As many of you may already be aware, The Salvation Army in the USA is convening a War Council to discuss our teen discipleship program, Corps Cadets. In response to a request by one of the delegates, we have begun an open discussion on this absolutely important topic. Our hope is to hear from as many voices as possible in order to offer the best thoughts available to the effort.
To this end, we hosted an informal "roundtable" discussion to begin the conversation. Those involved were not told what they would be discussing, so they didn't have the benefit of much forethought. This did, however, help to bring honest and open opinions to the table.
Our hope is that you will join the conversation. The roundtable was recorded and uploaded as a Podcast to our website and all who are willing to listen are invited to offer their insights through our community web forum on the subject.
Discipleship of teens in The Salvation Army is far too important of a discussion to be ignored. This may also be one of the few opportunities for all of us to have a say in the future of this particular program. Please take the time to listen (about 20 minutes) and to offer your thoughts. Tech Note: The audio can sometimes be difficult to hear somewhat at the beginning, but it does improve as the recording progresses. To access the podcast, just click on the underlined word "podcast" above.
3 comments:
war council or roundtable? those are two very different things. who is convening this roundtable/war council?
is it an officially sanctioned national headquarters event? it would not be a usa event if it is not convened by nhq.
The roundtable is what we did in our division to help out our delegate, Brad. It is my understanding that the War Council has been convened by NHQ.
Hi Jim,
Thank you for posting this link regarding your roundtable podcast on Corps Cadets.
I think that this is an incredibly important conversation to take place as Corps Cadets represents a critical means for leadership development in a local setting.
Our Methodist roots inspired Bramwell Booth to build a means through which emerging generations of Salvationists could wrestle with and embrace our core values, hone missional skills, and develop future leadership. Corps Cadets is what emerged out of this - which is a brilliant concept.
If our Corps don't utilize this programmatic link in our methodical process, we end up with a massive disconnect between Sunday School and active membership in the adult Corps settings. To not have this program radically effects the discipleship process; limits the pool of future local officers and candidates; and presents a gaping hole which hemmorages the future life-blood of our movement.
However, if Corps Cadets is going to work, I think that there needs to be an integration of orthodoxy and relevancy. In other words, it needs to help to root or anchor our teens in regards to history, basic discipleship, practical skills development etc. However, the training also needs to be in dialogue with the culture in which our youth are situated.
I think Corps Cadets is about who we were, but it is equally about who we are becoming. Therefore it needs to speak to the issues which are pertinent to them today. I think that this type of local dialogue could serve as grassroots thought and practice which could filter into larger divisional, territorial, and national conversations.
Corps Cadets is a tremendous opportunity, and a necessity to the Army.
Thoughts anyone else?
Steve
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