THE

SALVATION SINGERS

A God-BEAT In Time1964-65

JOE NOLAND

~GOD-SIGNS~“Catching the NEW BEAT!”

“You dig it?” General Frederick Coutts

(Dec. 1963)

EXTRA!

openingcredits

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes (Romans 11:32-34 The Message).

Producer/Director

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4vf8N6GpdM

WARNING!As this presentation has not been “professionally” edited, and because I work from the creative side of my brain (not the pedantic, punctilious, perfectionist left side), I would strongly advise that all you “lefties” view the following video before venturing on, as I don’t want to be responsible for any dangling participles (I think you “righties” might get a kick out of it too).

Mission Always Trumps Method~Hopefully~

The 1960’s1963 was the year I and my “Salvation Singers” compadres entered The Salvation Army School for Officer’s training in San Francisco, California, newly embroidered Cadet trim on our shoulders.

The 1960’s were turbulent years in America. Jefferson Airplane co-founder Paul Kantner said: "If you can remember anything about the sixties, you weren't really there," this because of the rampant drug use associated with the counter-culture of that era. It was a decade that spawned the counterculture/social revolution, anti-war, Civil Rights, Chicano and New Left Movements. In a piece titled, “American Cultural History 1960-69,” the following is noted:

“The movement away from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in revolutionary ways of thinking and real change in the cultural fabric of American life. No longer content to be images of the generation ahead of them, young people wanted change. The changes affected education, values, lifestyles, laws, and entertainment. Many of the revolutionary ideas which began in the sixties are continuing to evolve today.”

In fact, out of this culture emerged “The Jesus Movement,” the major Christian element of the hippie counterculture, referred to as the “Jesus people” or “Jesus freaks.”

Not surprisingly, the movement arose on the West Coast of the United States where we found ourselves smack-dab in the middle of that uprising.

We were privileged to experience this period in the prime of life, menacing, yet challenging and exciting in many ways. These four soldiers were thrust head-first, ominously, providentially and promisingly, into the “BEAT” of it all to create “God-signs…” even in spite of ourselves.

God signs? The Salvation Singers? Read on and the heretofore “It’s A Hidden Secret” will become “It’s An Open Secret” - A BEAT In Time, 1964-65. Included is a Primer designed to help the reader creatively “catch the new beat” - recognizing, identifying and originating “God-Signs” in the present future.

The high priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish ruling body. “What do we do now?” they asked. “This man keeps on doing things, creating God-signs (John 11: 1 The Message).

Discerning God-SignsThe Petitioning Phase

STOP purposefully. 1.Scheduled devotional time daily (first thing in morning for me).2.Continuously: “Devotions on the go.”

LOOK expectantly. 1.“Show me, Lord,” part of every petition.2.With “expectancy” comes “clarity.”

LISTEN deliberately. 1.Attuning the inner ear, meditatively. 2.Attentive, listening for that small, still voice (1 Kings 19:11-13).

“Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”

“So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Creating God-SignsThe Action Phase

MARK your starting point.1.Establish the boundaries.2.Identify your passion.

SET your goals. 1.Stay centered.2.Keep focused.

GO and create.1.Determine the need.2.Fill it creatively. “Draw a line around the breadth of population you can hope to reach, and make that your parish, and aim, with tears and prayers, and the trumpet-blast of the Gospel, to christianize every soul within it” - William Booth.

“God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the impossible” - William Booth.

“When needs are great, creativity soars. Look out!” - Happy Musings.

REWIND

London East End - 1865

White Chapel Road (The Blind Beggar) Mile End Road

It was here where William Booth preached his first independent sermon, leading to the birth of The Salvation Army. A seminal beat in time, The Blind Beggar represented a sign of the changing times, fueled by the Industrial Revolution. This pub, with its growing, infamous congregation, was a God-sign signaling the Army founder’s to 1) STOP purposely 2) LOOK expectantly 3) LISTEN deliberately. Think Catherine Booth’s, NEVER!, as a preemptive God-sign.

This beat in time 4) MARKED their starting point 5) SET their priorities 6) to GO on from there and create God-signs galore!

“When Booth heardit, he went out

and stood at theentrance of theBlind Beggar.”

What are youdoing here,William?

The Barbary coast - 1860San Francisco

Shaded Area: Parish

In 1860 this San Francisco quarter (outlined) became known as “The Barbary Coast,” taken from the name of the coast of North Africa where Arab pirates attacked Mediterranean ships. Lights and Shades of San Francisco (Lloyd, Benjamin Estelle), written in 1876, describes it thusly:

"The Barbary Coast is the haunt of the low and the vile of every kind. The petty thief, the house burglar, the tramp, the whoremonger, lewd women, cutthroats, murderers, all are found here. Dance-halls and concert-saloons, where blear-eyed men and faded women drink vile liquor, smoke offensive tobacco, engage in vulgar conduct, sing obscene songs and say and do everything to heap upon themselves more degradation, are numerous. Low gambling houses, thronged with riot-loving rowdies, in all stages of intoxication, are there. Opium dens, where heathen Chinese and God-forsaken men and women are sprawled in miscellaneous confusion, disgustingly drowsy or completely overcome, are there. Licentiousness, debauchery, pollution, loathsome disease, insanity from dissipation, misery, poverty, wealth, profanity, blasphemy, and death, are there. And Hell, yawning to receive the putrid mass, is there also."

https://archive.org/details/lightsshadesinsa00lloy

JOE THE TURK - 1887

Out of this “yawning hell,” enter Joseph Garabed, alias, “Joe the Turk,” who had a shoe repair shop at 48 Sacramento Street in the Barbary Coast. Historians tell us that, “…he was a heavy drinker and smoker and had a reputation as a savage brawler.”

Interestingly enough, it was here where he met The Salvation Army and was eventually led to the Lord by Captain John Milsaps… “From that time on he acted as a self-appointed guardian, protecting the Army from hoodlums when they marched through the streets.” His evangelical antics are legendary.

Novelty was his trademark, including the wearing of a turban or fez with his uniform, which usually was bright red with a gold braid. Considered a misfit by many, the God-given fool within was translated into power, wisdom and salvation, winning the right to unleash that divine foolishness on street corners everywhere: “57 times to jail for Jesus” his battle cry.

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 21-22).

STOP. LOOK. LISTEN.

“So it was, when Joe heard it, that he wrapped his head in his turban and went out and stood in The Barbary Coast. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Joseph?”

GOD-SIGN: The Salvation Army

MARK: The Barbary Coast. SET: The street corner. GO: 57 times to jail for Jesus.

A Beat In Time

FAST-FORWARD

“At this critical historic juncture, with the nation still recovering from the McCarthy era, the Civil Rights Movement taking shape, the Cold War heating up and a nascent spirit of activism in the air, Peter Yarrow, Noel (Paul) Stookey and Mary Travers came together to juxtapose these cross currents and thus to reclaim folk's potency as a social, cultural and political force. But few at the time could have realized how fervently and pervasively the group's message of humanity, hope and activism would be embraced.”

http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/history/f-bio.htm

Peter, Paul & Mary - 1962https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si3fl-XHzJ8

The Beatles...are beginning to make a rebellious noise on the other side of the pond during this time, non-traditional in look and sound (God forbid!).

London - 1963

Frederick Coutts at age 64, in his first press conference after being elected General, told startled London reporters: "I am going to get with it. Oh my, yes. If we want to attract young folk, we have to go where they are, to the coffee bars, to their haunts. I can see us making use of all kinds of music—guitars and banjos, and that sort of thing. If we have to adapt to be understood by the beardies and weirdies, all right, we must. We have to get with it. You dig me?"

Out of this right thinking evolved The Joy Strings, Take Over Bid (The Musical) by Gowans and Larsson and The Salvation Singers among other contemporary innovations. Had Coutts not been The General, listening for God-signs, one can only wonder.

Who are The Salvation Singers? I hear you thinking. Never heard of them! Not to worry, the answers, my friend, are blowin’ in the wind... as these pages unfold.

And who would patch an old garment with unshrunk cloth? For the patch would tear away and make the hole worse. And who would use old wineskins to store new wine? For the old skins would burst with the pressure, and the wine would be spilled and skins ruined. Only new wineskins are used to store new wine. That way both are preserved (Matt 9:16-17 TLB).

Dig it?

Beatles Take America - 1964http://life.time.com/culture/the-beatles-in-america-1964/#end

There was a lull in time. The antics of Joe the Turk, and other like-minded spiritual fools had faded into antiquity. Elvis, a product of the 50’s, though still popular, wasn’t totally attuned to the counter culture of the 60’s. Enter The Beatles, with a look, sound and style, appealing to the ever increasing rebellious spirit - heavy on style, but short on substance. This emerging BEAT generation was looking for the genuineness of a message that ran deeper.

Peter, Paul & Mary...begin to fill that deeper need with a message of “humanity, hope and act-ivism, reclaiming folk music’s potency as a social, cultural and political force.”

Quoting from an AP article, “And they were vehement in their opposition to the Vietnam War, managing to stay true to their liberal beliefs while creating music that resonated in the American mainstream… “Blowin’ in the Wind” became another civil rights anthem.. They marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Ala., and performed with him in Washington.”

“Blowin’ In The Wind,” poses a series of rhetorical questions about peace, war and freedom. The refrain answers the questions, “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.”

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” is a simple poem about the futility of war. There are flowers in the field. The young girls pick them. The young girls marry. The husbands go to war, and are killed. There are flowers in the field again. The message that is given is that war is useless (futile). The poet asks :

"When will they ever learn?"

Which means that when will they ever learn to stop fighting and live in peace? (Answers.com).

“If I Had A Hammer,” became another anthem for racial equality. Those who stood firm and tall for this and all equality issues then and now, speaking and singing out against every form of inhumanity, were/are labeled “liberals.” And this author is proud to be counted among them.

PERFECTTIMING

God’s timing is always perfect. Frederick Coutts election to General, Dec. 1963, is a case in point. If the Army ever needed a progressive thinker, it was even more so in the early part of this unprecedented youth “uprising” decade. Nor could the timing have been better for our entry into The Salvation Army School for Officers Training, and in San Francisco of all places. The two following quotes are descriptive of the time:

“The torch of freedom passed from the Beats and North Beach to the hippies and Haight-Ashbury, but it was a radically different torch. The hippies replaced the Beats' angst, anarchy, negativism, nihilism, alcohol, and poetry with love, communalism, openness, drugs, rock music, and a back-to-nature philosophy. Although the scent of marijuana wafted everywhere -- on the streets, in the cafes, in Golden Gate Park -- the real drugs of choice were LSD (a tab of good acid cost $5) and other hallucinogenics. Timothy Leary experimented with its effects and exhorted youth to ‘turn on, tune in, and drop out.’"

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/san-francisco/666205

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out!

“From 1964 to 1968, there swelled a gigantic wave of cultural and political change that swept first San Francisco, then the whole United States, and then the world. What was fermenting in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco was a powerful brew that would ultimately stop a war.”

http://www.rockument.com/haimg.html

Can you imagine, as a still “wet-behind-the-ears” 26-year-old cadet, being thrust onto the streets of San Francisco during this chaotic, yet opportunistic time? And thrust we were, but instructed in the conventional, old-fashioned ways: button-holing, brass bands, and traditional open-airs on the corner of Market, Powell and Eddy, fully dressed in high-collar uniform, tambourines banging, fire and brimstone sermons echoing forth, often times with nary a soul listening.

On one occasion we did get heads to turn our way. The cadet band lined up a distance away on Powell Street, me on euphonium. As the band started its march, a cadet barker, using a carnival-like patter, began to implore the crowds to gather. As the march approached Market Street, band playing, “I’ll Gird on the Armour,” the cadet announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, gather right here and you will experience the show of your life!”

At that perfectly timed moment, a somewhat inebriated woman jumped out in front of the march and began taking off her clothing, burlesque style, until blushingly naked.

One-by-one, horns fell away and mouths dropped open, save one. A lone tuba player continued to blare away, missing the whole show, hidden behind his horn. Yes, this was one of those rare times when we had an interested, captive audience. Alas they too, soon fading into the night as the excitement waned and the preaching accelerated.

All of this whilst North Beach was teaming with the counter-culture “drop outs” who were seeking “love, communalism, openness,” a congregation made to order for Booth’s influenced, trademarked style - incarnational, compassionate and adaptable. No way were we going to reach them with a brass band (“held captive by the culture of another day”).

North Beach and environs became my haunt during free days. I knew instinctively that The Salvation Army should be there reaching this culture, but had no idea how to begin. Folk music was the flavor of the day: Bob Dylan (“Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are a-Changin’”), The Kingston Trio (“Lemon Tree,” “Tom Dooley”), The Back Porch Majority (“Walk the Road”), Woody Guthrie (“This Land is Your Land”), Peter, Paul and Mary (“Puff the Magic Dragon”), to name a few.

I can’t tell you how it happened; all I can tell you is that a gradual Holy Spirit inspired osmosis occurred in me, beginning with Frederick Coutt’s startling, “You dig me?” pronouncement.

His words were a God-sign, resonating fully with the longing and desire of this free spirit’s heart. September, 1964 - June 1965 (Centennial Year of The Salvation Army), putting into practice what we heard, saw and realized, God began to work His harmonies together in unprecedented and miraculous ways.

Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies (Philippians. 4:9 The Message).

ACTION!

The Salvation Singers - 1964It was Holy Spirit directed no doubt about it. Doris Tobin was an obvious choice, with a low melodic, Karen Carpenter-like voice, ukulele in tow. Ron Bawden had no equal on the guitar, his tenor voice blending perfectly. Cliff Lloyd brought a deep, resonant sound, uniquely rounding out the trio of voices; his periodic harmonica soliloquies adding a folksy quality to their distinctive sound.

More miraculous was Joe Noland, nary a musical bone in his body, strumming on the bass fiddle. Doris and Ron marked the neck of the fiddle where, with much practice, the not so nimble fingers mechanically found their mark, mostly. When they strayed and the notes went flat, a swift, silent kick from Doris sent said fingers searching for their proper mark. After one particular gig, one of an ever growing cadre of groupies was overheard to say, “He is by far the best bass fiddler I have ever heard.” Ah yes, it was Holy Spirit directed indeed.

Sometime mid-1964, in response to Coutt’s prophetic vision, “The Salvation Singers” was born. The Salvation Army in San Francisco, taking its cue from the quintessential Prophet, was about to become relevant again with its own uniquely inspired “protest movement.”

Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelations. 19:10 NIV)

“Go For It!”To hear those two lyrical words, voiced by the Field Training Officer, was sweet music to a creative spirit’s ears. So on that fateful Monday evening, as the other cadets headed toward their traditional open-air street corner, the four of us set out on foot, down Geary Avenue, guitar, ukelele, harmonica and bass fiddle in hand. Our first stop was “Tommy’s Joynt” (still there), a popular bar/delicatessen close to the College for Officer Training. With holy boldness, I marched inside and asked the manager if we could perform, soul-saving message and all. To our complete and utter surprise, he said, “Go for it.”

This was a test run for us, our goal being the bars, bistros and coffee houses of bawdry North Beach. Finishing our gig at TJ’s, we continued down Geary toward North Beach, stopping at other “joints” along the way. Alas, nary did we hear another, “Go for it” on the journey, prompting us to set up outside, letting the folk-singing and poetry recitation waft in through the windows and doorways. Again, to our surprise, the patrons started coming out to us, some dancing on the sidewalk and others singing along, cocktail glasses in hand.

It was long after midnight when we silently crept back inside the hallowed walls of CFOT; the other cadets sound asleep, tambourines or whatever dancing in their heads.

We were higher than kites (without the aid of mind-altering substances, mind you), Holy Spirit brazened and anxious for the next seven boring, class-filled days to pass by quickly. Next Monday night we would march straight into the bawdy, beatnik heart of San Francisco, North Beach itself (or “Hell” itself in the minds of some pundits). I can tell you honestly, for me, that week went by in slow motion.

Question: When was the last time you felt that way about soul-winning evangelism?

Confession: For me, personally, it’s been awhile, sad to say.

Paul gets my attention, however, in the first part of Chapter 3 of his letter to the Colossians, Message paraphrase:

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

It’s all about perspective and action, isn’t it?Stop. Look up. Listen. Mark. Set.

Go For It!

Monday... finally… Rolled… around... but oh, ever so slowly. We were Spirit-filled (Doris, Brengle; me, Coutts), psyched and raring to go. North Beach, San Francisco was our destination.

“Hell, yawning to receive The Salvation Singers and the Gospel,” like it or not. North Beach was at this time, but a modern version of The Barbary Coast. In fact, this is where topless dancing began, and on our watch believe it or not: “Carol Doda began go-go dancing topless (after having had her breasts treated with silicone to enlarge them) at the Condor Club on Broadway and Columbus in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. She became the world's most famous go-go dancer, dancing at the Condor for 22 years” (Wikipedia).

THE CONDOR

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

The birthplace of the world’s first topless and bottomless entertainment.

Topless: June 19, 1964Bottomless: Sept. 3, 1969Starring Ms. Carol Doda

Where It All Began!

Text

CORNERCOLUMBUS & BROADWAY

The birthplace of The Salvation Singers,

The Salvation Army’s first folk-singing trio + 1

Brass-less: September 1964

Starring Jesus Christ

The Condor Club was our mapped out, “Mark” destination this Monday evening (recent photo above, but physically very much the same). Tonight another eccentric Joe would brazenly ask to share their stage, tops (red guernseys) firmly in place, of course.

“NO!” said the manager of the Condor Club, with an amused expression on his face, his body language speaking volumes, “You guys have got some nerve coming in here asking to perform on this stage!” he said, gently nudging me backwards out the door from whence I’d come. Little did I know then that this resounding “NO!” would take some interesting twists and turns in months to come, when the manager would later approach on bended knee begging us to perform on his stage, “Pretty Please!”

The next best thing was to set up outside his door on that infamous corner, and for months to come this became our “Cathedral of the Open-air,” a staging point for miraculous opportunities, open-doors and surprises galore. It was to become known as the “Hallelujah Hootenany” corner.

Word spread attracting left over “Beats” from the 50’s, newly coroneted “Hippies” of the 60’s and liberals from Berkeley, home of UC Berkeley across the bay. The crowds grew exponentially, until one Monday evening they were seated, spread out across the sidewalk, into the intersection blocking traffic, bongo drums beating, body’s swaying, singing along in unison, “Jesus died on Calvary, Hallelujah” (Tune: Michael row your boat ashore). It was an evangelistic sight to behold.

Over the following weeks, we were walking on air, counting the seconds until Monday evening slowly rolled around again. We’d have been out there every night, except that CFOT had more pressing priorities for us, like boring homiletics’ classes and house duties; one of mine being to clean the Training Principal’s private bathroom (that would be a whole chapter in itself).

Parenthetically, we didn’t look forward quite as enthusiastically to the traditional street-corner open-airs with their flags, bands, timbrels, high collars, caps, bonnets, tracts and hell-fire bent sermons issuing forth. We did them, reluctantly, because we had no choice. The same goes for button-hole evangelism, which seemed to be the field training department’s flavor of the day. “Torture evangelism” we called it. It was a simple little thing called relevancy (appeal) that made all the difference with our evangelical forays into North Beach.

When Monday evenings (and free Sundays) finally arrived, we made our way to Columbus and Broadway, relevantly, appealingly, with renewed excitement, expectation and nervous anticipation. We were not to be disappointed.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV)

Photo taken on one of our first foray’s into North Beach. The Condor Club directly behind, with yours truly reciting poetry, as The Salvation Singers hum and strum in the background. Caps and high collars were quickly abandoned to display red guernseys worn beneath, appealingly.

STOP. LOOK. LISTEN.

“So it was, when Joe heard it, that he donned his red guernsey and went out and stood in North Beach (The old Barbary Coast). Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Joe?”

GOD-SIGNS: “You dig me?” Peter, Paul and Mary: Folk singing renaissance. “Go for it!”

MARK: Columbus and Broadway. SET: Beatnik, Hippie counter culture.GO: North Beach and environs with an appealing “BEAT.”

A Beat In Time

Herb Caen was the original and quintessential . . . 3-dot columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, and to make his column was usually the start of something big. Imagine our utter surprise, pleasantly waking up to this column on a following Tuesday morning.

And this was to be the start of something big, opening doors for us yet unimagined. And all because we were paying attention to “God-Signs.”

Things begin to move quickly and exponentially from here. The “Caen” exposure causes a well placed “Hippy” to approach us on the street corner and say, “Hey man, you should be performing over at “Coffee & Confusion” (an infamous North Beach coffee house). “W’ed love to,” was our quick response. “Wait here, man, I’ll scope it out for you,” says he. Ten minutes later, the hippy returns saying, “The gigs yours, man, 9:00 PM” (Draw out the word “m-a-a-a-n” for full effect).

It would be hard to put the full magnitude of our emotions into words here: Fear, excitement, anxiety, anticipation, anguish, joy, sheer terror, only begin to scratch the surface. Finally, we find ourselves at the entrance (pictured left). “Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here,” is the sign welcoming us. Oh, do we have a surprise for those inhabiting the bowels of this darkened den!

Ivan Yulz, the manager (picture right), greets us with these words: “The audience will be full of atheists, dope addicts and perverts of all types. They would like to hear what you have to say.” GULP!

Coffee & Confusion

The Gig’s On!

Abandon All

Tunics Ye

Who Enter Here

Poetry, the flavor of the day in coffee houses everywhere, your’s truly reciting hope-filled verse written by Cadet’s Sharon Robertson and Doris Tobin, as the trio hums and strums softly in the background with great effect.

The “Caen” effect starts a media storm, photos and articles on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle, Examiner and Oakland Tribune. AP and UPI pick up the articles, sending them worldwide (Sample left).

LIGHTS!CAMERA!

Then came one of the major television networks wanting to follow us for an evening, beginning on the corner in front of the Condor Club. Lights. Camera. Action.

Remember, earlier on, the manager who refused us entrance? Now with CBS News on the front step, he pleaded with us to come in and perform. “Pretty Please!” Here’s how a reporter for United Press International (UPI) described it:

“‘People really seem to accept us,’ said Joe Noland. His point was quickly proved when the proprietor of the Condor, a bar recently raided by police for featuring dancers in topless bathing suits, invited the singers inside for several numbers before the show started.”

“‘Oh Moses went out one day, doing the work of the Lord.’ The patrons of this crowded bar looked shocked at first, but slowly joined in with the singing and clapping. ‘They’ve got guts, all right, real guts,’ said a waitress in tight-fitting leotards who nearly spilled a tray of drinks when she heard the lyrics. Before the number was over she was tapping her long legs to the steady beat of ‘Doing the work of the Lord.’”

Jesus Met the Woman At the WellAnother of the Peter, Paul and Mary hits, now featuring Doris as the soloist, instead of Mary. The poignant message of this folk ballad found it’s perfect mark on one particular Monday evening outside the Condor Club.

When on break, dancers from the surrounding clubs would come outside the door and listen. On one evening a dancer summoned one of the other cadets over, requesting the song, “O Boundless Salvation.” Without thinking we complied. It was our last song of the evening on that now hallowed corner, and when leaving, half way down the block, it suddenly dawned on us that this was the Founder’s Song. “How would she have known that?”

Making a hasty retreat, we sought her out. Long story short, she had been a Junior Soldier in the Fillmore Corps, San Francisco, until her life took a bad turn leading to drugs, topless dancing, prostitution, et al. We invited her to “Thursday Night at the Army,” San Francisco Citadel style, whereupon, surprise, surprise, she showed up and found her way to the altar to be prayed with by a former corps officer, now retired. On this evening...

Jesus Met the Woman At the Condor

That same UPI reporter went on to write, “The scene was much the same at a smoky center for cynics called ‘Coffee & Confusion.’ The ‘new wave’ gathers regularly in this dimly lit den for beat lectures and hootenannies.”

The Salvation Singers scamper up on the tiny elevated stage, surrounded by abstract and pop art murals, and begin singing to the tune of ‘Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore,’ ‘Do You Ever Need a Friend?’ The applause far exceeded that for the entertainers who preceded them.”

“Customers usually think I’m putting them on when I tell them The Salvation Army is singing here tonight,” said Coffee and Confusion’s manager, Ivan Yulz, who himself sings ‘risque ditties.’ But after they hear it, they really dig it.”

“You Dig Me?”

Your Caption HereI wish I could remember the gist of this conversation (right), but I can’t. He was probably trying to persuade me regarding the merits of evolution, as this subject was a flavor of the day. My caption might be, “The Evolution Salute,” but, please, feel free to use your own imagination here.

Folk singers of the 60’s, theirs were protest songs. The Salvation Singers followed that tradition, with a twist, writing new lyrics to popular folk tunes; ours also carrying a message of redemption.

We received a letter from a reporter who covered us one evening, which read in part, “I thank you for allowing me to accompany the group. Personally, I think the cadets are like a clean, fresh breeze in the smoke and alcohol fumes of North Beach and I feel a little cleaner for it. Thanks for your good work.”

FAST-FORWARD

21st Century StyleSTOP. LOOK. LISTEN.

“So it was, when Joe Noland heard it, that he turned his face toward his computer, and went out and stood in the entrance to Cyberspace. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, Joe?”

GOD-SIGN(S): Facebook, Twitter, YouTube (The Flourishing Social Media Phenomenon).

MARK: www.savn.tv (Salvation Army Vision Network) 21st Century street corner(s).

SET: Establish/Grow Social Media Congregations via FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Register and train as a SAVN Social Media Counselor.

GO: Create Godshot and Social Action Campaigns utilizing short form videos prepared for this purpose. Start a Video Chat Bible Study group, recruiting/training others to do the same. Create and produce an Internet entertainment/outreach show (street corner) titled Sunday Night Viral.

My BEAT In Time

For me, the Internet Street Corner of today is the Columbus and Broadway/Coffee & Confusion Street Corner of yesterday... and so much more. If you are looking for God-signs, let me tantalize your God-inspired imagination with the following.

SAVN.tv (Salvation Army Vision Network) has unveiled Video Chat Groups Live: http://savn.tv/streams. Here you can participate in several ways:

1. Create and lead a 21st Century, Internet Bible Study or Recovery Chat Group Live, just as if you were preparing and leading an Open Air Meeting, 20th Century style. Be as creative and inventive as you want, let the imagination run. Conform it to the interests of your community and culture, photography, sports, knitting, whatever. And SAVN supplies the video content - or create your own.

2. Become a member of an already existing group, just as you might have been involved as a participant in the Open Air ring on the corner.

3. Become and observer in the chat groups that interest you, like a bystander on the street corner listening in.

4. Become a Spiritual Coach, providing live chat counseling for seekers, whose hearts have been moved and challenged by the videos (modern Gospel tracts) that they have viewed on the SAVN.tv corner.

Video Chat Groups: http://www.slideshare.net/joenoland5/video-chat-how-toSpiritual Coach: http://eepurl.com/RtU4D

(Fill In the Blanks)

STOP. LOOK. LISTEN.

“So it was, when _____________ heard it, that she/he _________________________________, and went out and stood in _____________________. Suddenly a voice came to her/him, and said, ‘What are you doing here, ________?”

GOD-SIGN(S) ___________________________________

________________________________________________

MARK: _________________________________________

SET: ___________________________________________

GO: ____________________________________________

Your BEAT In Time

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! (1 Peter 1:3-4 The Message)

The Future Starts Now!