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The Salvation Army is a Christian Church and Charity. It’s members are called Salvationists. But what is Salvationism? What are the distinctives of Salvationist life, faith, and culture? Is there a difference between The Salvation Army and Salvationism?

We can find some answers from the work of Shaw Clifton.

Foundations of Identity and How the Army Relates to the Churches

Almost 20 years ago, General Shaw Clifton wrote a book called New Love that is helpful for our question. It is from this now out-of-print book that we can find the answers to these questions. If you want your own copy, you will have to search for a second-hand one.

Clifton began New Love with a challenge that is as relevant today as when he first wrote it. Has Salvationism passed its use-by date?

His answer is simple. No. However, that depends on whether we understand what Salvationism actually is. This article summarises the foundations Clifton lays in chapter one of New Love.

In chapter one, Clifton offers nine key characteristics which define Salvationism. He also explains the Army’s place within the wider family of Christian churches.

The Key Points of Salvationism

• Salvationism and The Salvation Army are not the same thing. One is the heartbeat, the other is the body.
• Salvationism was invented by God and entrusted to the Army as a sacred calling.
• Nine characteristics define Salvationism: realistic, idealistic, accepting, compassionate, simple, international, visible, audible, and vulnerable.
• Holiness is central to Salvationism. It is not optional.
• The Army understands itself as part of the universal church. It relates to other denominations with humility and openness.

A Crucial Distinction for Salvationism

Clifton begins by separating two things we often blur together. The Salvation Army and Salvationism. We can think of it as the difference between form and essence.

The Salvation Army is the organisation. This includes its structures, history, methods, and policies. It is made up of people from around the world who disagree as much as they agree. What do they share with each other? Is there something deeper that holds the Army together?

Salvationism is that something deeper.

Salvationism is the heartbeat underneath everything else. It is the combination of beliefs, commitments, and callings that together make Salvationists distinctive. Salvationism is our essence.

Put simply, you can describe The Salvation Army by telling its story. But to describe Salvationism, you have to go deeper. We need to find the pulse, the convictions, the non-negotiables of Salvationism.

What is Salvationism?

Salvationism is an expression of the gospel, invented by God, and entrusted to The Salvation Army. It is a form of distinctive Christian life and practice. 

More than an ideology, broader than a set of beliefs, deeper than shared practices, bigger than a culture. We need to remember that Salvationism is all of those things and more.

Salvationism is More Than a Culture

The essence of the Army, Salvationism, is a combination of beliefs, stances, and callings that mutually inform and support each other. It is the ‘thing’ which both forms and is formed by The Salvation Army. You could think of it as the Army’s soul. But Salvationism was not created by the Army. 

Clifton is clear. Salvationism was not invented by William Booth. It was given and formed by God. This is quite a radical perspective.

He is not arguing that the form the Army takes was given by God. Things like uniforms or brass bands do not come directly from God. But the soul of the Army, the stuff that makes the Army what it is, was given by God. The Army was raised up by God and given Salvationism as a sacred trust.

Salvationism is a Sacred Trust

This is not arrogance. It is accountability. If God has called the Army, and therefore Salvationists, to live in a particular way, then we need to live up to it. This means the Army must steward what it has been given, not drift from it.

The Army was called and raised up for a specific purpose, with a specific approach to God’s mission. We have to remain true to Salvationism.

This is the heart of the missio Dei.

God does not leave God’s mission to chance. God calls, equips, and sends. The Salvation Army exists because God chose to express something particular through it, for the sake of the world. God wants the Army to exist because no one else is doing what the Army has been called to be.

Denominations are a Good Thing

Denominations are not a bad thing. The body of Christ is made up of all kinds of beautiful diversity. Not only in individuals but also in churches. The different churches offer different things. They come with their own soul. And the Army is part of the beautiful diversity. It doesn’t exist by accident.

We are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:10 (NRSV)

The Nine Characteristics of Salvationism

Clifton uses a simple image to explain Salvationism. He uses a cake recipe.

It’s probably a pretty good metaphor, given that when in doubt, the Army turns to tea and cake. Pastoral care begins with cake. It seems fair that our Theology should do the same.

Other cakes will share some of the same ingredients. But only the Salvationist cake has all of them together, in the same proportions. He identifies eight core ingredients. Then adds a ninth at the end to keep things interesting. The ninth one is the hardest. It requires honesty from us. That ingredient is vulnerability.

A Salvatinist Cake

The cake image is deliberately simple. Clifton is not trying to reduce Salvationism to a checklist. He says identity is found in the whole, not just the parts.

Any one of these distinctives, taken alone, might be found in another tradition. It is the combination, all nine, blended together, that produces something unique. That produces the Army.

Distinctive 1 – Realistic

Salvationism is honest about human nature and sin. It goes where the need is greatest. It takes life seriously. Salvationism is never shocked by the depths to which people can fall, but continues to lament with them.

The Army does not pretend that life is better than it is. Nor does it pretend that the church or the Army is perfect. The Army is always behind where things are, not where it wants them to be. We always stand in the world, not apart from it.

There is something that defines the realism of Salvationism. It is the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat stands at the centre of every Corps. It is the place where sinners find forgiveness and saints find further grace. The Mercy Seat is the place where reality can be navigated through prayer. It stands in our halls as a reminder of our commitment to the world as it is.

Distinctive 2 – Idealistic

Salvationism is realistic, but it also dares to believe that every person can be saved and transformed. It preaches the forgiveness of sins and the practical possibility of holy living. This is possible for everyone. No one is beyond God’s grace.

The Army carries out its mission in hope and expectation of blessing. It does not serve humanity’s needs to try to bandage the wounds. The Army believes it is possible to save and sanctify the world. Things can be changed. People and the world can be better.

The Army’s idealism is not abstract or naive. It is rooted in sanctification.

Doctrine 10, the doctrine of entire sanctification, is not optional. It is foundational for everything. The Army is a salvation-and-sanctification movement. It believes that God can and does change the hearts of humanity.

Distinctive 3 – Accepting/Inclusive

This is a controversial one. Clifton argued that the Army is fundamentally accepting and inclusive. He framed it in this way.

The Army is a community with its arms wide open. No snobbery, whether class, gender, or academic. Officership is open equally to men and women. The invitation to Christ is for everyone, without exception. God has excluded no one.

However, the elephant in the room is, of course, the reality that some people still feel excluded by the Army. If, as General Clifton argued, being accepting and inclusive is an essential distinction of Salvationism, perhaps we need to rethink some things.

Distinctive 4 – Compassionate

Salvationism is the friend of the oppressed, if the underdog, of the abused. Or, at least it should be. It is biased toward the ‘lowest’ part of society.

The reality is that we haven’t always lived up to this calling. We have sometimes got into bed with the state. Or stayed too close to money and power. The Army is called to the suffering. We need to remember that.

The Army follows a working-class carpenter, Saviour. He leads us continually into the margins. Compassion is not a programme, it is our identity. In other words, we are a community of love. We need to act like it. Just imagine if every decision we made were prefaced by asking what the most loving thing to do in that situation was.

Distinctive 5 – Simple

The Army is committed and called to a simple life. No complicated liturgy, no sacramental rituals, no mystery for its own sake. Our worship meetings are simple, joyful, and open to everyone.

Salvationism rejoices in the immediate availability of divine grace. Its Doctrines are short, its worship direct, its ceremonies dignified without being elaborate. We do not stand on ceremony, and we do not put in a show for the sake of it.

Distinctive 6 – International

The Salvation Army is an international movement. This is not a chance of fate, nor is it an accident. It is fundamental to what it means to be the Army. But it is about more than just being a worldwide movement. It’s about how the Army sees people and nations.

Salvationism sees every person as a sibling under one Heavenly Father. It holds no race, culture, or nation as superior. Salvationists are citizens of the world before they are citizens of any country. Because they are first and foremost citizens of heaven. Bramwell Booth said, “All lands are my fatherland because all lands are my Father’s.” That must remain true for us today.

A Salvatinist should not be a nationalist and must place limits on their patriotism. The Salvatinist cannot be racist. Jesus died for the world, not just the part of it that looks like me.

Distinctive 7 – Visible

The Salvation Army must be a visible sign of God’s grace in the world. We act in public, standing in solidarity with the poor, the lost, and the broken. We cannot hide away, even if it would be advantageous to do so.

Invisible Salvationism is a contradiction. In word and deed, the Army is called to go to places that need the light of God. We can’t do that if we are scared, we’ll get a bit grubby in the process.

The uniform should be a witness to Christ and an announcement of availability to others. Too often, it becomes the mark of a club or is only ever worn for an hour on a Sunday.

Salvationism seeks to make a public profile, not for its own sake, but to punch beyond its numerical weight for God. This does not mean we must simply seek donors or avoid upsetting the powerful. Our position in public gives us the responsibility to loudly call out those people with privilege when they fail in their responsibility to love their neighbour.

Distinctive 8 – Audible

Salvationism must make the gospel heard. We are called to share the Good News of Jesus with the world. And specifically for the poor. The Gospel must be shouted over the noise that tells people they are not good enough, that they can be treated however the rich and powerful want.

The power of the Gospel must overcome the noise of this world. The Army is central to that task. Not for its own sake. But so that the voice of the lost can be heard.

The Army is called to be a voice for the voiceless. We must be willing to ask why people are hungry, homeless, or battered, not just hand out food. The Army is called to ask challenging questions. Not only to others, but to ourselves as well.

Silent Salvationism, like invisible Salvationism, is no Salvationism at all.

Distinctive 9 – Vulnerable

Clifton adds honesty to the recipe for Salvationism.

Salvationism, for all its strengths, is in human hands, and human hands are flawed. The Army is not perfect. We are sinners, our hands are stained with the pain of others.

Clifton identifies several real vulnerabilities for Salvationism. Numerical losses in the global north, uncertainty about Salvationist identity, the secularisation of staff, the blurring of what it means to be an Officer, and, most seriously,  a growing neglect of holiness teaching.

This is not despair. It is the kind of honest self-examination the Army needs to stay true to our calling. If we refuse to look at our own vulnerabilities, we will not be the Army that God can use to heal the world’s vulnerabilities.

We have to be accountable for our mistakes, honest about our challenges, and vulnerable enough to remember that we depend on Christ’s grace, not our own strength.

Compassionate Salvationism

Distinctive 4 is part of what liberation theologians call the preferential option for the poor. This is the conviction that God takes the side of those on the margins. Which means that the church is called to do the same.

Clifton quotes that Salvationists “have the smell of the streets on them.” For Clifton, this is an enormous compliment. The Army does not stand in isolation. Nor is it set apart in an ivory tower. Salvationist holiness does not mean separation from the world. It means commitment to the world.

Why are People Hungry?

Compassionate Salvationism does not simply treat symptoms. It asks why the needs exist. This is the move from social service to social action. The Army’s work is about more than accompanying people in their suffering. It includes challenging the systems that cause it. Clifton insists that the Army is called as much to social action as to social service.

This is a reclamation of the early Army, which had a Social Reform Wing rather than a Social Service department.

This is also the logic of the See–Judge–Act method, which underpins lots of the Army’s missional planning. Salvationism sees the reality of suffering clearly, judges it in the light of the gospel, and then acts.

We love our neighbour by feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. But we also love our neighbour by challenging corrupt and damaging systems and structures. This is the way of holiness.

Holiness at the Centre

Everything comes down to holiness.

Clifton wrote that holiness teaching is so central to the Army’s identity that Salvationism is an expression of sanctification. Without sanctification, there is no Salvation. Our commitment to Total Sanctification as the privilege of every believer is, for Clifton, the thing that most distinguishes the Army theologically from other denominations.

Holiness is not about perfection in a rigid sense. It is about the practical possibility of living like Jesus, day by day. It touches every corner of life. Including our work, relationships, money, and speech.

Sanctification is not an add-on to salvation. It is what salvation is moving toward. We see that in scripture:

For this is the will of God, your sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 4:3a (NRSV)

The End of Holiness Teaching?

However, Clifton is also honest about the danger facing the Army. Holiness teaching is becoming a neglected art.

Many Salvationists today would not be able to explain what “the blessing of a clean heart” means. This is not a small problem. It strikes at the movement’s identity. Without holiness, Salvationism falls apart. Recovering the courage to teach, preach, and live holiness is one of the most urgent tasks facing the Army today. Clifton wrote:

“Let our personal holiness be contagious. Let it be ‘Christ in you’, not something dull or restricting.”— General Shaw Clifton, New Love

Grasping Sanctification Simply

The word “sanctification” can feel abstract and heavy. Here is a simpler way to think about it. 

Sanctification is the ongoing work of God, making you more fully who you are. God wants to transform you into the self you were made to be, before sin got in the way. Sanctification removes the parts of you that keep you from being who God made you to be. It is a kind of healing. Healing which does not fix you, but helps you become whole.

Sanctification is not about trying harder. It is about letting God go deeper into our lives. Holiness doesn’t come from our effort. It is the gift of God, available for everyone.

The Army and Other Churches

The chapter closes with an official position statement authored by Clifton. It was used by the Army in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. It addresses a question that can make Salvationists uncomfortable.

Where do we sit in relation to the wider Christian family?

Clifton said that the Army does not stand apart from the church. It stands within the universal church. The Army is part of the whole community of all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. Not just now, but across every century and every tradition.

The Army’s local Corps are local churches. Commissioned Officers are ordained ministers of the Christian gospel.

What the Army Believes: The Army and the Churches

• The church universal comprises all true believers in Jesus Christ, regardless of structure or denomination.
• The Salvation Army is part of this universal church. It is a Christian denomination called into being and sustained by God.
• Denominational variety is not automatically against God’s will. Human responses to God’s dealings are imperfect and varied. We are all part of one body, even though we are different.
• The Army welcomes inter-church and ecumenical relationships in every country where it serves. It does not stand apart.
• The Army’s Corps are local churches; its Officers are ordained ministers, called by God and empowered by the Spirit. They are the equal of any other minister.

According to Clifton, the Army should be confident about its own distinctive calling. It does not need to apologise for its lack of sacraments, its freedom in worship, or its particular emphasis on holiness and social action.

The Army is Unique But Not Special

The Army should not use these distinctives as a reason for superiority. Every denomination, including the Army, has its imperfections.

This is a helpful posture for ecumenical life. The Army has something to offer to the other churches. Especially its emphasis on the immediate availability of grace, its commitment to the poor, and its classless welcome. But it also has something to receive. Ecumenicalism is a two-way process.

The Missio Dei is bigger than any single denomination.

God’s mission in the world is not the Army’s exclusive property. Other churches are not competitors. They are fellow participants in the same great work of the Go-Between God, the Holy Spirit, moving through every community that gathers in Christ’s name.

Conclusion

Chapter 1 of New Love offers the foundation for Salvationism. Salvationism is not a bureaucratic structure or a brand. It is a living, God-breathed expression of the gospel. Salvationism is realistic about sin, idealistic about grace, open to all, biased toward the poor, simple in form, international in scope, visible in the world, and loud in its advocacy.

It is also honest about its own weakness. We know we can do better and be better, and we work towards that goal.

The Army does not exist in isolation. It sits within the broader family of the universal church. It was raised up by God, and it is held by God. As Clifton puts it, the old wells of holiness, mission, covenant, and compassion still hold water. Returning to them is not nostalgia. It is faithfulness to who God has called us to be.

“From the heart of God we came. In the hands of God we are held. In the strength of God we trust.”— General Shaw Clifton, New Love

Source: Shaw Clifton, New Love: Thinking Aloud About Practical Holiness (Wellington: Flag Publications, The Salvation Army New Zealand Fiji and Tonga Territory, 2004), Chapter 1. Scripture quotations from the NRSV.

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