[July 5, 2021] I have always believed that leaders think, talk about, and help create solutions to problems that others shy away from. Real leaders know to do so requires working from the ground up, using practical solutions with a knowledge of people – their desires and needs. The beginning of the Salvation Army is a testament to this idea.
“You cannot warm the hearts of people with God’s love if they have an empty stomach and cold feed.” – William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army
William Booth, as a new minister, long ago in 1852, was dissatisfied with the traditional church in England. Expressing his views that the gospel of Jesus Christ should be taken directly to the people, his fellow clergymen disagreed with this unconventional approach.1 Both William and his wife Catherine withdrew from the church to train evangelists throughout England.
Walking the streets in the city of London, he preached the gospel to the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the destitute. By 1865, their fight for the “souls of lost men and women” grew to an organization of 1,000 volunteers and evangelists.
“The Christian Mission” – Booth’s religious organization – focused its efforts on thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards. They were among the first converts to Christianity, and soon they were preaching and singing in the streets as living examples of how the downtrodden could be saved.
When in 1878, William Booth read the “Christian Mission” annual report, he noticed the statement, “The Christian Mission is a volunteer army.” He crossed out the words “volunteer army” and changed it to “Salvation Army.” From those words and the authentic leadership of Booth and his followers, the basis of the foundation began what today we see as The Salvation Army.
Their message spread rapidly, quickly gaining a foothold in American and soon after in Canada, Australia, France, Switzerland, India, South Africa, Iceland, and Germany. Today, The Salvation Army is active in virtually every corner of the world and serves in 132 countries, offering the message of God’s healing and hope to all those in need.
“Some men’s passion is for gold. Some men’s passion is for art. Some men’s passion is for fame. My passion is for souls.” – William Booth
William Booth had a clear vision, and he could articulate it to draw people to him. Like moths to the light, people came to see and hear Booth and his wife. They were there beginning of a movement because they sincerely believed they were part of God’s plan to save the world.
The Salvation Army was officially founded on this date, July 5, 1865 and has a worldwide membership of over 1.7 million, consisting of soldiers, officers, and adherents collectively known as Salvationists.
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The Salvation Army, one of very few charities that I trust my money goes to the needy.
“I have always believed that leaders think, talk about, and help create solutions to problems that others shy away from. ” Great quote, I’ll use it because I think this is the essence of authentic leadership. Gen. Satterfield, your article today is an inspiration for me to learn more about The Salvation Army.
I agree Eva and plan to use it as well.
Thank you Thank you, Gen. Satterfield for highlighting this wonderful organization. If you are afraid of falling into the gutter, just go to any of The Salvation Army locations and talk. They will save you, if you want salvation.
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. Taken directly from their website. Just another example of “authentic leadership” and Gen. Satterfield couldn’t be more correct.
Early beliefs of the Salvation Army were influenced by a book Helps to Holiness, which was to influence spiritual life of the Army for a generation. The sacred text of the Salvation Army is the Bible and the beliefs of the Salvation Army rest upon eleven doctrines.
“The Doctrines of The Salvation Army”.
https://web.archive.org/web/20180310010548/https://www.salvationarmy.org/doctrine/doctrines
Thanks Cindy for the link.
I neve knew. For those who don’t have much time, please follow the link and find out more about these wonderful people.
Donate now. All the money goes to help the most destitute.
https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/
https://apnews.com/article/clinton-foundation-donald-trump-ap-top-news-hillary-clinton-politics-09cb8b14d118469eb3ca0763db142fc5
FBI probing Clinton Foundation corruption claims
But nothing coming of it.
How sad. This is why you must be careful where you donate. The Clinton’s like the Biden’s are deeply corrupt.
Great organization. You can actually trust them to do what is right for the most needy of people. That is why I donate money to them and never to other organizations the claim to help the needy but actually don’t.
Bless you Randy. I’m afraid you are right about so many other charities. The Clinton Foundation is one example of a major, corrupt fraud that was perpetuated upon the world for many years. The money went to help “people in Africa” and other parts of the world but most of it went to support the lifestyle of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Corrupt to the core and nothing was done about it.
Just one more example of a two-tiered justice system that Biden-Harris want to permanently put into place for their family and friends. Screw everybody else.
Very true, Randy and thanks for pointing this out. Others have used the Clinton org as an example of what not to do. So many millions of dollars donated to help the poor and most of it goes to support Bill and Hillary CLinton. Now we have the corrupt Biden family, lead by old Joe himself and with the help of his dopey son Hunter.
You guys are spot on. Thanks for bringing this up as an example…..