Back in May I reviewed a book re-published by the Salvation Army entitled Love Slaves. I was critical of it, though admitted it did me good to read it. I said in that review that this would be a book for sale or donation. What I didn’t mention was that I had another book in the same series to read. That I did, finishing it last month in my wife’s and my reading aloud in the evenings time. This one is titled The Soul-Winner’s Secret and it’s by the same man, Samuel Logan Brengle of the Salvation Army.
Originally published in 1903 and re-published in 1984 (the date of this copy), my review could be nearly a carbon copy of the last review. The language is just old enough to be archaic. Sentence structures are often convoluted, with multiple levels of defining clauses, requiring re-reading, leaving out the inserted clauses, to find out what the meat of Brengle’s message was.
The message of the book is good. Winning souls for Jesus doesn’t happen by chance. The one who wants to see people added to the kingdom of God on earth must go about it deliberately, with much preparation, prayer, follow-through, and renewal. Chapter titles include:
- The Soul-Winner’s Personal Experience
- Be Obedient
- Prayer
- Zeal
- Spiritual Leadership
- What to Study
- Personal Health
Prepare to win souls. Study to show yourself approved. Continuously renew your commitment and knowledge. Mind your own health (spiritual and physical) as you do so. Keep at it. Don’t lose your zeal.
As with the other book, this one, while good, is not a keeper. The next time I need a refresher course in my own role in expanding the kingdom of God, I will find a more modern book that is relevant for conditions in the world today. My rating on it is 3-stars, the markdown coming mainly due to the language issue.
But, a funny thing happened when I planned to put this and the other one out on the donation/sale table. About a week before we began reading this, I went to our basement family room, where the biggest part of our library is. Shelves line the west and half of the north wall. But some of those north shelves are hidden by the Christmas tree we keep up year round (it’s a long story). I reached behind the tree one day in June or early July to grab a copy of John Wesley’s Journal, and on the shelf below it I found a whole series of these books, identical binding and covers except for the title. Maybe twelve books in all including the two we read.
How did these two get separated from the set? The shelf I saw the series on was the bottom shelf. Back in 2010 or 2011, we came home from vacation and found our basement wet due to a hot water heater gone bad. The books on the bottom shelf of three book cases were damaged. Rather than throw the damaged ones away, I put them on a table by my computer desk and slowly, while waiting for something to happen on the computer, would open one of them and separate pages. These two books must have been the only ones of that set that were damaged.
I believe I’ve read enough of the set. The two books, which were barely water-damaged, will find their way back to their brothers and thence to the donation/sale table. But, if any of my readers want them, I’ll be happy to send them to them for just the cost of shipping. If you want to know all the titles first send me contact information and I’ll be happy to give you the list.