An Embrace of His Mysteries

Major Charles F. Roberts, area coordinator and director of county operations for The Salvation Army Syracuse Area Services, talks about pastors in print, the importance of fixing your own mistakes, and how God’s blessings sometimes come without clear explanations.

The Salvation Army’s connections to government have never stopped us from evangelizing in any situation. That doesn’t mean we bark at someone and wave a Bible at them. But if you are full of the love of God, and someone asks why are you in the mood you are in, you have a right to give them an answer, done as Peter says, “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Through this, we can talk to elected officials about poli­cies that can help others and promote justice. We understand the role of government, and I’ve had faith meetings with mayors and city officials. Jeremiah 29:7 says to seek peace and prosperity for the city, because if it prospers, you will prosper too.

Growing up, books were a reliable friend that stayed with me through my years as a pastor. There are books that I needed to mature personally to finish them. I may have finished chapters 1 and 2, but I wasn’t ready for 3 and 4 until much later in life. Some­times I’ll go back to books that I read long ago, not necessarily for information, but for formation. Authors like Eugene Peterson and Thomas à Kempis have been “pastors in print” that influenced my life and ministry. I have also learned from The Rule of Saint Benedict, a book by St. Benedict of Nursia written for monks living under the authority of an abbot, the leader of a monastery. As Salvation Army officers, we are monks in a sense, serving in a monastic order too.

I used to have a habit of running the corps van beyond the “E” in the fuel gauge. When my mother would tell my father that we were running low on gas, he said not to worry because tanks have a built-in 5-gallon reserve. One day, driving some men home from church, the van hit E, but that reserve was not there. The men offered to walk to a nearby gas station, but I refused and said I would do it myself. As officers, we can delegate our mission, but we cannot delegate our mess. It makes me unhappy to see someone delegate to a subordinate a problem that they made themselves. We must lead by being tour guides, not travel agents, in ministry.

God is knowable, but He is also beyond our understanding. There are times and circumstances where only God knows when and how He will bless us. We should embrace the mystery of those blessings. We can chalk it up to luck or the high standards of the work we do, but those only take us so far. Success comes to those who show up, but the highest level of success achieved comes to those who trust in the mystery of the Almighty. He’s a Father who brings food at the proper time, and a God of overflow who provides more than enough. Not long ago, we received two anonymous checks written to the Syracuse Temple Corps and the Syracuse Citadel Corps. This person knows us and our churches by name. I’m going to dig in and embrace that mystery God brought to us, to see where He leads me.

Social ministry, in its various forms, does gospel good, whether the gospel is being spoken about or expressed through actions. People who are connected to the Lord deliver His love in anything they do. I came to this thought when I worked as a casework supervisor in Pittsburgh. As I was packing groceries in a bag for one of our guests, I felt a sense that this act was a holy moment, and more than just a gift of earthly food. It’s a work of good that can change the structure around someone’s life, so that they can later receive a greater good. In the spirit of Isaiah 61, that person then becomes an “oak of righteousness” and a transmitter of the Lord going forward.

photo by Emily Kae Photography