Captain Christian Blaire

I tend to get bored easily, so one of the things that I love about The Salvation Army, and ministry in general, is that I have no idea how my day will turn out. I could have my daily agenda all set and ready, and a new crisis that needs us to be there to minister will appear at our door. But in that unpredictability, you see just how faithful God is. While dropping off some children from our church in a hotel, I ran into a man with whom I’ve had a few conversations in the past. He was having a mental breakdown. When I walked into his hotel room to talk to him, it was full of weapons, knives and machetes. When you see something like that, you start asking yourself the hard questions: Do I get anyone involved? How do I get this man help immediately so he doesn’t harm himself or others? The first thing we did is pray together. This got us to a level of comfort where we could talk. After that, he agreed to talk to the police, and eventually, everything ended peacefully. It’s times like those where we see how unprepared we are, and how amazing God is. Before we do anything in ministry, we must invite Him into the situation, because there is nothing special about us as pastors. All healing comes from God.

Matthew 9:12–13 is the verse that brought me to Christ. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” If we are serious about ministry, that is what our corps should be: full of people who are sick. Everyone that comes to us should expect to receive help. And the help isn’t just a box of food. It’s a call to righteousness, repentance, and salvation. When Jesus says that His desire isn’t sacrifice, but rather mercy, it means that my job isn’t to tell others that they must give up a bunch of stuff in their lives. It’s about telling them that they need to know Jesus themselves, so He can then work within their lives.

Captain Kiara Blaire

As a child, I felt alone, like I didn’t have anyone that I could turn to. But as a pastor, I get to be the person that shows up for others and the one they can turn to. I let them know there are people who care for them and want to listen to what they have to say. And the most important part of that role is that I can also point them to God, who loves them and will never forsake them or leave their side. Having other people in your life is important, but even more important is having God with you. He loves you more than anyone ever will, and with Him, you will never face anything alone.

My husband and I took a course together where we read a book called The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb. The book was about leading from weakness, which is different than any other book I had ever heard written on leadership. Aren’t we always supposed to lead with our strengths? But when you lead from weakness, you tend to lean on the Lord instead of yourself and your strengths. Because of that, I cling to 2 Corinthians 12:9. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” If I always look toward my strengths or what I think I’m best at, I’m not allowing the Lord to lead in what He wants to happen. I choose to lead by being weak, because I need to let the Lord shine His light.

While there are many scriptures that have spoken into my own story, the life scripture that has been a thread in my spiritual formation for many years is Hebrews 12:1–3: “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. … So that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”