I have no hesitation in commending this small volume as containing so far as its space permits, a good picture of my beloved Father and a record of much that made his life of interest and importance to the world. It does not, of course, profess to cover anything like the whole story of his many years of world-wide service. It could not do so. For any such complete history we must wait for that later production which may, I hope, be possible before very long when there has been time to go fully through the masses of diaries, letters and other papers he has left behind him. It must not be supposed that I can make myself responsible for every phrase Commissioner Railton has used. I know, however, that perhaps no one except myself had anything like his opportunities, during the last forty years, of knowing and studying my Father's life, both in public and private, and of understanding his thoughts and purposes. Now we wish this book to accomplish something. We cannot think it possible for anyone, especially a Salvationist, to read it without being compelled ever and anon to ask himself such questions as these: -- "Am I living a life that is at all like this life? Am I, at any rate, willing by God's grace to do anything I can in the same direction, in order that God may be more loved and glorified, and that my fellow men may be raised to a more God-like and happy service? After all, is there not something better for me than money-making, or the search after human applause, or indeed the pursuit of earthly good of any kind? "If, instead of aiming at that which will all fade away, I turn my attention to making the best of my life for God and for others, may I not also accomplish something that will afford me satisfaction at last and bear reflection in the world to come?" I hope also that to some, at least, the great message of this life will stand revealed in these pages. I believe it to be that, while God can do little or nothing by us until we are completely submitted and given up to Him, He can work wonders of infinite moment to the world when we are. Asked, a few months before his death, if he would put into a sentence the secret as he saw it, of all the blessings which had attended him during his seventy years of service, The General replied: "Well, if I am to put it into one sentence, I would say that I made up my mind that God Almighty should have all there was of William Booth." It was, in the beginning, that entire devotion to God and its continued maintenance which could, alone, account for the story told in these brief records. The book is, of course, written in the main from the Salvationist point of view; much of it, indeed, is simply a reproduction of my father's own sayings and writings to his own people. This, to all thoughtful readers, must be our defence against any appearance of self-glorification, or any omission to refer to the work in the world that others are doing for Christ. No attempt has been made to tell the story of The General's "life and times," but simply to note some of the things he said and did himself. And I trust the record may be found useful by all the many servants of God who do not think exactly as he thought, but who yet rejoiced in the triumphs of the Cross through his labours. Whether those into whose hands this volume falls, agree or not with the teachings of The Salvation Army, may God grant them Grace to join heartily at least in this, my Father's great purpose, and so help me to attain the victory for which he lived and died. W. Bramwell Booth.
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William Booth (1829 - 1912)
Was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General (1878–1912). The Christian movement with a quasi-military structure and government founded in 1865 has spread from London, England to many parts of the world and is known for being one of the largest distributors of humanitarian aid. Though Booth became a prominent Methodist evangelist, he was unhappy that the annual conference of the denomination kept assigning him to a pastorate, the duties of which he had to neglect to respond to the frequent requests that he do evangelistic campaigns. At the Liverpool conference in 1861, after having spent three years at Gateshead, his request to be freed for evangelism full-time was refused yet again, and Booth resigned from the ministry of the Methodist New Connexion.The name The Salvation Army developed from an incident in May 1878. William Booth was dictating a letter to his secretary George Scott Railton and said, "We are a volunteer army." Bramwell Booth heard his father and said, "Volunteer, I'm no volunteer, I'm a regular!" Railton was instructed to cross out the word "volunteer" and substitute the word "salvation".[7] The Salvation Army was modelled after the military, with its own flag (or colours) and its own music, often with Christian words to popular and folkloric tunes sung in the pubs. Booth and the other soldiers in "God's Army" would wear the Army's own uniform, 'putting on the armour,' for meetings and ministry work. He became the "General" and his other ministers were given appropriate ranks as "officers". Other members became "soldiers".
William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. At the age of 23 he began his evangelistic career and subsequently traveled through England as an itinerant preacher of the Methodist New Connection Church.
After separating from the church in 1861, he continued his ministry independently. In 1865 Booth and his wife, Catherine, to propagate the Christian faith and to furnish spiritual and material aid to needy persons, founded the Christian Mission in London, which in 1878 became known as the Salvation Army.
Members of the army, equipped with uniforms and flags, drums and cornets, were greeted with riotous demonstrations on their first appearances in the streets and were frequently arrested for disturbing the peace. The work progressed, however, and branches of the army were established in all parts of the world, with international headquarters in London.
Booth wrote several books, the best known of which is In Darkest England and the Way Out (1890), and he founded The War Cry, the official organ of the Salvation Army.
William Booth was born in Nottingham, England to an Anglican family. At thirteen he was converted in a Wesleyan Chapel in London. Soon his growing burden for the souls of men led him to begin bringing street people to the church.
Mr. Booth, whose job as a pawnbroker showed him the need of London's poorest, began preaching at 17. He brought so many of the poor and ragged drunkards to church that he was asked to leave. He was the pastor of a Methodist church until 1861 when he withdrew from the denomination.
In 1865 Booth came across a group of evangelists who were struggling to hold an open air meetings. Such was Booth's impact that he was invited to become the leader of the group. His first words to his wife when he returned home later in the day were: 'Kate, I've found my destiny!'
This small band of evangelists was the seed from which The Salvation Army grew. First they called themselves 'The Christian Revival Society' then they became 'The Christian Mission' finally in the autumn of 1878 they declared themselves to be 'The Salvation Army'. These changes of name prove their growing vision of a calling from God to engage in all out, no holds barred, war like mission in the name of Christ.
During his lifetime, the Salvation Army remained focused on salvation as opposed to the social gospel which is its trademark today. It is believed that more than 2,000,000 souls were converted by this great work.
When Queen Victoria asked Mr. Booth the secret of his ministry, he replied, "I guess it is because God knows I am hungering to keep souls out of Hell!" William Booth died at the age of 83, still seeking to win men and women to Christ.
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