Within months after taking office (October 1999), General John Gowans came to the The Salvation Army USA National Headquarters and, in his own inimitable way, presented a private and confidential (not to be disseminated or shared in any other form or forum) paper on leadership to members of the USA Commissioner s Conference. Commissioner Gisele Gowans has given permission to now share the contents of that paper in this forum. The authors do so, with commentary, in tribute to the iconic genius of John Gowans. Why? We want a Take-over Bid! A mammoth Take-over Bid! We ve been content for too long, Just jogging along each day. We ll make a Take-over bid! It s really time that we did! (John Gowans’s lyrics from the premiere musical, Take Over Bid! )

Written by Commissioner Joe Noland and Major Stephen Court, and published by the Western Territory’s Frontier Press, it’s available at Trade West or Amazon, hard copy or Kindle.

High Counsel: Jesus and John on Leadership
Print: http://amzn.to/LoALwG
Kindle: http://amzn.to/JaS4B6

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13 NIV

Recent soldier counts are revealing continued trends in soldier increases in the territory. That is both Senior and Junior Soldiers. Not only is it positive news, it is reason to rejoice and take notice of God.’s work among us.

Efforts like the Come Join Our Army campaign have been helpful in securing these new soldiers. Recent efforts in reaching out to our ARC Beneficiaries will have a strong influence as will our hopes to enroll soldiers at The Gathering by the General. Hallelujah!

To win the world for Jesus, we need more soldiers to reach out to more people. Thank you, Lord.

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV

The penultimate Kroc Center in the USA Western Territory is open for business. Dedicated by the Chief Secretary, Colonel Dave Hudson, over the weekend, it is a credit to the Kroc Centers and fully consistent with the donor’s intentions. I submit that anyone could look openly at these Centers and validate that we have maintained our integrity in the process.

This Center is beautiful, functional, and extravagant. When a person enters this facility or functions on these extensive grounds, they will be captured with their own far reaching potential. Hallelujah!

Congratulations to Majors Denise and Guy Hawk who have seen this project to its opening and will oversee its operations. This is a job well done. God is glorified.

“thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15

Please pray for The Salvation Army today. It would be a blessing if that were your regular discipline. There’s the local SA and the global SA. All of it needs God’s care. He raised it up. We need His grace to keep it on track and to protect our mission to glorify God.

Thank you. Hallelujah!

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Hebrews 6:10 NIV

Taking from The Salvation Army USA promise “Doing the most good,” we need to consider Doing the most right. That doesn’t mean being more right than someone else. It means we just must do what’s right. That’s not always an easy decision, but it has to be what we do.

Sometimes it takes courage. Sometimes it presents anxiety. Sometimes it hurts. It’s always right. Hallelujah!

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33 NIV

Everyone agrees that integrity is a wholesome characteristic of good people, holy people, constructive leaders, parents, teachers, ministers, etc…

Is it something you have or don’t have? Is it something you acquire and never lose?

I believe it’s something we need to constantly and conscientiously improve upon. We need to guard ourselves so that we can maintain this standing and we need to revisit some past situations to evaluate how we can repair and correct parts of our lives that have been less that right.

Some circumstances cannot be corrected. They leave a stain. We can live circumspectly so as to not aggravate a poor choice in the past that diminishes our own integrity.

I’m very much beating around the bush here. How about this: God said,”Be holy because I am holy.” That’s a day to day joy that defines integrity. God will help us.

“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” Ecclesiastes 11:5 NIV