Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the life of Charles Spurgeon. In this session we are going to look at another Victorian preacher William Booth. Booth was the founder of Salvation Army. Booth had a vision, which guided his life into caring for those who are in poverty and on the margins. A true “JESUS FREAK
Some things you might not know about William Booth.
1. "Do something!" That was the command William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, gave his son upon seeing homeless men huddled under London Bridge. Booth was a man of action who, in his zeal to save souls, valued deeds over creeds.
2. William and Catherine observed churches where poor people were not made welcome or were made to sit in the back rows of the church. This resulted in the homeless and destitute choosing not to attend church rather than face the embarrassment. The Booths decided that if these folks wouldn’t come to church, the church would go to them. One of William Booth’s heroes was Methodist preacher John Wesley; Wesley would often preach in public places and on street corners. The Salvation Army went a step further and commenced holding whole church services outdoors! These ‘open- air’ meetings had no limits on who could attend and participate.
Sermon Excerpt from Willam Booth:
An excerpt of a sermon on the vision and work of the Salvation Army. “The Salvation Army,” he promised, “is going to continue to go ‘down.’ By this I mean that we are to continue to minister to those who are sunk in sin and wickedness. The danger which confronts nearly all religions and theologies is the danger to rise, to rise above the level of the men and women who have made them and whom they have made. “We must delve down, down. Our mission, our work, is among the neglected class—the people who pay the £5 and £20 fines. Therefore, we must continue to go lower, to keep down, and not rise above the heads of those we seek to save. Our endeavour must be among those who are beyond the pale of the ordinary effort. Let the theologians and the philosophers have their sacramental doings. With these things the Salvation Army has nothing to do. We have to stick to that half-damned crowd; we must lift them up and give them a chance at the better things. So long as the Army sticks to that, so long will it prosper; when it departs from this path, it is not desirable that it should live longer. There are plenty of other people to do the ceremonials.”
DVD – William Booth
Questions:
1. What impresses you the most about William Booth?
2. Would you have continued the work amongst the poor if you had faced the hardships that he and Catherine did?
3. A Salvation Army - what would be the best way forward in the social context of 2014?
4. What from the DVD did you find challenging?
5. Would Jesus have done the same as William Booth?
William Booth quote to Close:
“Not called!' did you say?' Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face — whose mercy you have professed to obey — and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.”
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