where he saw the destitute people and where he be-
lieved that God had called him. That was a very re-
markable turning point in his own life, and for the
life of his wife and growing family. Probably finding
his destiny and beginning the Christian Mission is
one of the most dramatic stories. It's a wonderful
story about Booth and his willingness to follow the
leading of the Lord.
WC:
his grain to go into social ministry, but it's pretty in-
triguing that he followed what he felt was the natural
evolution of the Army and the natural expression of
the Christian church by entering social ministry, in
spite of some pretty severe opposition. It intrigues
me a bit that he was willing to follow the leading of
the Lord, follow his own conscience, move out in a
new and what he felt was an exciting direction in
the whole social scheme of the Army. It was a mas-
sive undertaking.
WC:
members who left the work. William and Catherine
had one of the great love relationships of the Victo-
rian world. There's no question about that. I don't
think we realize how much William and Catherine
loved and were committed to each other. I love that
about them. Catherine died on October 4, 1890. After
her death William Booth was inconsolable. He really
couldn't hold the family together as he would have if
Catherine had been alive. It's the love that he had
for Catherine, and that she had for him, and the
rearing of the eight children that maybe people don't
know enough about. Maybe they see him just as an
autocrat and the leader of the Army, but they don't
realize the heart of love he had for Catherine.
WC:
secret of The Salvation Army?" She said, "I can an-
swer that in one word. Adaptability." If William
Booth were to exist in our time, adaptability would
trines or understanding about the authority of the
Bible, but adapting methods and adapting ways of
reaching people. If William Booth were alive in the
20th century, the minute television was invented,
he would have been the first to use it for a worldwide
ministry. I can just see Booth with a band, preaching,
and with women preaching on television. He was a
person to take advantage of the opportunities of the
culture. He would do a lot of that.
WC:
What compelled him? There's an article he wrote on
January 17, 1883, in which he talks about dropping
the sacraments, but says we need to leave this matter
over to some future day when we have more light on
the topic. His answer would be that he was very
moved by the arguments of Catherine and George
Scott Railton that all of life is sacramental. The sec-
ond question I would ask him is how pleased was he
with the whole social ministry of the Army. Because
after the Darkest England scheme was established
he turned it over to Bramwell. That's when he be-
came known as an international evangelist. He took
those motor campaigns and really became known.
I'd like to know how settled he was in his own heart
and mind about the massive social ministry of the
Army.
WC:
preaching Army, the proclamation of reaching out to
our neighbor with both a cup of cold water and with
. R
oger Gr