The Salvation Army has announced that its new International leader, and 18th General will be current UK leader, Commissioner Shaw Clifton.
The announcement came after Clifton was elected by the High Council of The Salvation Army, which is made up of senior Salvation Army leaders from across the world, last week in Sunbury-on-Thames.Current leader General John Larsson will step down from his position when he retires in April 2006. The move will now see Commissioner Clifton become head of the international evangelical church, which has 1.5 million members in 111 countries across the globe.
Commissioner Clifton will become the General and will be the ninth British General of the Salvation Army.
In an exclusive interview with Christian Today, General Commissioner Shaw Clifton gave an insight into his feelings about his historical appointment and his hopes for the future of The Salvation Army. The full interview is available below:
How do you feel about your new appointment?
I feel deeply honoured to be elected by the international leadership of The Salvation Army. I feel unworthy for such a significant role in spiritual leadership, and at the same time I'm excited, with a sense of anticipation.
In addition to all that, a strong sense of trusting God to help me, this church, the duties of this whole office comes.
It would be a dreadful mistake to come into this thinking that one is adequate. So I come to it very aware of my frailties, but equally aware of God's rich grace. The scripture promised that when I am weak, then He is strong.
How has The Salvation Army progressed in the past years according to your observation?
The Salvation Army today is in 111 countries and we are growing numerically - thank God - therefore growing the Kingdom. The army was raised up not so much to grow the army but to grow the Kingdom. We are at God's disposal.
The Army is bigger than it's ever been since its coming into being in 1865. We struggle in some parts of the world in terms of evangelistic results, not least in Europe, in some other parts in the world where there are western cultures - we're impacted - as other denominations are - with post modern attitudes and secularism.
But in some of those places, the attendances in Salvation Army worship services are going up. In Africa and South Asia, we are seeing very rapid growth. The global picture is a varied, patchy one.
