Just to be  absolutely clear, I was born as a fourth generation member of The Salvation Army. My grandparents were lay leaders at the Oklahoma City and later the Norman Corps in Oklahoma, while my parents are retired Officers (ordained ministers). As was my Uncle (of blessed memory) and My Aunt, my cousin and my sister. Not to mention numerous friends.

In point of fact, I was an Officer from 1991-1997 and a life long member of the church until I specifically left it in 2004. In 2008 I fully converted to Judaism and since that time I have attended precisely one Salvation Army service - the funeral of my Uncle in 2016.

While I am certain that there are those who will claim and shout otherwise, I am steeped in Army philosophy and doctrine, both as trainee and as a leader of it. I am not just talking off the cuff with no understanding of things. That said, I left the Army as a member in 2004 and as an employee in 2007.

My Uncle Roger and I once had a conversation (circa 1992) about why we found ourselves so critical of some of the things happening in the Army that even then seemed to be poorly considered changes. He said to me then, and I have carried this with me ever since, that we criticize most that which we care about the most.

While I left the  army for my own very personal reasons, it never meant that I stopped caring  about it. My family history is deeply tied to it, and it will always be a part of who I am.

That doesn't mean that I won't be critical of The Salvation Army when it needs to be. And this may be one of those times...