Robert F. Lay is professor of Christian Educational Ministries and University Archivist for Taylor University.

The valuable lessons alluded to in this title are those derived from experience. Though William Taylor (1821-1902), a Methodist minister, missionary, and eventually bishop wrote extensively throughout his long career, this is his only work of deeply personal expression: the journals of his several years 'street preaching' in San Francisco between the winter of 1851 and the fall of 1856, experiences crucial to his growth but also to the history of the city. A marvelous and informing editor's introduction clarifies the special meaning of 'experience' for evangelicals of the time, it was the way through which they came to know about themselves and about God. A hard working, open-hearted man is depicted here, ministering to the lost and despondent including orphans adrift and drunken sailors, preaching in Portsmouth Square, building small churches wherever he could, some of rickety waterside construction, and attending to the sick and dying, many of whom are far from old, this being a time when death followed life from birth onward seemingly relentlessly. This is an incredible history of spiritual yearning, dedicated work, and the rugged determination that accompanied new urban settlement. Useful notes help with matters of rhetoric, religious doctrine, missionary strategies, and historical context.

Robert F. Lay is professor of Christian Educational Ministries and University Archivist for Taylor University.

The valuable lessons alluded to in this title are those derived from experience. Though William Taylor (1821-1902), a Methodist minister, missionary, and eventually bishop wrote extensively throughout his long career, this is his only work of deeply personal expression: the journals of his several years 'street preaching' in San Francisco between the winter of 1851 and the fall of 1856, experiences crucial to his growth but also to the history of the city. A marvelous and informing editor's introduction clarifies the special meaning of 'experience' for evangelicals of the time, it was the way through which they came to know about themselves and about God. A hard working, open-hearted man is depicted here, ministering to the lost and despondent including orphans adrift and drunken sailors, preaching in Portsmouth Square, building small churches wherever he could, some of rickety waterside construction, and attending to the sick and dying, many of whom are far from old, this being a time when death followed life from birth onward seemingly relentlessly. This is an incredible history of spiritual yearning, dedicated work, and the rugged determination that accompanied new urban settlement. Useful notes help with matters of rhetoric, religious doctrine, missionary strategies, and historical context.

Robert F. Lay is professor of Christian Educational Ministries and University Archivist for Taylor University.

The valuable lessons alluded to in this title are those derived from experience. Though William Taylor (1821-1902), a Methodist minister, missionary, and eventually bishop wrote extensively throughout his long career, this is his only work of deeply personal expression: the journals of his several years 'street preaching' in San Francisco between the winter of 1851 and the fall of 1856, experiences crucial to his growth but also to the history of the city. A marvelous and informing editor's introduction clarifies the special meaning of 'experience' for evangelicals of the time, it was the way through which they came to know about themselves and about God. A hard working, open-hearted man is depicted here, ministering to the lost and despondent including orphans adrift and drunken sailors, preaching in Portsmouth Square, building small churches wherever he could, some of rickety waterside construction, and attending to the sick and dying, many of whom are far from old, this being a time when death followed life from birth onward seemingly relentlessly. This is an incredible history of spiritual yearning, dedicated work, and the rugged determination that accompanied new urban settlement. Useful notes help with matters of rhetoric, religious doctrine, missionary strategies, and historical context.