Overview

Leadership in The Salvation Army is a review and analysis of Salvation Army history, focused on the process of clericalisation. The Army provides a case study of the way in which renewal movements in the church institutionalise. Their leadership roles, initially merely functional and based on the principle of the 'priesthood of all believers', begin to assume greater status. the adoption of the term 'ordination' for the commissioning of The Salvation Army's officers in 1978, a hundred years after its founding, illustrates this tendency. The Salvation Army's ecclesiology has been essentially pragmatic and has developed in comparative isolation from the wider church, perhaps with a greater role being played by sociological processes than by theological reflection in its development. The Army continues to exhibit a tension between its theology, which supports equality of status, and its military structure, which works against equality, and both schools of thought flourish within its ranks.

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9781498248662

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Reviews

No Christian church has approached clerical leadership the way The Salvation Army has done since 1878. And no author has done more to analyze that subject than Harold Hill. Hill shows that historically and doctrinally the Army left the mainstream in its approach to female and lay ministry, in dual ministries of word and deed, in training of 'officers', and in replacing sacraments with it s own ceremonies. At the same time, Hill argues that the Army has at times intentionally or unconsciously replicated the mainstream course. --Norman H. Murdoch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the USA, University of Cincinnati, USA, also author of Origins of The Salvation Army Leadership in The Salvation Army represents comprehensive research and serious reflection on officership in The Salvation Army, It is an amazing and intriguing resource for students of and participants in religious movements. --Stephen Court, founder of The War College, Vancouver, Canada and author of Proverbial Leadership Don't be fooled by the title. Yes, Harold Hill has given us a thoroughly researched work about the development of a dominant clerical office in a Christian movement with a strong anti-clerical mindset. But he has given us much more. He has brilliantly identified and explored the underlying issues of mission, ecclesiology, and leadership which must be resolved before the divide created by clerical status can be overcome. --Phil Needham, Retired Territorial Commander, The Salvation Army, USA Southern Territory The refreshing readable and carefully argued insightful analysis. Hill not only demonstrates that it takes more than language and denial to avoid clericalisation, it also takes more than confusion about organisational theology to derail a compelling vision. A fine historical, theological and practical study with some nice touches of humour, this book is of wide relevance, not least to those other Christian churches and movements who value equality, distrust the idea of ordination, and face the realities of leadership, community and organisation. --John Roxborogh, Presbyterian School of Ministry, Dunedin, New Zealand

"""""No Christian church has approached clerical leadership the way The Salvation Army has done since 1878. And no author has done more to analyze that subject than Harold Hill. Hill shows that historically and doctrinally the Army left the mainstream in its approach to female and lay ministry, in dual ministries of word and deed, in training of 'officers', and in replacing sacraments with it s own ceremonies. At the same time, Hill argues that the Army has at times intentionally or unconsciously replicated the mainstream course."""" --Norman H. Murdoch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the USA, University of Cincinnati, USA, also author of Origins of The Salvation Army """"Leadership in The Salvation Army represents comprehensive research and serious reflection on officership in The Salvation Army, It is an amazing and intriguing resource for students of and participants in religious movements."""" --Stephen Court, founder of The War College, Vancouver, Canada and author of Proverbial Leadership """"Don't be fooled by the title. Yes, Harold Hill has given us a thoroughly researched work about the development of a dominant clerical office in a Christian movement with a strong anti-clerical mindset. But he has given us much more. He has brilliantly identified and explored the underlying issues of mission, ecclesiology, and leadership which must be resolved before the divide created by clerical status can be overcome."""" --Phil Needham, Retired Territorial Commander, The Salvation Army, USA Southern Territory """"The refreshing readable and carefully argued insightful analysis. Hill not only demonstrates that it takes more than language and denial to avoid clericalisation, it also takes more than confusion about organisational theology to derail a compelling vision. A fine historical, theological and practical study with some nice touches of humour, this book is of wide relevance, not least to those other Christian churches and movements who value equality, distrust the idea of ordination, and face the realities of leadership, community and organisation."""" --John Roxborogh, Presbyterian School of Ministry, Dunedin, New Zealand"

No Christian church has approached clerical leadership the way The Salvation Army has done since 1878. And no author has done more to analyze that subject than Harold Hill. Hill shows that historically and doctrinally the Army left the mainstream in its approach to female and lay ministry, in dual ministries of word and deed, in training of 'officers', and in replacing sacraments with it s own ceremonies. At the same time, Hill argues that the Army has at times intentionally or unconsciously replicated the mainstream course. --Norman H. Murdoch, Emeritus Professor of the History of the USA, University of Cincinnati, USA, also author of Origins of The Salvation Army Leadership in The Salvation Army represents comprehensive research and serious reflection on officership in The Salvation Army, It is an amazing and intriguing resource for students of and participants in religious movements. --Stephen Court, founder of The War College, Vancouver, Canada and author of Proverbial Leadership Don't be fooled by the title. Yes, Harold Hill has given us a thoroughly researched work about the development of a dominant clerical office in a Christian movement with a strong anti-clerical mindset. But he has given us much more. He has brilliantly identified and explored the underlying issues of mission, ecclesiology, and leadership which must be resolved before the divide created by clerical status can be overcome. --Phil Needham, Retired Territorial Commander, The Salvation Army, USA Southern Territory The refreshing readable and carefully argued insightful analysis. Hill not only demonstrates that it takes more than language and denial to avoid clericalisation, it also takes more than confusion about organisational theology to derail a compelling vision. A fine historical, theological and practical study with some nice touches of humour, this book is of wide relevance, not least to those other Christian churches and movements who value equality, distrust the idea of ordination, and face the realities of leadership, community and organisation. --John Roxborogh, Presbyterian School of Ministry, Dunedin, New Zealand

Author Information

Harold Hill holds a Ph.D. from the Victoria University of Wellington, and has been a Salvation Army officer since 1972, serving in Zimbabwe and then in pastoral, educational and administrative work in New Zealand. He has degrees in history and theology from Victoria and Otago Universities. He lives in Wellington with his wife, Pat, and they have two adult daughters. Dr Ian Breward is the Archivist for the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. Previously, he was Professor of Church History at the Uniting Church Theological Hall, Melbourne. He was a President of the Melbourne College of Divinity and a long standing member of the College. He is a Senior Fellow of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne.

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