Interview: Moderator of the Free Churches, Commissioner Betty Matear

The Salvation Army's Commissioner Betty Matear became the first Salvationist to hold the office of Moderator of the Free Churches when she was inducted last week.

|PIC1|She succeeds the President of the Baptist World Alliance, the Rev David Coffey, and will now be the 'public face' of the Free Churches' 21 member denominations for the next four years.

Commissioner Matear shared her thoughts with Christian Today about the exciting new challenge facing her as Moderator of the Free Churches.


CT: You're the first Salvationist to hold the office of Moderator of the Free Churches. How do you feel about that?

BM: I guess the first two words would just be privileged and honoured. It's as short an answer as that, but with real depth. It's a huge honour.

When I was first approached about becoming Moderator we were just concluding five years of ministry in the Caribbean and we were appointed back to the United Kingdom with the Republic of Ireland. And it felt like confirmation that we were going back to our homeland and God was saying expand your boundaries, reach out to other churches, reach beyond that, into the community.

For me it was confirmation that we are together in mission and I just feel that's very pleasing to God.

CT: You said at your induction that your predecessor, Rev David Coffey, has left very big shoes for you to fill. Are you daunted by the prospect or excited?

BM: Yes and yes! Daunted and excited. He is a very special person. He has left an excellent legacy. But there is a sense in which you can't embark on this assuming that anything you bring by way of qualification or lack of is what it's about. It really is God who must undertake and that's the way I've had to approach every appointment and I've had to do it with this one as well. But I'm so glad that David has been there and I hope he might just be in the wings!





|PIC2|CT: You spoke also about going beyond denominational labels. Now you will head 21 different denominations as Moderator of the Free Churches. Do you see any challenges in that?

BM: Twenty-one denominations are still distinctive and they have matured according to their history and their tradition and that is important just as The Salvation Army has. And I would want to say to people, 'Be confident in who you are because God has a role for you.'

A phrase that may be devalued is unity in diversity but we each have something important to contribute and in the body model none is more important than the other. But we really have to fulfil under God the commission He has given to us, which for everyone is to be outward looking to the world.

CT: You will meet with other Presidents of the Churches Together in England and you will discuss various issues affecting the church at the moment. Is there any particular issue you want to raise with them?

BM: I think we need to be confident in who we are. I obviously come from a background in The Salvation Army and we would always want to say that we have to be a serving church and we have to have an eye to the Gospel, for the poor - not just the economically poor but the poor in the widest sense. Sometimes the biggest poverty is the poverty of the spirit.

In recent months one of our focuses has been to look at human trafficking, which is really not something we have looked for, but the agenda has been presented to us. It connects with our spiritual DNA. In our beginnings we campaigned on that very evil and this has re-emerged in these days. We couldn't ignore it and so we have been active in that.

It doesn't mean that every church has got to do the same thing but there is a sense in which where we can, we stand in the gap for one another. And that, because it is on my everyday agenda, will inevitably filter into my role as Moderator. And I believe other people will respond to it and just feel that someone is doing something.








CT: You head up the Women's Ministries within The Salvation Army. Is human trafficking something you have looked at within that capacity?

BM: Yes, that is part of what I look at in Women's Ministries, and also traditional families and those that are not traditional. Families are under threat and I truly believe that strong families make for strong communities, so we can't ignore that.

Truth and experience tell us that often if we work through the women things happen. It sounds very feminist, it's not intended to be, but it's true. In our international experience we've known that very often it's been the woman that has pulled the family out of poverty. And it's very important that we get resources and training down to the grassroots level. It's not about organisation or anything; it's just about empowering people who are at the bottom.

The women's ministries and family ministries are really important. Our children can really be shortchanged in this society and we have to treat them as precious.

CT: You've spoken already about how your role in The Salvation Army will filter into your role as Moderator of the Free Churches but, conversely, how do you see your role as Moderator impacting on your work in The Salvation Army?

BM: Well, it's interesting. The Salvationists in this territory are excited at the prospect. I think it's wonderful for them to have one of their leaders as Moderator. It's a confidence builder for them. At the local level there has always been good participation and good partnership among the churches and that is a strength.

But it has to happen on two or three levels; one at national leadership level with the church leaders; then at a local level; and at an individual level, so that individual Christians connect with one another without feeling the need to defend themselves and can really enrich one another. It will be a stretch in terms of time and resources but you have to balance that.

CT: Finally, we are in the lead-up to Pentecost. What are you reflecting on during this period?

BM: Pentecost is more than a date in the calendar. It's an experience of God's Spirit in our lives. There is a journey from Easter to Pentecost and God's work in our lives is constant. At Easter we can know we are forgiven and know new life in Christ. At Pentecost we can know the Spirit's empowering and much more than that, we can know an empowering for a purpose, empowering to be sent, to go, and to work out God's commission. That's Pentecost. More than a date in the calendar, it's a real experience.

CT: And you are answering that call now, to be sent and to go?

BM: Yes. God always enlarges our boundaries. There is always something more that he has in store. There is a verse in the Bible that says we have to ask beyond our imaginings. What a wonderful prospect, isn't it?


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