, said the world around you will always try to divide you.“ Our society will divide us, but as the church, we need to be united so society can’ t divide us. We’ re called to be in this world but not of it.” He referenced remembering, amid the political hotbed that is so prevalent in our nation right now, that we the church are foremost called to be kingdomcrats and kingdicans, a mashup of the word“ kingdom” with democrats and republicans that Evans talked about.
Continued from page 1 Superman.
Thus Evans told the men of the South,“ This is your moment in a phone booth, and when you come out you’ d better have an S on your chest. And that S is not going to stand for Superman, it’ s going to stand for Sanctified.”
Evans’ opening session addressed the spiritual battles that every Christian man, without exception, must face.“ You have to go through the wilderness after you’ ve been saved so that you can be sanctified, and when you go through that, you then go to the promised land, where you will be glorified. Only then do your battles end.
“ But it seems like, on your way, you have to face one battle after another. He’ s called us to holiness through the battles we fight.”
Evans followed in the second session with his description of“ the Kingdom man,” taken from Psalm 128. Evans said every NFL game comprises three teams: the two teams competing and a third team of officials.“ God has called us as Christians to be this third team administering his rule from his playbook, in the conflict but not of the conflict.”
He added that many men are discouraged in that role, feeling they can influence little when everything around them is ruling them.
“ When times get tough, may we remember this day. May we strive to be an Army that is creative and innovative in how we invade this world for God.”
Major Dean Hinson, Evangeline Booth College principal, likewise challenged the audience, asking officers and soldiers to reconsider and re-evaluate their own callings.
“ We are here to challenge and inspire you to be the lights that God has called you to be,” he said.“ God doesn’ t just call the messengers; he calls each one of us.”
In his Sunday morning message, Colonel Wayne Maxwell, Philippines territorial commander, centered on the messages we bring to others and the eternal triumph of the light.
“ We are bombarded with messages,” he said.“ And
June 17, 2016
Laura Dake
Delegates kneel in prayer at the conclusion of one of the men’ s conference sessions.
Stand up … in your relationship with God.
Several delegates referenced the need to simply trust God when they can’ t see the outcome or the destination of where he is leading. Developing a relationship with him that gives a man the confidence to get out of his comfort zone is key to spiritual leadership, according to Jonathan Evans.
Jody Bigelow, from the Clearwater, Florida, Corps, agrees. He said the conference reminded him“ to always have faith in God and trust he will provide all things if I follow his will and not to be afraid to go to uncomfortable situations.”
Southern men receive challenge
It starts in the home, where the Kingdom man can influence his family. That good effect spills over into the neighborhood, which influences the surrounding city, then state and nation – and the world is ultimately affected for good by what started in the home.
Evans concluded with a session on the pursuit of greatness.“ You can be called to nothing less than greatness,” he said.“ And he’ s God – he doesn’ t make mistakes. You haven’ t been drafted to be mediocre; you were chosen for greatness, to be men that make big plays for God. You’ ve been chosen for nothing less. He has a specific position he wants you to play because he knew your gifts, talents and skills.”
Colonel Wayne Maxwell, Philippines territorial commander and the featured speaker in Sunday’ s commissioning and ordination, shared his personal testimony, centering on his experiences in that command. The offering collected in the sessions was supplemented with gifts from the Southern Territory and the South’ s ARC Command and presented to the Philippines Territory.
At the conclusion of the conference, Captain Dan Nelson, candidates secretary, recognized 17 men who came forward to make a public declaration of their intention to become Salvation Army officers.
CommissioningoftheMessengersofLight 62 new lieutenants‘ strike a light’ as they enter service
even our own lives give a message.” He called for accountability and authenticity among soldiers and officers alike.“ When I’ m not in my uniform, am I sharing the same message as when I am?” he asked.“ There is no room in the kingdom for a secret soldier of God.”
He then challenged all present to make their faith personal, purposeful and productive.
As the weekend drew to a close and the marching orders were about to be delivered, Lieutenant Doborwicz reminded the new lieutenants that this was not a time for mourning but celebration as they fulfilled the purpose of their training; as they answered that call.“ This is why we are here,” he said.“ This is why it is time to go. It’ s time to invade the battlefield.”