By Major Frank
Duracher 
Our spiritual warfare
When Paul wrote in Ephesians about the well-equipped Christian
soldier, his contemporary reference resembled a Roman centurion.
But what would the soldier look like, had Paul written that
epistle, say, 2,000 years earlier? An Egyptian warrior would have certainly
worn a good helmet, some body protection, certainly a shield and probably a
spear.
If Paul was around during the Dark Ages, his model
might have resembled a knight from King Arthur's court, complete with a
suit of armor, a mace and a broadsword.
A Christian
minuteman from the American Revolution era would keep a musket at hand. A Civil
War enlistee would have a bayonet. Someone fighting in Iraq today is issued a
gas mask and a fully-automatic weapon.
Futuristic movies
depict troopers using phasers or lightsabers.
No matter
which you prefer, the elements are still the same: a good helmet, body
protection and a weapon (Paul compares the sword to the Word of God in 6:17) -
the only offensive item of the Christian soldier's preparedness.
We are at war. The fighting is real. The enemy is cunning and
powerful. There are casualties - usually because something on Paul's
equipment list is missing.
Are you wounded? Where are you
bleeding?
If you are reading this, then it's not too
late. Christ provides redemption, and the Holy Spirit comforts and heals.
What will it take to get you back into the fight?
Clamor and
clutter
By Major Allen Satterlee 
On my computer I have a striking picture from Papua New Guinea. It
shows the early morning sun rising behind two outrigger canoes filled with 5-
and 6-year-old boys. It is the picture of peace. But because I took the
picture, I know that just behind them, a volcano was spewing smoke. The
volcanic ash buried their home village, all their meager possessions were lost,
their food supply ruined. With their families the boys fled the island,
arriving ashore as refugees on land claimed by another tribe. The government
declared it owned that land while the tribe argued that it was the owner.
Meanwhile, the islanders were caught in the middle. These who had claimed this
island of Manam for generations were now homeless, huddling under blue plastic
tarps for shelter and then standing in long lines for food that sometimes
failed to appear because of the combined forces of their isolated location and
government corruption and incompetence. Although the picture on my computer is
one of beautiful peace, in reality it was a momentary lull amid disaster.
In writing the above paragraph I was interrupted 12 times. When I
stop to think of that I realize how much clamor and clutter there is in my
life. When it is time to leave work, I end up with an armful of very important
things to take home to a house that is cluttered with a lot of other things
that seem essential. Like many of you, I put in an inspirational CD to listen
to because the radio stations are filled with the clamor of voices that are
much too loud, saying or singing outrageous, stupid, boring or empty-headed
nonsense. But then I am hardly listening to the CD because I am reviewing
conversations earlier in the day or I am watching the people on the road who
drive as badly as I do. Scary. The bottom line is that the lyrics are lost and
I find that the song I have been waiting for to inspire me was three selections
ago.
Because I have lived in other parts of the world where
things are slower, quieter and simpler, one might think that I would yearn for
life there. One would be wrong. My guess is that no matter where you live or
what age you are or what your occupation the problem of clutter and clamor
remains constant.
I cannot prove this, but I suspect that
the story of Elijah hearing the still, small voice (1 Kings 19) has a little
more to it. Maybe the still small voice of God was speaking the whole time when
there was the whirlwind, the earthquake and the fire. Because of the clamor
Elijah just couldn't hear it. Elijah, like us, turned his head this way and
that to watch and listen to the great flash, crash, bash around him. Maybe he
heard a little something. But who wanted to stop and listen for that and risk
missing the big show? But the message was in the stillness, the gentle whisper
that demanded silence before Him. Elijah's life was not changed by the
special effects display. The wind became a breeze, the earthquake shook itself
out, the fire cooled, the clamor quieted. But in the whisper Elijah's
destiny was set.
When God finally got his attention, it was
to ask him a question: What are you doing here, Elijah? (vs. 13) With
all Elijah's running and fretting and complaining he had come to a place
where he didn't belong. The things that occupied him were not signs of
productivity but of being in the wrong place. If that were true for Elijah, it
is no less true for us. The trappings of success may just be traps after all,
clutter and clamor of a life desperately trying to prove its significance.
God doesn't need our banging nor the building of our
personal Babel. He wants our attention. Listen. Here is that whisper again:
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted in among the nations, I
will be exalted in all the earth (Psalm 46:10).
Mrs. Major Jeannette
Tritton
Mrs. Major Jeanette Tritton was promoted to
Glory Aug. 27, 2006, from Wichita Falls, Texas.
The funeral
service was held Aug. 30 at Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home in Wichita Falls
with Lt. Colonel Orville Salmon presiding and Major Michael Barnhouse and
Captain Tex Ellis officiating. A memorial service was conducted at the Dallas
Temple Corps with her son, Lt. Colonel Robert J. Tritton, presiding and Salmon
officiating. The burial was at Restland Cemetery in Dallas.
Jeannette Frances Houtsma was born May 17, 1914, in Whitinsville,
Mass. She moved to Tampa, Fla., with her parents and later met James R.
Tritton, whom she married July 6, 1933.
They entered officer
training and were commissioned in 1944 and appointed to Alexandria, Va. They
later served in Ensley, Ala., before appointments in San Angelo, Longview,
Galveston, Fort Worth, Amarillo and Wichita Falls, Texas. The Trittons were
known throughout the Southern Territory for their caring and compassionate
ministry to thousands of people during their active service.
Jeannette Tritton had a special love for youth ministry. The girls
programs she directed excelled in memberships and character guidance
activities. She was a devoted lifetime member, leader and worker in the Home
League.
The Trittons retired from active service in 1973 and
lived in Wichita Falls, where they had directed Salvation Army work from 1965
to 1970. James R. Tritton was promoted to Glory Dec. 24, 2003. Their
granddaughter, Elizabeth Tritton, also preceded her in death iin August
1978.
She is survived by five sons: James R. Tritton, Jr.,
and wife Bettie, of El Paso, Texas; Lt. Colonel Robert Tritton, and wife Patsy,
of Panama City, Fla.; Albert E. Tritton, and wife Barbara, of Lake Worth, Fla.;
Kenneth W. Tritton, and wife Judy, of Wichita Falls; and Douglas H. Tritton,
and wife Joellen, of Wichita Falls. Also surviving are three grandsons, seven
granddaughters, two adopted grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
New
appointments
Effective October 18, 2006
Territorial Headquarters
Lt.
Colonels Donald and Connie Canning
Territorial ambassadors for holiness
Majors Dalton and Wanda Cunningham
Territorial ambassadors for the mission
Captain Kwang Hee Chang Assistant territorial finance
secretary
Captain Mee Sook Chang Older adult
ministries director
Alabama-Louisiana-Mississippi
Major John
Roy Jones Divisional commander
Major Arduth Jones
Divisional
director of women's ministries
Arkansas-Oklahoma
Major Daniel New Tulsa, Okla., area commander
Captain Sheila New Tulsa, Okla., women's ministries
coordinator
Georgia
Major C. Bruce Jones Finance
secretary
Major Diana Jones
League of Mercy/community care &
older adult ministries secretary Texas
Major Stephen Ellis Austin area commander
Major Susan Ellis Austin women's ministries
coordinator
Major Marshall Gesner Houston area
commander
Major Carolyn Gesner Houston women's
ministries coordinator
Captain Srikant Bhatmagar
Irving evangelistic
outreach officer (effective 7/3/06)
Captain Robyn
Glass
Dallas, Christian education officer (effective
9/18/06)
The Job Board
Salvation Army
employment
Performing arts
manager
Dallas, Texas
Lights! Camera! Action! Bring hope and joy to children in
community center settings as the performing arts manager. Seeking experienced
music and drama educator. Experience with budgets, teacher supervision and
curriculum implementation preferred.
Send resumes to: Carol_Klocek@uss.salvationa
rmy.org
Director of
development
Sarasota, Fla.
The Salvation Army of Sarasota seeks an experienced
fund-raising professional. The director of development will be responsible for
planning and implementing all fund-raising strategies including special events,
major gifts, grants, direct mail.
Bachelors degree and at least five years of
progressively responsible experience with proven results preferred. E-mail
cover letter, resume and salary history to bryan_pope@uss.salvationarmy.org or
fax 941-954-4645.