One for all and all for one

Someone said to me last week, ‘when old people come to the door as I am doing Annual Appeal collecting, they often shout ‘who’s there?’. I reply ‘The Salvation Army’. Wouldn’t they get a shock if they opened it and found all 1 million of us outside’!

We might be just one but we represent the whole.

I arrived in Kenya yesterday, ready to lead a workshop for Emergency team leaders and those who head up emergency work in countries around the world. One of my very special friends, Muntajab, set off on his journey to be here a couple of days ago. He left Iraq, where he leads our partner NGO there. His life is under constant threat because of his work, yet he puts it on the line daily to help people in that country who are poor, marginalised and in need of care.

Because of his sacrifice he was admitted to The Salvation Army’s ‘Order of Distinguished Auxiliary Service’ a couple of years ago. That’s the highest honour that we give to someone who is not a soldier – in other words it’s the lay person’s Order of the Founder. He means a lot to us, individually as a friend and colleague and to our Church, too. Within our organsiation and particularly in Emergency Services circles, he's very highly respected.

He set off for Kenya earlier than others because the journey is difficult, via Syria, Dubai and then onto Africa.

Like the rest of the delegates he needed a visa to enter Kenya. The visa application went in weeks ago. Our headquarters in Kenya had been to the immigration office in Nairobi every day – each visit was met with the assurance, ‘come back tomorrow – it should be ready then’. Sadly the visa never materialised. No one ever said 'no', but they procrastinated so long that our Iraqi friend was turned away from his flight in Syria and sent home.

I can only imagine the embarrassment and even shame at being refused entry to a flight when you have a valid ticket. How upsetting must it be to learn that a country will not accept you as a visitor to a conference? I’ve tried to reassure my friend that it’s not personal – they are not refusing him entry as an individual – my only suspicion is that they have refused his application because he comes from Iraq.

But isn’t that a terrible slur on the people of Iraq – the vast majority of whom are honest, God-fearing people. So many are living lives of huge difficulties – just surviving each day is a huge challenge. Because so many are desperately trying to flee from the violence and bombing, all people are tarred with the brush of being potential refugees. Even a lovely country such as Kenya, who will warmly welcome the other 27 delegates to our conference, feels nervous about allowing an individual Iraqi to enter.

It reminds me that we are rarely regarded as isolated individuals. We represent others. If someone if praised then we bask in reflected glory. But we also bear collective responsibility. If one ‘Christian’ treats someone badly then others may be put off from attending church. I’m sure you’ve heard the accusation, ‘if that’s how Christians behave then I want nothing to do with the church’. One Salvationist does something dishonest – it makes the front page of the local (or sometimes even national) newspapers and the whole Salvation Army is regarded badly.

It may not be the correct way to behave – but I reckon it’s a fact of life. And a lesson I have to remember is that I am a representative of Jesus and of the church to which I belong. I have a responsibility. If I mess up then the fallout may be that others think less of my faith or my church than they should. If I live out my faith well then hopefully others will see me as a worthy representative and my church will benefit. Lord help me guard my actions and my behaviour and be a good ambassador today.