Sam Jones Boo

Chapter 1. A Prince Fallen in Israel. And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? 2 Samuel 3 38. America mourns at the death of Sam Jones.

Railroad engineers across the country tapped their train whistles intermittently to mimic the sound of weeping souls, its thousands viewing the lifeless body now lying in state under the great dome of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. No less than thirty thousand mourners are with bowed heads and muffled sobs passed through the Capitol paying final respects to a man used by God to transform their lives for time and eternity. Such was the scene in Atlanta, Georgia on October the 16th, 1906.

There was no greater spokesperson for right and against wrong than Sam Jones, the southern evangelist. He said more quotable things than any man of his generation. He preached to more than a million people each year for twenty-five years.

He saw more than five hundred thousand souls profess Christ under an itinerant ministry that crisscrossed the nation. Thousands of saloons were put out of business because patrons were saved through this ministry and they renounced their former ways. Newspapers in all the great cities of America printed his sermons distributing more than one million copies of his sermons throughout the republic.

His image hung framed in drawing rooms and every major city candy bars and babies were named after him. Entire cities like Nashville and Chicago were shaken by spiritual revival as a consequence of his preaching. The moral life of communities was transformed.

He fearlessly preached sin black and hell hot and he sounded the alarm that you must repent or you will likewise perish. He was a man who with great command of the English language and unusual control of tens of thousands who packed his meetings to hear his famous sayings like being a Christian means quitting your meanness. When President Theodore Roosevelt spoke in Atlanta he addressed a crowd of fifty thousand people at Piedmont Park.

Upon learning that Sam Jones was in the audience he had him rise and join him at the podium. The president then placed his arm around him and commended him to the large crowd. Mr. Jones in your way are doing more for this country and the people what I'm trying to accomplish in mine.

I heartily endorse your good work and hope that success will continue to crown your efforts. The next time you visit Washington I want you to telegraph me in advance. I want you to be my guest during your stay in the capital city.

During his public ministry Sam Jones preached in America's largest auditoriums and filled them to capacity for weeks at a time. When he visited a town it seemed like people dropped everything to go hear him. Religion became the main topic in every place of secular business and the oft asked question was have you heard Sam Jones? Sam Jones was an expert on human nature.

He knew how to grip the attention of an audience and hold it as if it were in the palm of his hand. He could make people laugh or cry or stand to their feet in unison to admit their duty to live better and to make their community a better place under God. A story he often used to describe his success as a preacher best distinguishes him.

He said when he was a circuit rider in the mounds of Georgia an old preacher came to him one day and said Sam you know I can out preach you any day and yet the people of my circuit are leaving me every Sunday and coming over to hear you preach. I want you to tell me why it is and if you can tell me how to prevent it for it has come to pass that I never have more than a baker's dozen to hear me. Sam said my brother if you will do what I tell you it will not be so.

You will have no trouble in keeping your crowd. Well said the old preacher I will try. No said Sam you must promise to do exactly as I tell you.

All right said he anything to get a crowd. All right said Sam next Sunday when you go to church begin promptly at 11 o'clock announce your hymn read your text and then stop. You'll probably see some of the old bench warmers sitting on the front pews about half asleep double up your fist strike the palm of your hand and say boo say it as loud as you can if nobody moves do so again and again and still if nobody moves jump off the platform and grab the first one that you come by by the back of the neck and pitch them outdoors heels overhead get back on the platform look out over the house and you will see the last man going out and he will do what the last man always does look back to see what has taken place just as he looks back double up your fist strike the palm of your hand again and say boo as loud as you can he will jump up 20 feet and light on the ground then you make for your gray mare say as you go through the yard brethren I will preach here again next Sunday morning at 11 o'clock if anyone starts to you just say boo go home and lock yourself in your room in a few hours time the reporters from Atlanta will be up they never heard of you before but they will be there to interview you and to see what has come over you do not let them into your room whatever you do finally they will begin to beg and when they do you put your mouth to the key hole and whisper boo tell them all you have to say is you'll preach again next Sunday morning at 11 o'clock at the same old stand those reporters will at once leave and next morning in the Atlanta papers there'll be great headlines boo boo boo etc think of it two columns on the front page in the Atlanta papers all about you they have never heard of you before next Sunday morning go to church and when you get there you'll find 5,000 people there'll be from all sections round about and at least half a dozen newspaper reporters will be in the crowd oh Shaw brother Jones said the old preacher hush your foolishness what on earth would there be there for yes said Sam that's just exactly what I expected you to ask that is just what I wanted you to ask they will be there to see and hear a man who has done something that's what they will be there for the trouble with you brother is you have said enough but you have not done anything and that's what the world wants is men that do things that's exactly what Sam Jones did he was a man who did things and touched the heartbeat of a nation for the glory of God this has been an excerpt from a new biography on Sam Jones entitled Sam Jones a new biography you can get your copy on amazon.com