Happy Birthday William Booth

Well, 179 years ago today, General William Booth was born. It has long been the popular discussion in Salvationist circles to ask "What would William Booth think about our Army today?" We have churches where the only way to know it's not 1865 is through the lack of bonnets and high-collar uniforms and churches where the uniform is shunned and coffee, jeans and a t-shirt are the order of the day. We have all sorts of books on how to be a "real" Salvationist. We have schools which will give you book smarts and schools which will give your street smarts.
I have attended and participated in forums, symposiums, discussion groups. Corps council meetings, you name it. And what I see is an Army divided. An Army that has lost its edge and will to fight. A quick browse through the annual Army yearbook confirms this. It is not in the old strongholds of the UK, Canada, USA, & Australia where the Army thrives but in places like India, Pakistan, Ghana, & South Africa. The Army in the former is characterized by staunch, rigid people who place so many restrictions and regulations on things that they remind me of the Pharisees. The Army in the so-called developed world with all of our prosperity and resources has nothing to show for it but declining numbers and closed buildings. The latter places though are booming as Salvationists get their hands dirty and confront the forces of evil head on. They do not spend their time forming committees to look after committees or debating whether or not women soldiers should be allowed to wear pants instead of skirts.

If you want to see General Booth's Army, simply look to our "less-fortunate" territories & commands.