The announcement of her retirement came in the form of a terse (and uninformative) letter from the Chief of the Staff, André Cox:
I write to inform you
that General Linda Bond is entering into retirement.
Following a period of
personal reflection and prayer, General Bond has decided that she should
relinquish the Office of the General with effect from 13 June 2013. The
General’s decision to step down comes after 44 years of ministry.
As is required by our
constitution, contained in the Salvation Army Act 1980, the Chief of the Staff
will perform the functions of the General pending the election of a new
General.
With no real explanation coming from the International Headquarters, it's difficult for many of us to understand. The temptation to speculate is compelling. And, at the very least, many are asking why? We'd rather not have to speculate, and we don't want to get into gossip or slander. We'd just like to know what's going on. We're not tryin gto be nosy, or busybodies. If it's a matter of health, we'd like to be able to pray about it. If there are other family issues, we can accept that - without getting into personal details.
Some of us wonder (and without information, all we have are questions) if it's something more 'political.' The 2nd General of the Salvation army, General Bramwell Booth (son of the founders, William and Catherine Booth) was effecitvely desposed by the Salvation Army's High Council (The Salvation Army equivalent of the Papal Conclave) - in fact, that's pretty much why the first High Council was convened. In the case of Bramwell Booth it was the result of his ill health (both mental and physical) and his refusal to willingly retire.
Is that the case with General Bond? I cannot say that it is - but I cannot say that it isn't. In fact I can't say much at all about it beacuse we just don't know. I don't want to speculate. I don't want to have to speculate. I'm hoping that we'll be given some more information soon.
Some of us wonder (and without information, all we have are questions) if it's something more 'political.' The 2nd General of the Salvation army, General Bramwell Booth (son of the founders, William and Catherine Booth) was effecitvely desposed by the Salvation Army's High Council (The Salvation Army equivalent of the Papal Conclave) - in fact, that's pretty much why the first High Council was convened. In the case of Bramwell Booth it was the result of his ill health (both mental and physical) and his refusal to willingly retire.
Is that the case with General Bond? I cannot say that it is - but I cannot say that it isn't. In fact I can't say much at all about it beacuse we just don't know. I don't want to speculate. I don't want to have to speculate. I'm hoping that we'll be given some more information soon.
Troubling. Very troubling, indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe whole of The Salvation Army should GO with her !
ReplyDeleteI realize that it may be pointless to respond...
DeleteBut why do you say that?
Please read the Salvation Army 1980 Act
ReplyDeleteSchedule 3 - Vacation of Office by The General
Part II - Resignation
A reading of the Act confirms that the last General - Resigned and is no longer entitled to use the rank of General.
Happened under General Bond's watch, which changed the 2010 Doctrine Handbook (without a revision notice in the book, I might add):
ReplyDelete"Salvation Story, Salvationist Handbook of Doctrine", 1998, pg. 13, Appendix 2, "Infallibility and inerrancy"..."The Salvation Army's statement of faith does not include any reference to the infallibility or inerrancy of Scripture."
On behalf of the General, I am pleased to announce a change of wording for a paragraph found on page 11 of the Handbook of Doctrine (Chapter 1 – ‘For further exploration’ - 1.A.3. - page 11).
“The old wording in question includes:
“The inspiration of the Bible provides a foundation for our understanding of the reliability of the divine revelation in Scripture. It is uniquely inspired in a way that is different from other writings or works of art. However, this does not mean that the Bible is infallible or inerrant, so that it is incapable of misleading and contains no human error. Whereas we believe that the overall message of the Bible is inspired and reliable, each individual passage must be read and interpreted carefully, in context, and with careful reference to the whole of biblical truth.
“Effective immediately, two paragraphs will replace the one above:
“We believe the message of the Bible is inspired and reliable. However, each individual passage must be read and interpreted carefully, in context and with reference to the whole of biblical truth.
“We affirm that we can rely upon the Scriptures for instruction and guidance in matters of divine truth and the Christian life, because in Scripture we meet the Word of God himself, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit who inspired the writers also illumines those who read its pages and leads them to faith.”
The War Cry (NZ) 11 August 2012, 17.
I joined under General Shaw Clifton, a person I admired. I no longer can support TSA. May reconsider if General Cox changes the obvious right turn, fundamentalist approach. If bad things happened by TSA, I could always right it off as an individual messing up. With inerrancy as a corporate position, I can no longer attribute it to the opinions of a individual, but to the organization as a whole.
I'd just like to know why Linda Bond went. Was she 'pushed'? After all TSA is still a male dominated church. Was there some kind of infidelity? Is she sick? Where is Linda Bond now? Does she still hold the title/rank of General or has this been stripped from her? Someone answer my questions - I'd like to know.
ReplyDeleteI sorry. I still don't know. Everyone seems to have moved on. It's one of those "we don't air our dirty laundry in public" kind of things, apparently.
DeleteJeff I am an officer woman in the UK and have been wondering if you knew anymore as I am researching the treatment of women officers...and Linda Bond was a good Holiness preacher whom all and especially women liked very much. I guess she was pushed by the men. Do you know anymore? If you rather I can message you some other way if you let me know where to get you...
ReplyDeleteDo not reach conclusions of treatment of women officers in the Salvation Army based on Linda Bonds situation
Deleteunless you know the whole story (which you don't)
I am sorry; I do not know more about her situation. I wish that I did.
ReplyDeleteYou really dont want to know why Linda Bond is no longer general!
ReplyDeleteBelieve me she was not pushed out by the men.
Beware of false prophets.
Anonymous - if you know why - can you tell us. Enough time has gone by now and no one will judge her - Linda did such great work.
ReplyDeleteThe important point to remenber she relinquished her duties
ReplyDeleteNo amount of time gone by or any amount of great work done will erase the past
General Linda was not the first Canadian General to leave suddenly of course. What happened to General Tillsley?
ReplyDeleteHe left because of ill health. He had had a triple bypass prior to his election as General. I question why he was elected General although the fact it only happened after the fourth ballot and with 19 votes opposed (29 in favour) might suggest there was definitely those who thought he might not be up to the task. As it turned out he retired less than a year later. He is, by the way, still living. His wife passed away almost 4 years ago.
DeleteI wonder where Linda Bond is now??
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear her preach..
Has there been any change in our knowledge regarding this event?
ReplyDelete