"What is the use of preaching the Gospel to men whose whole attention is concentrated upon a mad, desperate struggle to keep themselves alive? You might as well give a tract to a shipwrecked sailor who is battling with the surf, which has drowned his comrades and threatens to drown him. He will not listen to you. Nay, he cannot hear you any more than a man whose head is under water can listen to a sermon. The first thing to do is to get him at least a footing on firm ground, and to give him room to live."
--General William Booth
I am doing a research paper on faith-based social services and one of the best examples has been and continues to be the Salvation Army. I love this quote - it is so Wesleyan in nature and makes so much sense. It also encourages me that what we are doing with Mosaic is something worth doing - even during the tough times or the sssllllooooowww days.
I had the chance to meet with a representative (and friend) of the Salvation Army this week. I was so impressed and amazed at her knowledge and desire to make difference in our world. She introduced me to some other folks and we got to talk about how the church (not ours-ours gets it!, but the collective church) has gotten so far away from the original mission of social service and is now more concerned with buildings and stained glass and how many songs to sing on Sunday morning.
I also think that founder William Booth "got it" - that is the message of the Gospels - that if a man is hungry your "sermon" or "tracts" mean nothing to him! NOTHING!
Thanks for making this journey through papers and school with me...and helping me "get it"!
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