The Salvation Army Spryfield Community Church and Family Resource Centre

A believer's struggle to engage with the consumerist culture

May 28th, 2010. The I-pad is finally available for sale in Canada.  Apparently, they’re flying off the shelves.  Join me in the upcoming weeks, as I present a believer’s struggle in engaging with today’s consumerist culture. Specifically, whether or not I should buy an I-Pad.

At over $500 Cdn., the I-Pad is a pricey gadget.  But lots of things are pricey today.  One might not think twice about rushing out to get it.  But I want to ask myself the following question.  Is spending $500 on a device that exists purely for reasons of entertainment an ethical use of God’s resources? You’ll notice in that question, I’m making the inference that our personal finances are indeed, God’s resources.

  Where (if ever) is the line to be drawn?  Do the scriptures give us a framework on how to spend our money?  By no means is my mind made up about this yet.  I currently have an I-pod (given to me in my former career as a farewell present) and the desire to possess an I-Pad is strong.  So join with me on this online forum as I delve into the Scriptures, SA Doctrine and theology, and Church history (past and present) to decide whether God has anything to say about the way I spend my money.

Perhaps you have some initial thoughts?

*posts will appear every Friday

Acts 2

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’

Sleazy marketing campaigns and their salesmen are sadly not in short supply.

I was watching TV the other day (admittedly an infomercial) and I came across a salesman selling a series of audio tapes called “Your Wish is Your Command”.  The salesman made the astounding claim that a person could have anything they desired (wealth, prosperity, love, luck) if they tuned their brain on to another frequency. I didn’t know we could tune our brains into certain frequencies like a radio, but I listened on.  Apparently, if you bought his CDs and listened to his presentation you would be privy to knowledge possessed only by secret societies who’ve kept this information to themselves for thousands of years.

He cited numerous examples of ordinary people becoming multi-millionaires as a result of these newly rediscovered teachings.  Not surprisingly, he was rather vague on the actual “secret” contained within his teachings as he was vague on the identities of the people that his CDs proportedly helped.

Because of our society’s economic turmoil it is understandable that the lies advanced by these false “prophets” of industry would be seriously considered by some. The vast majority of people would not be so gullible to fall for such a dubious product.  What is disturbing however is how this line of thinking is creeping into the Christian church.

Call to mind the televangelists who are promoting a product called “the Green Prosperity Handkerchief” claiming that if put under one’s pillow the divine favour of God will fall upon the person possessing it.  Similar campaigns involving “holy oil” abound.  While I believe the vast majority of Christians would not fall for this ‘hokum’, the belief that God is a sort of genie figure that will give you every material desire of your heart is a belief that is becoming more mainstream within evangelical Christianity.

The truth is that the Christian faith is both an inspired walk and a daunting challenge.  To “pick up one’s cross” and follow Jesus speaks of the challenges of faith.  Faith is no guarantee that we’ll have life easy.  And if we’re to take seriously the discipleship challenge of Jesus Christ, then to subscribe to a faith that promotes the idea of riches and luxuries as a sign of God’s favour is nothing more than a modern day heresy.

Remember the words of Paul: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3). Let’s be sure that the messages we take in are God-inspired.  God is not our personal genie; he is our Creator God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth who revealed himself fully in Jesus the Christ.  Now that is a message worth hearing!

Lieut. Rob Jeffery and Donna Williamson, Director of the Single Parent Centre

Take a drive up to our Cornerstone Building and you may see some new folks in the neighbourhood.  Some time ago, the Single Parent Centre of Spryfield approached The Salvation Army about using our Cornerstone building (180 Greystone Drive) to run their programs out of while they underwent renovations. We jumped at the chance to help out a well-respected community group, recognizing the strengths they’ll bring to the neighbourhood.

Sharing our resources is what we’re all about.  Besides our own programming, we share our facilities with numerous groups in the community. These groups include the Spryfield Business Commission, the VON, G-ROC (Go Reach Our City – a kid’s club sponsored by Faith Tabernacle), the Redeemed Church of God (a small African Pentecostal church that meets out of Cornerstone), and the Department of Justice, to name only a few. 

Allowing other churches and organizations to use the resources God has given us will ensure that we remain effective and relevant within this community. While the inclination may be to hang on to one’s resources in a spirit of competitiveness, by sharing what God gives us with others, we’re actually getting so much back on our return.  We’re getting favour from these community groups and the constituents they serve, plus we’re getting allies in the Salvation War – allies to help us in our mission to save souls, grow saints, and serve suffering humanity.

Emmanuel Cemetery - the original site of Emmanuel Anglican Church (1851-1947)

Every week, pastors spend many hours exegeting (studying) biblical texts in preparation for their sermons.  This process of exegeting and interpreting scripture can also be applied to one’s interaction with the community.  A good pastor will “exegete” or study the community in order to understand how he or she can best relate Christ’s gospel to the people.  The Bible teaches us that although the gospel message is universal, how it is heard varies from culture to culture and even from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.  For instance, the Greeks heard the gospel differently than did the Jews – but both peoples came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Today on my day home from the office, I did some ‘exegeting’ of my own.  While on a jog I took a little detour into Emmanuel Cemetery ( a mere stone’s throw from my house).  The cemetery has long served as the local Anglican church’s parish burying grounds. 

Looking at the headstones, some familiar names jumped out at me.  My eyes came across the weathered gravestone of Rev. A.F. Dentith.  I knew the name because I buy my groceries at the Superstore on Dentith Street – obviously named in the good Reverend’s honour.  Another name was familiar as well - Elizabeth Sutherland - one of the first teachers in Spryfield and the namesake of the local elementary school (Elizabeth Sutherland Elementary).  The founder of Spryfield, Captain William Spry, I did not see.  Ironically, Captain Spry who purchased farm land in the newly founded city of Halifax (hence, the reason it was called ‘Spry’s field’) in about 1770, moved back to Britain in 1783.  He probably had no idea that an entire town was named in his honour.

Captain Spry notwithstanding, several of the names in the cemetery stood out as pillars of the local community.  People that made Spryfield into the community that it is.  Some of the surnames on the grave-markers were the same names of existing members of my congregation, revealing to me that these were the ancestors of the people Hannah and I see every day.

There’s nothing that’ll make you reflect on your own mortality like standing in a graveyard.  Ecclesiastes 6:12 came to mind: “For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?”  The people who now rested beneath the grounds of Emmanuel Cemetery have no idea the kind of community Spryfield is now – but we sure do. And we thank them for their legacy.

In exegeting my new community, I came to reflect on the impact that my life will potentially have on others.  Let me give you a question for you to consider as you reflect on the location that God has placed you in:  When you go to your rest in the Lord, what legacy do you hope to leave behind?  Most of us will probably not have streets named after us in our honour, but our lives, for good or ill, will have an impact on our community.

The view of Spryfield from Clearview Street