New Salvation Army commanders offer safety net for families, youth
It may well be that music hath charms to soothe the savage beast, but it didn’t help Doug McClure dodge his destiny — serving in the Salvation Army.
“I’m sixth-generation (Salvation Army),” he said, “but this was the last thing I wanted to do.”
McClure and his wife, Storm, are majors in the Salvation Army and its new Chattanooga-area commanders, overseeing an area taking in Hamilton, Bradley, Marion, Meigs, Polk and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee and Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties in Georgia. Doug McClure estimated that the ministry’s 59 area employees stand to affect “about 20,000 lives in this footprint” in a given year.
But following the footprints made in the Salvation Army by five generations of his family wasn’t what McClure had in mind.
“I wanted to be a musician,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “I got my undergraduate degree in music theory and composition. I really wanted to be involved in that work, but I found there are holes in you that don’t get filled in sometimes.”
McClure said he came to feel that he wasn’t where “God wanted me to be.” He’d been anti-Salvation Army so long, he said, that it shocked his parents when he told them of his change of heart.
“My wife and I have been married 20 years,” he said. “We were assigned together the day we got married, but my mom and dad still ask sometimes if I’m sure.”
McClure said his wife’s story is a little different. Storm, a native West Virginian, grew up loving the work of the Salvation Army but swerved in high
school and wound up joining the U.S. Army. She returned to the Salvation Army after an injury cut short her military career.
According to its website, the Salvation Army was launched in 1865 by William Booth, an Englishman who walked and preached in the streets of London, seeking to help individuals who were unwilling to attend traditional church services. Today, the Salvation Army serves in more than 100 countries worldwide.
“To my mind,” Doug McClure said, “the Salvation Army is a unique, faith-based arm of the Christian church. We are our own denomination — we’re Salvationists.
“I see the Salvation Army as a safety net for people who can’t afford a utility payment, need help with a kid after school or don’t know where their next meal is coming from — before they hit bottom,” he said. “We can’t catch everyone, but our fundamental place, our niche, is helping people in an emergency.”
McClure said he and his wife are not unfamiliar with the Chattanooga area generally, having served in Dalton. He said he and his wife have also been stationed in Georgia at Albany, Augusta, Cartersville and Rome.
He said “building faith” and raising the Salvation Army’s profile in the community are two priorities he and his wife have as they start their run. Establishing programs for families is another, he said.
“We have several programs based on individuals, so we really want to focus on families,” he said, “and the definition of family is evolving, so we need to change how we serve.”
McClure spoke enthusiastically about “two exciting programs — Thrive and the School of Excellence” that the Chattanooga-area command launched in August.
He said Thrive is a youngadult outreach program wherein teens can come in and “just be themselves” in ways that range from playing games to worship to service projects. He said the School of Excellence involves volunteers who are professional and semiprofessional performing artists helping kids find “what might be a good fit” in terms of expressing themselves.
“We’re trying to meet the needs of those young adults,” he said, adding that Thrive meets Monday nights in Hamilton and Bradley counties, while the School of Excellence convenes Tuesdays in Hamilton County and Thursdays in Bradley County.
And if there’s a conversation about the Salvation Army, McClure said, it’s got to include one of the best-known holidayseason staples.
“Christmas is coming,” he said. “Kettles will be out the second week of November.”