So William Booth left the work. ‘It was a heartbreaking business,’ William admitted:
"Here was a great crowd of people all over the land who loved me and my dear wife. I felt a deep regard for them, and to leave them was a sorrow beyond description. But I felt I must follow what appeared to be the beckoning finger of my Lord. So, with my wife and four little children, I left my quarters and went out into the world once more, trusting God, literally not knowing who would give me a shilling, or what to do or where to go."
Of course, when Booth left the ministry of the Methodist New Connexion, many of his superiors were convinced he was making a tragic mistake. Some even visited the couple in their lodgings to persuade them to reconsider their decision. Others felt that Booth’s resignation was simple disobedience.
Ironically such a scenario could easily be applied to our day, simply by substituting the name of a Salvation Army officer for that of William Booth in the account above.
Connexion
It is, of course, a startling realisation. William Booth left the work- not the Army of course, but to his superiors and fellow ministers in the Methodist New Connexion, the step he took that day in 1861 was regarded in much the same way that officers in Booth’s Army today regard a colleague who resigns his commission.
‘Oh,’ someone protests, ‘it is not at all the same thing. The founders were following God’s call, his leading.’
‘Yes,’ another might add, ‘and they were embarking on a venture of faith.’
‘And they were up against a rigid bureaucracy that wouldn’t allow Booth to fully exercise his call to evangelism.’
It may be true that William and Catherine’s experience is exceptional and that no inferences can be drawn or applications made from their case. On the other hand, it may be helpful to recall that, as a Methodist minister, the Founder made some difficult choices early in his career, and it may be possible to apply those recollections to some of our own attitudes and conduct toward comrade officers who ‘leave the work’.
Though it can be seen in retrospect that ‘God meant it for good’ , the loss of William Booth to the Methodist ministry might have been prevented. Booth had addressed a reasoned letter to the President of the New Connexion, detailing his call to evangelistic work. Though it took two months for a reply to come (and even then it was noncommittal at best), William was permitted to read his lengthy letter at the annual conference which would decide his fate. Unfortunately for the New Connexion the conference issued a hasty decree, and the matter was settled: William and Catherine left. Similarly, though it sounds like stating the obvious, many officer resignations occur because they are not prevented. (part one)
Bob Hostetler THE OFFICER1991
4 comments:
This is very helpful indeed, and well-timed given the preceding series from Major Stephen Court. The Booths' experience is unexceptional: countless officers have endured a via dolorosa of this kind. William's children Kate and Herbert reminded him of this decision as they sought his understanding for theirs:
"...to move forward in our day, as my father and mother did in their day, we have moved out of the Army as they moved out of the Methodist Church. I have the deepest conviction that no one rejoices over the step we have taken more than does my mother in heaven." - Kate Booth
"Can you not, dear father, give to me the liberty you took yourself when you were my age? ...Have we not all witnessed your skill and persistence in arranging to leave yourself the unfettered master of your own affairs? ...Why then blame me because I have inherited my father's sense of free will?" - Herbert Booth
The Booths' courageous departure from the New Connexion ought to have profoundly informed the Army's ethos concerning officers who leave. Was it a God-given experience for this very purpose? We know from William Booth's misapplication of biblical covenants and vows to officership, and over a century of ostracism and hurt, that it had no effect whatsoever.
As the colloquialism goes: That's the way the cookie crumbles Matt. One of the great lessons of church history is that things can get pretty messy once reformers set out to start reforming the reformers.
Also, I still contend as I once mentioned before on this site that Leo Rosten the Jewish humorist hit it right on the nail when he was asked what's the one most important thing he learned about life after living on this planet for six decades. His reply? (and I paraphase it to the best of my remembrance) "In the depths of the mind in some dark corner EVERYBODY'S NUTS!" This particular little subcultural group dynamic of TSA that most people just automatically buy into (among several others!)certainly proves the validity of Mr. Rosten's observation! God Bless TSA anyway!
Daryl Lach
USA Central
"You Must Go Home By the Way of the Cross, To Stand with Jesus in the Morning!"
I think that there are two separate issues here.
1 A Boothian one where an officer feels "called", "led" to pursue evangelical or traditional religious activities elsewhere and
[2a] where a person leaves the Army because of personal actions inimical to the principles and or principals of the Army
or [2b] where heavy handed actions and bureaucratic stupidities make it impossible for a person to continue.
or 2[c] where a person is so woefully inadequate for the job that training and counselling would be of no avail.
We should not be too worried about the former. But the loses under 2 often have their roots in the total lack of training in people management that handicap all officers at all levels. A few are naturally good at people management many, perhaps the majority are not.
And to my mind this is reflected in the way the rank and file have been treated over the years: and why so many have left.
On this site there is a sense of "woe is me" how "personally painful my suffering has been": may I with the greatest respect ask you to consider how much pain you have inflicted on non-officers because you lacked the skills and ability to handle difficult situations.
Old Hornblower
Well said and well written old hornblower! I look at my own insensitivities particularly when I was younger (though not always---but even today!) when I may have used my reptilian brain instead of my higher brain while dealing with another person and find myself filled with regret over it, wishing I had been more Christ-like. Because of this fallibility somehow the word Grace takes on new meaning and becomes more and more important with time.
I think another point also needs to be made here. Of course we can never tangibilitate the spiritual or quantify the Kingdom of God and thus no one can make an out and out judgement on how God sees the value of another person's worth or that person's contribution to his Kingdom. However, it must also be noted that I have seen some officers get big headed over the years who left the work thinking that they were going to become another "William Booth" in some other part of the vineyard only to wind up weighing peanuts at the five and dime or some reasonable equivalent to it. It turned out that the Army really did provide them with their best avenue of service and they blew it.
Daryl Lach
USA Central
"You Must Go Home By the Way of the Cross, To Stand with Jesus In the Morning!"
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