| Lessons of Infinite Advantage: William Taylor's California Experiences Contributor(s): Lay, Robert F. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0810860597 ISBN-13: 9780810860599 Publisher: Scarecrow Press OUR PRICE: $90.09 Product Type: Paperback Published: March 2010 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Religious - Religion | Christianity - History - Religion | Christian Ministry - Missions |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2009051847 |
| Series: Revitalization: Explorations in World Christian Movements; Pietist and Wesleyan Studies |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 5.9" W x 8.9" (1.05 lbs) 326 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Christian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In this book, William Taylor tells in his own words the story of a foundational episode in his life. Following his trial ministry as a Methodist circuit rider in his home state of Virginia and his service of pastorates in the historic North Baltimore Conference, William Taylor (1821-1902) was commissioned as a missionary to California at the beginning of the Gold Rush Era. His subsequent "seven years of street preaching in San Francisco" set the stage for a half-century missionary career during which Taylor championed self-supporting missions to every populated continent, funded by the publication of his widely-read books. Despite his prolific writing, none of Taylor's publications reveal the personal dimensions of his struggles or the day-by-day development of his missionary perspective. This early chapter in Taylor's career emerges for the first time with the publication of his journal, privately held by family members for over a century. The substantial journal chronicles five of Taylor's seven enterprising years (1849-1856) in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, and the surrounding area, while offering a rich, first-person account of contemporary events written in Taylor's fine, narrative style. With this journal, readers may trace the genesis of Taylor's approach to self-supporting missions, including the development of his thinking on fund raising and his skepticism toward the possibility of a Christian use of money. A scholarly introduction, footnotes, and appendixes, together with several images, set Taylor's California experiences in historical context, while clarifying and explaining the journal's rhetoric, holiness doctrine, missionary strategies, and oblique references. |