'To Be Or Not To Be' in Uniform?

[Lee Herdman]

Guess this seems like a crazy blog for most Christians out there! Uniform is such an alien concept for many Christians. But being in the part of the Church that is The Salvation Army, it is not such a strange concept. Well except that it is!

For a long time I have been questioning my wearing of uniform, does it seem weird and crazy to those outside of the organisation and the Church. Does it set me up as someone who sees themself as someone better than everyone else, does it isolate me from the children I seek to reach out to and serve. Is it a historic tradition that we haven't let go of? I think I had almost decided that to be non-uniformed was the way to go. But maybe, just maybe I am beginning to rethink how it impacts on me and my service?

The SA uniform demands a huge amount of respect and trust

It identifies me as someone who belongs to TSA and holds me accountable to the standards that Christ holds for me as a soldier or that organisation.

It signals my willingness to live different and to be part of a real battle, one that I should be engaged with all the time, loving, clothing, feeding, befriending, sharing the gospel.

It is a uniform worn around the world by hundreds and thousands of SA soldiers who are living as salt and light, in the red light district of amsterdam, in the centre of major cities, slums, isolated places, serving the last, the least and lost across the world. Living and loving incarnationally. Why should I be embarassed.

We encourage children's leaders to wear some visible evidence of their autority and trustability as part of the children's team.

It opens up amazing opportunities to talk with people, support people.

I am not completely convinced, but maybe just maybe God still has a place for our SA strangeness? He has always chosen the foolish things of the world!

I guess whatever I decide my Soldiers' covenant to God will never change I want to be totally devoted to his call on my life to serve Him for the salvation of the world. Uniform or not!

'I now call upon all present to witness that I enter into this covenant and sign these articles of war of my own free will, convinced that the love of Christ, who died and now lives to save me, requires from me this devotion of my life to His service for the salvation of the whole world; and therefore do here declare my full determination, by God's help, to be a true soldier of The Salvation Army.' amen amen amen!