Ever heard of FOMO? If not, it’s an acronym for: fear of missing out. If you’re like me, you missed Boundless and suffered from serious FOMO. It seemed like everyone I’m Facebook friends with was there. Which truly made me happy for each of them and thankful that I could get a glimpse of their experience and feel like, in just a little way, I was there.  Here are a few words to sum up my Facebook feed, and I have a feeling it sums up yours too:
The London Eye
Big Ben
Confetti 
Blue, Red & Yellow everything
Salvation Army Uniforms
The Eiffel Tower
Buckingham Palace
The Salvation Army Shield
Red Telephone Booths
Joyful Faces
and many more!
But now what? Our church just had it’s biggest celebration to date – but what’s next? What do we do to get to 175 years or 200 years? Does it even matter? gasp! Hold tight as I expand….and let’s head to scripture:

The Greatest Commandment: ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22: 37 -40
The Great Commission: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19

Again, if you’re like me and many of you are, the Salvation Army is where God placed you. You were either born into or brought into it in some capacity, and here you are by God’s hand. But lately we’ve seen more and more people and families leave or we see more continue to misunderstand our role as a church. This is a reality we must not deny, and we must come to terms with it. But what do we do? Is the answer obvious? Or is it something sneaky and hiding and not so clear. Some of us feel we know but don’t know what to do, and some of us  have no idea and also don’t know what to do.
What we learn from the book of Matthew is to: 
– Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
– Love your neighbor as yourself.
– Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of The Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
If we’re missing out on any of these commandments, we’ve found our answer. 
If we love ourselves, our Army, our ministry, another person more than we love God – we’re falling short.
If we’re not loving our neighbors (see who Jesus means by neighbor by reading Luke 10:25-37) – we’re falling short.
If we’re not making disciples ( committed followers of Jesus) – we’re falling short.
I believe if we focus on growing the Kingdom of God, fulfilling these great commandments and great commissions – the Salvation Army as a church will be an unstopped force for Jesus. If we get caught worrying about, and worshiping sacred traditions – we will lose focus on what God calls us to, focusing solely on what man calls us to do.
 Commissioner Sue Swanson once used an illustration about trying to hold sand in your hand. The tighter you squeeze the sand the quicker and faster you lose it. It will pour out of your hand. But when you hold the sand with a calm, open palm the sand doesn’t move.
I pray that our church wouldn’t squeeze tight to traditions, sacred systems and expectations because I don’t want this church to stop. God brought us here and if we keep this great commandants and commissions surely He will be with us always, to the very end of the age.

Check out the blog post from the Central Territory World Missions Department where they list the top 5 moments of Boundless. Click HERE.

Photos from Boundless Flickr.

 To stay up-to-date on Salvation Army news and happenings, follow our Facebook page by clicking “Like” below.