Saturday, August 18, 2007

Rare Vintage Recording discovered

In the mid 1960s I was able to meet and listen to W F P Burton, aka Willie Burton. He was already a legend in his own lifetime. Born in 1886 he went as an independent missionary to the Congo (now Zaire) in 1915 in the company of Jimmy Salter (who later married the daughter of Smith Wigglesworth). When he relinquished his responsibilities in the work 50 years later it had grown to hundreds of churches. His missionary work saw notable miracles and thousands of first time responses to the gospel.

The churches he founded were simple and indigenous. He refused to allow any titles other than 'elders' and 'deacons'. If you want an insight into apostolic missionary work get a copy of "God Working with Them"; the story of the first 18 years of pioneer mission in the Congo.

He was a man with a delightful sense of fun with children but with a steel backbone. My first experience was to hear him preaching in our Anglican church pulpit against the errors of infant sprinkling! He was a man of exceptional natural talents; an engineer, scientist, artist, linguist, musician, bible scholar. He was also a man of powerful spiritual gift. He conscioulsy dedicated it all to God and when he passed into glory, in 1971, he was travelling with all his wordly possessions in two suitcases; one for clothes and the other for his books.

I will see if I can 'dust down' this old recording and make it a little easier on the ear, but this is a must-hear opportunity to hear him telling his own story in 1968 in Staffordshire, UK. If you want to catch the flavour of those old time Pentecostals be sure to listen to Willie Burton's Testimony

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