The irony wasn't lost on me...

Last week took the Mini-bus out for a picnic to Hainault Forest.

Victor and I sat and talked on a bench when he got lost in his thoughts, I started to read a chapter of Roger Greens book on William Booth - The Life And Ministry Of William Booth: Founder Of The Salvation Army - review here. Chapter 10 caught my eye "Turning Points".

As I sat next to Victor I read how William Booth became more and more bothered about social salvation, how his theology grew to offer an apologetic for a'second' mission that some might now call the social gospel while also maintaining the line that would prevent TSA becoming just another 'good' social service agency. Personal Salvation was never eclipsed - we have GS Railton and Catherine Booth to thank for maintaining an essential balance. 'Societal salvation and redemption' once rejected by Booth became a 'prophetic mantra' that took TSA social work beyond the 'Sham Compassion' that was the hallmark of church philanthropy run wild. (Which - incidently - together with 'respectable nominalism' gives understanding to Catherine's angst and pent up aggression in 'Aggressive Christianity').

As I sat next to Victor I worked through in my mind the legacy of Booth calling social engagement the 'second mission'. I'm uncomfortable with this as it offers social engagement as a lesser 'either/or' option which plainly does not sit with the great commandment where we quite obviously are not called to 'love God' or 'our neighbour' but to 'love God' and 'our neighbour'.

As I sat next to Victor, Booth's journey wasn't lost on me nor was the irony of Victor's enjoyment of the countryside and fellowship where he is part of our family.

Comments

Fred and Wendy said…
Gordon - I enjoy checking in on your blog...and as I am a friend of your brother Anthony...wondered if he had ventured into blogging?
5:35 PM
Gordon said…
Hi Fred - thanks for popping by! I don't know if Anthony blogs - if he does he has kept it quiet? Do you know him from the ICO?
5:57 PM
Fred and Wendy said…
No ICO connection here though I did attend, I think a year before Anthony. We did a DYB exchange a number of years ago then when I was at the ICO I spent a weekend with them in Hemsley...now I have a couple who he married in our corps in Calgary. Small world isn't it? By the way when I was at the ICO we visited Poplar!
10:51 AM
Charlie Chikankata said…
You should have gone to Epping Forest - it's much nicer there :-)
3:59 PM
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