William Booth: A Fire for the Forgotten
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 1 min read
Professor Gary Maxey names William Booth among the holiness leaders he has read for over fifty years. Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army.
From Nottingham to the East End
Booth was born on 10 April 1829 in Sneinton, Nottingham. He was converted as a young man and became a Methodist preacher. By 1852 he was preaching full time. In 1855, he married Catherine Mumford, who co-founded the movement with him. In 1861 he left the Methodist New Connexion ministry to pursue independent evangelism.
A mission becomes an army
In 1865 he began preaching in the poorest part of east London. The work took the name Christian Mission. In 1878, it became The Salvation Army, and Booth became its General. The name came from a change of wording in a printed description of the work.
Care for the body and the soul
In 1890 he published In Darkest England and the Way Out. It became a best seller and shaped the Army's work with the poor, including shelter, food and employment. Booth did not believe the gospel stopped at a prayer. He believed it should reach the whole person.
A school for holiness
The Salvation Army taught holiness among its soldiers. Samuel Brengle, one of its leading teachers of the subject, was drawn to the Army after hearing Booth speak at an open-air service. In this way, Booth's work carried a message of purity to thousands of ordinary people.
The ending
Booth died on 20 August 1912 at his home in Hadley Wood, London, aged 83.
What he leaves us
Holiness in the Booth tradition is public. It walks into hard places. If Professor Maxey's teaching about a clean heart seems private to you, consider how many people one such heart can reach. Ask God who is waiting for you to reach them.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey and public biographical sources. Sources: Wikipedia, "William Booth."
