Rethinking Calling
YouthDownSouth interviews Russell Rook,
founder of
ChapelSt, an
organization reimagining renewal and
regeneration for the church in
community.
YDS: Please tell us a little bit
about yourself – in particular please
tell us your testimony.
RR:
Hi, I’m Russ, I’m married to Charlotte
and have two kids Joe and Toby. I am a
fetal Salvationist, my grandparents were
officers and, as a kid I attended a
large-ish corps in Southsea on the south
coast of England. Like many, faith was
always in my life, at least in the
background but came alive to me most
when I was 18 and interned with The
Salvation Army prior to going to
college. It was then that I figured out
that God really did know what he was
doing with my life.
YDS:
Why are you a member of The Salvation
Army?
RR:
Wow! What a question! Because that’s
where God put me in the first place,
where my family chose for me in my
formative years and because it’s where
I’ve chosen to be since. I suspect there
is no one collecting reason however I do
retain this one sometimes seemingly
illogical belief that this weird and
wonderful little movement for all its
quirkiness has the most incredible
ability to change the world.
YDS:
How did you first come into contact with
the SA?
RR:
As I said, in one way, when I was in the
womb! That said I didn’t really get it
until I was 18 and had the privilege of
seeing what we do among the last, the
lost and the least. That’s when I first
saw the real Salvation Army.
YDS:
What do you believe it means to “be
called”?
RR:
It means knowing that God has made and
chosen you to know him and belong to
him. Beyond that, my feelings about a
specific call have changed greatly over
time. To sum it up, I think God allows
us a lot more freedom than we give him
credit. Presumably God had great reasons
to give humans free will and it causes
him some delight to see us exercise
that. For me, there are times when I
knew God was asking me to do something
but most days it comes down to the fact
that as you get to know him better you
get to know what he wants to do in a
situation and you make it your call to
do that.
YDS:
Do you believe that you are called?
RR:
Yes, absolutely but I believe that it’s
as much my call as it is his.
YDS:
What are your top 5 favorite
Salvationists of all time?
RR:
Couldn’t possibly cut the list to five
and if I did you wouldn’t have heard of
them anyway. I think the celebrity/hero
status thing is a huge distraction and
mistake. Being part of The Salvation
Army has meant that many of my greatest
heroes are my personal friends and
fortunately I have loads of them.
YDS: If you were to give words of
advice to a young adult to figure out
what God wants him/her to do in life,
what would you say?
RR:
Get to know God really well and then
you’ll know the kind of things he wants
you to do.
YDS:
What ultimately lead you to the
profession you are in today?
RR:
A belief that the local church is the
hope of the world and that The Salvation
Army has a unique role to play in that.
YDS:
What is the most successful thing you
have accomplished as a professional?
RR:
I’m not sure I feel that I’ve
accomplished much. Anything I could
claim would involve me robbing the
credit from the guys that really made it
happen. When I look at people and
leaders that I have had the privilege of
learning from and serving alongside then
I feel proud and incredibly blessed.
YDS:
What is your take on ministry as it
relates to your career?
RR:
There is just no line to draw. I get out
of bed in the morning as a full-time
soldier in The Salvation Army and go to
bed at night to rest for another day on
the frontline. My life is one big
ministerial mess!
YDS:
What is your favorite Scripture verse?
RR:
Again, I couldn’t pick one verse. I have
a love affair with Isaiah! Particularly
chapters 40-55. The prophets that wrote
these songs reinvented and re-imagined
biblical faith. In a really difficult
time and place they became Israel, God’s
chosen people, in a whole new way. They
changed the world forever and wrote
sermons for Jesus in the process. I
think it’s one of the most relevant
parts of Scripture for our time.
YDS:
If you could give words of wisdom to our
readers, what would you say?
RR: I
would leave the words that I read in my
prayer time this morning, “Here I am
Lord, I’ve come to do your will. Here I
am Lord, in your presence I’m still.”
 |
Russell Rook, founder of
ChapelSt, an
organization
reimagining renewal and
regeneration for the church in
community.
|
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