Growing bolder together

Territorial Pioneer Officer Major Sarah Butler and Sam Butler (Feltham) talk about pioneering, church and staying true to who we are.

What’s your journey been like within the Army and pioneering as a family?

Sarah We have always just been doing what and going where we felt God wanted. The children accompanied us to each of our appointments – in Wales, in Glasgow, the south coast of England – and God has used the children as much as he has used us. I guess the pioneering aspect of that was to allow that to happen! When Sam was a baby, I was sat chatting to somebody who had just come out of prison. Sam was sat on my lap and, while I was praying, his hand reached out and touched the guy’s hand – and God broke through in that moment. It just shows that each of us have our part to play in different ways. Sam, your childhood was different from some of your friends, who grew up in one town or in one kind of Salvation Army setting. You hung out in Lifehouses in Glasgow!

Sam It’s been interesting seeing the variety within the Army! I found it interesting how different communities shaped the structure of services and what was going on. I remember when I was growing up and, while a building was being constructed, we were doing church in someone’s house. So church, for me, has always sort of been less about buildings and more about who’s there and having an alive feel to it. A lot of young people today have almost this idea of what ‘church’ is. Then when they come to experience church, they see the difference between those stereotypes of church and something that’s more relatable.

Sarah Growing up in the Army in the 1980s and 1990s, places would look quite similar. Today, each corps reflects its community more than perhaps before. That’s an exciting change. And I’ve always said that each new person or family who attends will change the worship, because they’re bringing themselves to it.

What does pioneering mean to you?

Sarah It’s that sense of going where no one’s been before. It’s not throwing everything away – we’re taking decades of experience with us. It’s asking: What does it mean to be and do church now, not being satisfied with ‘this is how we’ve always done it’? Could we change just one thing here? Could we adapt that?

Sam My background is acting and I see pioneering through that lens. For example, when doing improv, it’s very much a ‘yes and...’ environment. You take a foundation and build upon it with new ideas – you trust and you go for it. There’s a sensitivity too – you may think this is the greatest idea, but then you look at an audience and everyone’s bored. So you change and build on what you know. Maybe you get a reaction, so you keep that going. In church, it’s the same idea of trying something out. It’s asking, ‘Can this lead to something more?’ It’s not being too firm in sticking with an idea.

How important is listening to being a pioneer?

Sarah Pioneering is about following God. God’s already in those spaces we haven’t yet occupied; our role is to follow what God’s already doing. Where does God need us to be? Where is God at work and how does God want us to be involved? We also need the wisdom to recognise we don’t have a monopoly on social action or homelessness work, for example. A lot of pioneers are bringing a Salvation Army essence into a community or group rather than duplicating what’s already happening and dividing resources. There’s the saying ‘where there’s a need, there’s The Salvation Army’. Well, where there’s a need, there’s definitely God, but which of the needs is God calling the Army to meet just now? Does God want us to work with others or work in a silo? It’s not about spreading ourselves thinly but growing deeper roots.

Sam There’s the Bible story of the guy who built his house on a rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand – it’s a question of where your foundation is. You can’t just go into a place and say, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ You need understanding and patience to be constantly re-evaluating. In different places, you might see the same need, but the way in which you need to bring God’s message might be different. In my life, too, I look at things and think, ‘Is what I’m doing beneficial to me in the long run?’ It’s about that ongoing discernment of understanding when things are from God.

What have you learnt from each other?

Sam I’ve learnt that safety net of trying things out. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, why? How can we use that experience in another situation? So it’s having that sensitivity, but also going for it and experimenting.

Sarah I’ve learnt that wherever we go, God is already there, and he’s really looked out for us as a family. Also, seeing how both Sam and his sister, Elise, have grown deeper roots in their faith with every move and change they have gone through has been a real learning experience for me – and being able to see their openness of faith in their everyday. When I was young, people knew I went to The Salvation Army, but it wasn’t something I always wanted to talk about. From Sam, I’ve learnt that your character as a Christian can shine out from you and not be something you hide. I’ve learnt the boldness of saying ‘this is who I am’.

So pioneering is also linked to identity?

Sarah You’re always having to come back to the question of why: What is it about The Salvation Army or who I am as a child of God that’s needed in this space? You have to dig deep into that DNA. It takes courage to be authentically yourself, corporately or individually.

Sam When you look at spiritual gifts, as I did recently with a group of young people, it’s interesting to discuss how obviously not everybody’s got the same gifts. For pioneering, people might think that you need to be an evangelist, but pioneering might need a gift like shepherding, with pastoral care in having those closer conversations. So it’s asking what gifts God has given you and how they can be used.

Sarah Yes, and there’s not one set of spiritual gifts that defines pioneering. However God has created you, the pioneering aspect is the courage to go out and try something different!