I have had a number of heroes and mentors in my life. Most of them I have never met in person .Many of them lived on planet earth over a century ago. I have never met them "face to face, nor have I rub skin with them, but I have communed heart to heart with them by the means of the written page. What they wrote; what they crafted in their sentence and paragraph structures has touched my life and shaped me to become what God intended for me. These men and women have enriched my life. What they wrote challenged me and shaped and molded my life so I have become what God wants my life to be.
Down through the annals of time the one man from the past that challenges my inner most being and influences me to be the best I can be for the glory of God is William Booth the forth-right co-founder of The Salvation Army. As a very young teen William Booth declared "God shall have all there is of William Booth." That was the supreme driving force behind his life. For him to live was Christ and to die was gain"
William Booth was a Masterful communicator. He was able to motivate many young men and women and shape them into a strong fighting force that swept across the world and fought front line battles against Satan and his hordes. Booth was a gifted wielder of the pen. Many of his thoughts are in print today because every time he opened his mouth people plainly heard the voice of spiritual maturity speaking and many responded to him and were brought to a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
Among the most challenging items that William Booth penned was a vision that has been published under the Title "WHO CARES? In it William Both dreams of countless men and women and boys and girls sinking in the flood waters of the sea of sin. There are people on the shore trying to rescue the perishing souls. There is only one life boat and it is not making good progress. Many people are lost. They are crying and desperately trying to grab a hold of anything that get them to shore and safety. Booth was challenging his readers to get ready to go into the sea and be part of the rescue of perishing sinners. Booth was asking Do you Cadre? Do you really care?
Another of William Booth's challenging items was the words he wrote in the autograph book of the British King Edward V11 (In 1904). "Some men's ambition is art; some men's ambition is fame; some men's ambition is gold' my ambition is the souls of men"
William Booth counseled his followers ""Go for souls and go for the worse!" When William was asked about the reason behind his great success he replied "God knows I hunger for the souls of men!" Elsewhere William Booth said "My business is to get the world saved. If this involves the standing still of the looms and the shutting up of the factories and the staying of the sailing ships, let them all stand still. When we have got everybody converted, they can go on again."
William Booth was God's soldier and He was always prepared to fight for the cause of Jesus Christ. William Booth's most famous quote is "While little children go hungry as they do now, I'll fight! When men go to Prison, in and out, in and out; I'll fight! While there is a drunkard left While there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God !'ll fight l'll fight to the very end!"
The quotes above show very clearly that William Booth was a Master Communicator But not only did He communicator clearly what the mission of The Salvation was. He laid out for each Christian in the Salvation Army a challenge to be part of the spiritual battle. He said "We are not sent to minister to a congregation and be content if we keep things going. We are sent to make war and to stop short of nothing but the subjugation of the world to the sway of the Lord Jesus.
William Booth is my hero. Every one of these pithy quotes motivates me to serve the Lord with all my heart, body, soul and mind, The prayer on my lips as I think o0f William Booth is :Do it again Lord1 Do it again1 As you did in William Booth my hero, do it again for me and in me O Lord."