Courage, strength and wisdom: the prayer requests of John and Lani
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
It’s been four months since Colonels John and Lani Chamness touched down on Australian soil – John serving as Chief Secretary and Lani as Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries & Territorial Secretary for Leader Development (Officer). After much fanfare and a host of welcome meetings, the couple sat down with Salvos Online journalist LAUREN MARTIN to talk about the reason they believe God called them to the ‘land down under’.
It’s easy to like John and Lani Chamness. They smile readily and laugh often, and there’s a familiarity about them that is instantly inviting.
The Salvation Army officer couple from the USA Western Territory love thrifting, exploring and listening to true-crime podcasts. They hardly ever talk ‘shop’ at home and have each developed their own creative ways to commune with God and process the day’s ministry load – Lani sits with her guitar, writing, playing and singing; and John heads outside for a jog.
As we sit and eat lunch together on the balcony of The Salvation Army’s Territorial Headquarters in Sydney, there’s very little pomp and ceremony. It’s not until they start to speak about their roles, the challenges they’re facing, and the work they believe God has set before them that the reality of their senior leadership positions is felt.
John becomes incredibly focused and passionate. His speech quickens. Lani is serious and just as focused. Her responses slow down, and her eyes become thoughtful.
“We feel very hopeful for greater things God will do through The Salvation Army here in Australia,” says Lani. “We support Miriam 100 per cent. [Commissioner Miriam Gluyas, Territorial Commander of The Salvation Army Australia.] She is an amazing leader, she is brave and courageous, and I’m grateful to be serving alongside her. I see myself as coming in, to really offer encouragement, to those on the field, to those that I work alongside.”
John echoes the sentiment, saying that they both strongly believe Miriam’s leadership is a divine appointment for the Army in Australia at this time, with her ‘Jesus-centred, Spirit-Led, hope revealed’ mandate: “Jesus should be central in all that we do. Everything, from thrift stores, Salvo Stores, to our enterprises. We are a holiness movement. So, we need to be filled and led by the Spirit and then to [reveal hope].”
Supporting Miriam and the vision laid out for The Salvation Army’s future in Australia is what John and Lani firmly believe God has called them to do in this Territory. But they know it won’t be easy.
“I think every visionary needs somebody to come alongside and help them to hold up their arms,” John says, referencing the Battle of Rephidim in the Book of Exodus, when Moses needed Aaron and Hur to hold up his arms, in order for the Israelites to prevail. Sometimes, it seems, leading a Salvation Army territory can be like being in battle.
“She sees what God is trying to do, and she listens to God carefully,” says John. “We need Miriam right now in our Salvation Army here in Australia. She's absolutely central to us being brought back to who we are, who God has called us to be.”
“Our international mission statement is pretty simple: to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs in his name without discrimination. And so, how do we go about really fulfilling that mission? If an activity or program isn’t leading to the proclaiming of the Gospel, should we consider whether it should continue?”
“If we’re true to what we’re called to do and be … we will experience difficult challenges.”
It’s an area of focus that John returns to time and again in our chat. He says he’s not a ‘details’ person, but his alignment with The Salvation Army’s mission and purpose is so strong that it makes him highly attuned to any deviation. “The thing that I always worry about is mission-drift, mission-slip. And I think we're really good at that in The Salvation Army, because we want to help everybody, but I think God has called The Salvation Army to some really specific things. And I think it's when we get away from those things, that we begin diluting what we do and the impact that we can have.”
Which is why John and Lani have spent the last three months asking questions. What do we do here in The Salvation Army Australia? Why do we do the things we do? Are there things we are doing that other organisations or even companies can do, and do better than us, that we may need to let go? And if we’re not speaking ‘Jesus’ in the places and spaces that proclaim to be Salvation Army, then potentially some difficult decisions are coming about whether or not we continue those services.
“If we’re true to what we’re called to do and be … we will experience difficult challenges. At some point, I think we need to say, ‘This is who we are, and this is what we're about.’ And we have to trust God,” says John. And, he adds, it’s up to all Salvationists to be brave.
“Is this The Salvation Army’s Gideon moment here in Australia [Judges Chapter 7], where we'll bring the 10,000 down to the river, but only 300 will actually end up going with Gideon into the battle? It may be that we are at our Gideon moment, and people have to make a decision, ‘Am I with Jesus? And if I'm with Jesus, what does that mean? What does it look like?’”
He’s calling on soldiers, adherents and congregation members of Salvation Army corps to be brave and proclaim the good news of Jesus to those in our communities who don’t yet know Him. “We somehow have to recapture that passion to speak to people about their need for Jesus. Our voices are important in our community. Australia needs The Salvation Army.”
In her role as Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries, Lani is reawakening a ministry stream that has always been operational within The Salvation Army in Australia.
“The women here are incredible, and there are many strong ministries serving women across the Territory. Lieutenant-Colonel Debra Stevens and I are working together to reconnect, rebuild, and encourage women in ministry, while exploring opportunities to revitalise and strengthen this important work. Ministry to women has always been a vital part of The Salvation Army’s identity.”
She says she’s also working to bring more focus back to the officer covenant in her other role as Territorial Secretary for Leader Development (officer), “to bring awareness and refreshment to the officers because officers can drift as well.”
The drift she’s referring to is a ‘theological drift’ that both John and Lani say they’ve seen across the Western Church, with Lani moving to place more focus for officers on The Salvation Army’s Wesleyan Theology. “There's some opportunities for officers to really find encouragement and flourishing in their ministry and their leadership,” and she’s working on how to develop that space more in order to keep The Salvation Army Australia’s officers strong in their relationship with Jesus and strong in their focus on the mission.
John and Lani believe that Australian Salvationists have an incredible opportunity to innovate what corps life looks like and to return to our roots as a mobile Army that expands and springs up wherever there is a ‘Salvo’ in an area of the community, among people who are passionate enough to speak ‘Jesus’ to the people around them.
Lani, who has a gift for ministering to others through singing and playing her guitar, has almost finished a song for the Australia Territory. It is titled We Will Be Jesus.
May it be so.
