George Müller: The Thief Who Was Trusted

George Müller, a series in two parts. Part 1: The Thief Who Was Trusted · Part 2: Open Books

The moment

George Müller was born on September 27, 1805, in Kroppenstedt, in Prussia. His own account of his youth is unflattering. He writes that as a boy he stole money from his father, and that as a teenager he was gambling and drinking while his mother was dying.

In 1825, as a university student at Halle, he went to a prayer meeting in a private home. He later called that evening the turning point of his life.

What he did

He gave up a fixed salary. Müller came to England in 1829. In 1830, serving a small chapel, he decided to stop receiving a regular salary and to depend on whatever people gave freely. He held to that for the rest of his life.

He settled in one city. He moved to Bristol in May 1832 and stayed for sixty-six years.

He started small. In 1834 he founded the Scriptural Knowledge Institution to support schools and distribute Bibles. In 1836 he and his wife, Mary, opened a rented house on Wilson Street for thirty orphan girls. Three more houses on the same street followed, until 130 children were in their care.

He listened to complaints. By 1845 the neighbors were objecting to the noise and disruption. Müller concluded they had a point, and that the children needed a place built for them. In 1849 the first purpose-built home opened at Ashley Down, with room for 300.

What leaders can take from this part

A bad start does not disqualify. He told the truth about his own past in print. People trusted him more for having said so.

Remove your own conflict of interest. By refusing a salary, he made sure nobody could say he profited from the work.

Begin with what you can do well. Thirty children in one house. Scale came after years of doing the small thing faithfully.

Treat a complaint as information. The neighbors were not enemies of the mission. Hearing them led to a better home for the children.

Next, Part 2: Open Books →