Final Meetings With Great Leaders
The year after his wife, Catherine’s, death was one of turmoil and mourning for William Booth. He needed a new challenge. He wrote at the time, “It is a curious piece of comfort that anything is better than stagnation and being left alone.”
William did not intend to be left alone. Ten thousand Salvation Army officers were now serving in twenty six countries and William Booth wanted to visit, encourage and minister in as many of those countries as he could. He chose America as his first port of call and pushed himself at a punishing pace. He was no sooner back in England before setting off again for Germany. Booth had never allowed ill-health to stop him preaching. Over the next four years he continued to hold mass rallies around Europe and England.
Next he went to India where the Salvation Army had experienced unparalleled success with ‘Crims,’ lawless, uncontrollable men who no one else could tame or control. The change in these men when released into the care of the Salvation Army was astonishing. Next was Japan where the Salvation Army had endured massive beatings by thugs in their exposure of the underground selling of girls into Yoshiwara, a square mile, untouchable walled city in Tokyo.
The running of the Salvation Army had been given over to William’s son, Bramwell. Unfortunately he made immediate, significant personnel changes without seeking advice from anyone, not even his father. This split the leaders, some of whom left the movement to begin parallel organisations. In America a full third of the officers and members left. This broke William’s heart but he decided to let Bramwell learn by his mistakes.
William was honoured to meet with both the British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, and the American President, William McKinley. This was a far cry from the early days when political leaders often sided with lawless thugs who broke up Salvation Army meetings and mercilessly beat its officers and members.
William Booth was determined to leave this world a better place than how he found it. He was privileged to see that happen on a grand scale. You and I can change our world. We can change our part of it. Don’t ever give up on doing that. God wants you to do it!