Commissioner Gaither Speaks as New U.S. Salvation Army Head
The Salvation Army, the global evangelical body, installed the first African American commander for the United States on May 12, 2006. Commissioner Israel L. Gaither, who was joined by his wife Eva, the new national president of women’s ministries, was gladly welcomed by Salvationists across the states.
Gaither had achieved a number of “firsts” including his former position as the first African American to serve as Chief of Staff at world headquarters in London. In a phone interview, Gaither gave The Christian Post details of his new serving position and the future of the Army.
CP: You didn't stress much on the race aspect of your being installed as the new national commander, but could you just state the historical implications of your installment as the first African American national commander?
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Gaither: I think there are obviously some historical implications, my being the first African American as the Salvation Army's national commander. However, the Salvation Army is an international movement. We're in 111 countries, so ethnic and racial diversity is no stranger to the Salvation Army's mission. And we have executive leaders in many countries around the world who of course are representative of the ethnicity in their given region. What happens in America is that the first African American national commander happens to be me. Now that’s a very sacred gift. My position – because I know the Salvation Army internally – is not an appointment given because of my race merely, but because of what it is felt that I, along with my wife, bring to this responsibility. And I certainly want to serve as a model for individuals of all races. I want to be looked at as a Christian leader who can be trusted, in whom people can have faith and believe that there’s competency and gifts that I possess that will forward the mission of the Army. So that’s how I approach it. I’m certainly not here just to ‘window dress;’ I’m not here simply because I happen to be a black man. I am here because God has called me and that sacred position has been bestowed upon me by our international leaders. And I thank God for the privilege of serving.
CP: Do you feel this trend, if you will, with the growing population of minorities, will be a more frequent case?
Gaither: We’ve been in, if you want to call it “trend,” for a long time. We seek to put men and women leaders – no matter their race or ethnicity, no matter their gender – into responsibilities which we believe that they are gifted for. Now, do we need more? Obviously, we do. We want to see the Salvation Army’s ministry, particularly the ecclesiastical side, expanded among many races and ethnicities across the world. And particularly here in America there are many opportunities for service and ministry, but it is a calling, it’s not employment; it’s not just a job. But one who is a Salvation Army officer indeed has received a calling. And then development through experience and training of officers through service further equips them as they’re given opportunities for special assignments. Yes, we are working toward – we have been for a long time – trying to place men and women in responsibilities which we believe they are especially gifted and God can use them for forwarding the mission.
The most important thing – and this is not about career climbing – it is about serving.
CP: What are some of the first tasks you’ve undertaken as the new commander?
Gaither: The first one was to really become acquainted with the structure and national headquarters and the mission that we’re entrusted to out of the national office – getting to know our people and the various departments here. We have familiarity with a number of people and the general structure because we’ve had relationships with it when we served in America previously.
And then secondly, reaching out and having opportunity – in the first week, actually – of meeting key people in the community. And that has continued. We’ve also had the privilege of working with our other executive leaders across the country and the four territorial commanders and their key people at our commissioners conference. So it’s just kind of been getting ourselves comfortable and acquainted to our new environment and becoming linked as quickly as possible to key stakeholders who have an interest in the Salvation Army.
CP: During installation, you drilled into the officers the words “for the mission.” And right now, the mission doesn't seem to be about just giving to the needy. Would you say there is a greater mission for the Salvationists?
Gaither: The Salvation Army was birthed to address the needs of the poor, the marginalized, the voiceless, and the helpless. We’ll never lose our focus there. That’s why we were created – to stand alongside, lift up, restore, rehabilitate, transform the lives of people and circumstances. That’s our calling to America and we will never abandon that. The mission of The Salvation Army is – I’d like to best describe it as – both social and ecclesiastical. We’re like a beautiful butterfly that has two wings on one body: the ecclesiastical side – our churches, all of that goes with being a Christian denomination – and also, we have wedded deeply into that, our social service ministries, where they are very practical applications of what the church is to be doing in the world and we do that in a very practical way.
So it’s about serving people, but also lifting them. We’re not only serving, but we are also hopefully providing a way in which individuals who are caught in poverty, hopelessness, helplessness – through character building activities and all kinds of rehabilitation programs where they can be restored transformed – to become, we believe they can become, very significantly contributors to society and feel good about themselves and who they are in relationship to their home and their environments.
CP: You mentioned that America needsthe Army right now and pointed out a number of “wars,” such as cultural wars and disasters, etc. Could you elaborate on that?
Gaither: I think that there’s no question that our long life here – 126 years now nearly – and the validity of that, the response of the public, the contributing supporting public as well as those who need our services, speak a very clear message to the Salvation Army in America especially that we are needed; there is a place for us, our relationships with government – whether it’s federal, state or local – with other church leaders, business and civic leaders across this country give very clear indication that we are needed in America. And that’s very heart-warming. I hear it and see it not only in conversations that are very formal around board tables and in groups and committees – our people sitting with leaders on capitol hill – but I also hear it from the everyday pedestrian, who sees me, Israel Gaither, in a uniform and says to me, “Thank you for what you are doing.”
All of those are marvelous indicators that The Salvation Army is needed, has a very special role to play.
We also believe that along with the churches, we have a prophetic voice. And we also believe as The Salvation Army we have a unique role in being able to span the gulfs of culture. There’s often a divide between rich and poor, black and white. And The Salvation Army is able to walk into places and do some things that few other agents can; so we’ve been gifted with that because of this kind of twin ministry that is ours. Those are other evidences of America’s need of the Salvation Army.
And I believe also that America wants us to be the best Salvation Army that we can possibly be because we are so needed in terms of what we do, and Americans prove that by the kind of wonderful support that we’re given. And that’s through financial support and it’s also through volunteerism.
CP: You also mentioned during your installation speech that the mission will be “uncomfortable.” What do you foresee will be the most difficult to overcome as the national commander?
Gaither: We want to make sure we stay on mission. I think we have the people who surround us – our officers, employees and volunteers – who are good about that. They remind us why we exist. There are some things we’re not equipped to do, but that which we have been called to do in terms of transformation thought the gospel of Jesus Christ – through our prophetic voice and witness in the world, through our practical application to helping others – we believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we have a place in America, and we’ve got to make sure that we stay on message.
Another issue that we’ve got to face – it’s a challenging opportunity – is raising money to be able to support our ongoing services and activities and reach out to people. There’s a lot of competition. It’s good. There are many agencies doing wonderful things. And we just have to make certain we ensure that the giving public understands what the Salvation Army does and how we use their contributions and how they trust us. That is important as well.
We have an Army presence and voice in matters that destabilize women and children in the family. We care about and have character building activities for young people and senior citizens. We have a myriad of activities that we believe are challenging opportunities – what young people are facing today, what the elderly are facing, the women, the children, the poor. These are certainly challenges that we believe we can address as we have in the past. We have to address them sometimes in new ways. We’re comfortable with who we are. We just want to be true to what we’ve created to be and to do. That’s our determination to be what we’ve been born to be and to do what we say we will do.
CP: You’ve been with the Army for a long time. What are some of the changes you’ve seen that you’re proud of and some of the changes you haven’t seen but wish to instill?
Gaither: I’ve seen a growing army. The Salvation Army – globally, we’re bigger than we’ve ever been. We’re in 111 countries doing some amazing pieces of work. We’ve seen the Salvation Army’s presence take on new life in the last 10-15 years. We’ve been growing in new ways, addressing new problems and new challenges. So that makes us feel very good.
In America, it’s a diversified Salvation Army ethnically and racially. We’re very pleased about that. I do wish and believe as we continue to strategize internally, thinking with our leaders across the country, how better we can attract into ministry or make it possible for young men and women of any race, any gender to see the Salvation Army as a possible calling on their life, to serve. We want to continue developing that. We want to continue strengthening our congregations by developing, training and releasing our lay leaders for a more active role in the life of the Salvation Army.
CP: You mentioned that you’d like to attract more people to the calling of the Salvation Army. As the Salvation Army staff has decreased over the years, what do you think accounted for the decline and how would you want more to join the service?
Gaither: We want to see more officers, we need more. We have over 3,500 in America now but they are supported by a large number of our members and employees. We have over 62,000 employees in America. We have a good team. But yes, we do need to see and want to see an environment where we can have perhaps more officers.
What’s the cause? Well, like in many first-world countries of the Church, there’s an attempt to keep the Church alive and vibrant and relevant. And many sectors with growing secularism and materialism, the voice of the Church is being muted, being pushed to the edges. At least there is an attempt. So there’s a challenge to the Church at large to continue being the Church. We’ve seen that. So there is that challenge for the Salvation Army as well as other churches and faith-based movements to hold onto what they believe and not back off, but keep in front. America needs the Church and its voice in the midst of all the other rising voices, the Church is still a very important element of American life and society. We just simply got to continue to do what we’re supposed to do and to keep our place, our visibility very high and most of all, our services and our ministries very prominent in America.
CP: You’ve come in at a time when the Army has had a great year of record donations and in pioneering new frontiers. Can you describe any new plans or projects that you have in mind for the Army?
Gaither: The biggest thing that will impact communities of people is the donation from Joan Kroc, the request that she left to the Salvation Army. That will be a significant forward moving, very creative way in which to serve designated communities across America. We’re working toward that. We’ve received at this point 99 applications from the community. Once those are developed, this wonderful gift from this wonderful lady will help to make a significant difference to communities and will call for creative ways for the Salvation Army to minister through its religious and social serving programs.
As for the consumer fraud case filed against the Salvation Army by a half-dozen illegal immigrants this week, no information is yet available but Gaither said the case is being reviewed and the Salvation Army is cooperating with the authorities.
