Wesley, Whitefield and Spiritual Influence

Believers having an impact on other believers:

All Christians can and should have a real spiritual impact on other Christians. Church history provides countless examples of this. This article is just a brief historical, theological and spiritual look at two past spiritual giants: John Wesley and George Whitefield. The background to it, and rationale for it, goes as follows:

I recently wrote a piece looking at John Wesley and his famous 22 Questions. In it I offered some quotes from two authors: Fred Sanders and Thomas Oden. As I often do, parts of that article were shared on the social media. One of the quotes from my piece that I put on Facebook was this:

“The early evangelical revivals in Great Britain were profoundly shaped and informed by the ministries of George Whitefield, the Countess of Huntingdon, William Wilberforce, and William and Catherine Booth. Earlier than all of these, however, was the evangelical revival initiated by the Spirit through the calling of John and Charles Wesley. All of the above owed a great debt to the Wesleys.” Thomas Oden

One long-standing friend, Ed, who is a keen student of history, sent in the following response to that quote:

We’ll actually Whitefield preceded the Wesleys in his ministry. He was the one who started preaching in the open air and encouraged John Wesley to do the same, which John was at first reluctant to do. Because they were friends I’m sure George did owe a great deal to him, as I do to you, my friend. But it is wrong to suggest the Wesley’s came earlier.

I offered this quick reply to him:

Yes correct Ed, although it is Oden who needs to be challenged here, since I simply shared his quote. Perhaps I could have shared another quote, but Oden would have been a good enough theologian and historian to know that bit about open-air preaching. But as a Methodist minister and theologian, and the author of a 4-volume work on Wesley, he was obviously rather partial to Wesley!

I could have said more but decided that this was sufficient for a little Facebook discussion. But still, the issue was interesting, and I wanted to explore it a bit further, and thus this article. The truth is, I do not know exactly why Oden stated that as he did (he passed away in 2016, so we cannot now ask him). As I said in my reply, he would have known the actual timelines of each man.

So what he actually meant by saying “Earlier than all of these, however, was the evangelical revival initiated by the Spirit through the calling of John and Charles Wesley” is not fully clear. And I have not read every word of the four-volume set by Oden to see if he addresses it elsewhere.

But the whole matter does raise the issue of the sorts of influence one believer can have on another. One can ask who might have had more of an impact on the other: Wesley or Whitefield? They of course both had mentioned their debt to one another, even despite their theological differences.

Comparing their chronologies can give us some insights into this, but not all. So let me just do a combined timeline of the pair, at least for parts of their lives, and then offer a few closing thoughts. Obviously, Wesley preceded Whitefield in terms of birth by some 11 years. But who might have had the first spiritual birth and the like is a more important matter to explore.

Combined timeline

Here I simply borrow from the two timelines found on the Christian History Institute:

1703 JW is born

1714 GW is born

…

1720 JW goes to Oxford

1726 JW elected fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford

1727 JW takes up assistant pastorale of Wroote, Lines

1729 JW returns to Oxford, takes over leadership of Holy Club

1732 GW enrolls at Pembroke College, Oxford University. Begins praying three times a day and fasting weekly.

1733 GW invited to breakfast by Charles Wesley and introduced to the Holy Club’s 10 or 11 earnest members. Borrows from Wesley The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal, which “showed me that I must be born again, or be damned!”

1734 Like his Holy Club friends, GW seeks salvation through severe discipline and good works, which causes a breakdown of his health from which he never fully recovers.

1735 John and Charles leave for Georgia

1735 Following five years of penitence, GW becomes first of the Oxford methodists to experience “a full assurance of faith broke in upon my disconsolate soul!” Begins evangelizing, with converts organized into a society.

1735 GW leads the Holy Club (the Wesleys had become missionaries to Georgia). Completes his degree, is ordained a deacon in the Church of England, and preaches his first sermon. Returns to Oxford to pursue graduate studies, but then leaves to substitute preach for various friends. Decides to become a missionary to Georgia.

1737 While voyage is delayed, GW’s preaching electrifies Bristol and London; thousands pack churches to hear him. Publishes six sermons, while opponents publish against him.

1737 JW departs from America

1738 JW’s “conversion” at a meeting house on Aldersgate Street in London, May 24

1738 GW spends three months in Georgia.

1739 GW ordained a priest but finds many pulpits are now closed to him. Begins preaching outdoors, and soon tens of thousands hear of Christ in the fields. Some nobility, including the countess of Huntingdon, are drawn to Whitefield. In August, sails for America and preaches to throngs in New York and Philadelphia. Meets Ben Franklin.

1739 JW’s first open-air sermon modeled after the style of George Whitefield

1740 JW separates from Moravians

1740 In Georgia, GW selects a site for Bethesda, his orphanage, and preaches at every opportunity. April: Preaches in northern cities like Philadelphia and small towns like Fagg’s Manor, where 12,000 hear him. Midyear: Back in Georgia. Fall: Preaching tour takes New England by storm.

1741 Arriving in England in March, GW meets with great hostility, stirred largely by John Wesley’s attacks against his Calvinism. Publishes a counterattack against Wesley. Preaches extensively in England, Scotland, and Wales. 

1741 JW Preaches in South Wales for first time

1742 JW preaches in the north of England for the first time with Charles. They establish an orphanage and Sunday School

1747 JW reaches in Ireland for first time (first of 42 trips).

…

1770 Dies

1791 Wesley dies

https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/george-whitefield-timeline
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/john-wesley-and-18th-century-timeline

Other considerations

Those who are far greater Wesley and Whitefield scholars than I am would be the ones to speak here, but I can raise a few quick points. As can be seen from the above timeline, Whitefield seems to have had the first spiritual awakening of the pair. And yes, he started open air preaching first. And one can debate when exactly we date the beginning of ‘the evangelical revival’ that Oden refers to.

But the pair would have had a fair amount of influence on each other. Some years ago I wrote three articles on Whitefield, and I can quote from two of them here:

Theologically he was a staunch Calvinist which put him at odds with John Wesley. This strong disagreement went quite public, although the two remained friends. Eventually the Methodists split between Calvinist and Arminian wings. But Whitefield always had a high regard for Wesley, and Wesley did preach at his funeral. https://billmuehlenberg.com/2015/03/31/notable-christians-george-whitefield/

Whitefield, who was as much a founder of the Methodist movement as the Wesleys were, was Calvinist in his theology, while the Wesleys were Arminian.

 

That led to plenty of longstanding divisions, and John Wesley published a book denouncing what he saw as major errors in Whitefield’s theology. Eventually and reluctantly Whitefield published a reply to it. But all along Whitefield sought to be a peacemaker, and never gave up hope of having Christian unity with the Wesleys.

 

Decades later this became a reality. But for many years Whitefield was all but written off by the brothers. But he never gave up attempting to reconcile and unite. He hung on to his theological convictions, to be sure, but he always sought to bring peace and restoration.

 

And as the revival and awakening in England progressed, three distinct bodies began to emerge: the Moravians (founded by Zinzendorf), the Methodists, and the Whitefieldians. The three tended to attack each other and seek to take members from each other. Whitefield himself had long sought and worked for unity, and long sought to keep all the parties as one – but without compromising key doctrinal beliefs. https://billmuehlenberg.com/2018/02/19/lessons-life-whitefield/

One article on the relationship between the two is well worth reading, but here are its closing paragraphs:

Both Whitefield and Wesley (and the Moravians) deserve credit as Founding Fathers of the great revival. What is most striking is the providential complementarity of the two men’s gifts. More than any evangelist before him, Whitefield was given the ability to scatter the seed of God’s Word across the world. To Wesley, preeminently, was granted the ability to garner the grain and preserve it.

 

In 1770, the year of his death, Whitefield wrote to Charles as “my very dear old friend” and described John as “your honoured brother.” To each he bequeathed a mourning ring, “in token of my indissoluble union with them in heart and Christian affection, notwithstanding our difference in judgment about some particular points of doctrine.” On Whitefield’s death, Charles penned a noble elegy. And at Whitefield’s request, his funeral sermon was preached by none other than his former opponent, John Wesley. https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/wesley-vs-whitefield

Closing reflection

A final thought on all this. After my friend and I on FB went back and forth, another friend, Michael, sent in a comment which was quite helpful: “Bill, I’m sure that all of these men would agree that it was the Spirit of God that was responsible for the great awakening in Great Britain, and later, in the American colonies as well. We are fortunate that we can read their sermons and their journals.”

Yes wise words indeed. And let me briefly discuss these two old friends who formed the basis of this article. They both were into the hippy scene long ago like I was, and both became Christians around the same time that I did. I first met Ed in Holland in 1979 when we came to do a YWAM missionary school. I have known him ever since.

And Michael I knew way back in high school, since at least 1970. Here they both are, many decades later, still having an influence on me, and hopefully I am having a bit of an impact on them. So whether it was Whitefield and Wesley back then, or these two friends today, they reinforce the theme of my article: Christians are to be in the business of encouraging and influencing one another.

Recommended reading

Collins, Kenneth, The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace. Abingdon Press, 2007.
Oden, Thomas, John Wesley’s Teachings, vol. 1, God and Providence. Zondervan, 2012.
Oden, Thomas, John Wesley’s Teachings, vol. 2, Christ and Salvation. Zondervan, 2012.
Oden, Thomas, John Wesley’s Teachings, vol. 3, Pastoral Theology. Zondervan, 2012.
Oden, Thomas, John Wesley’s Teachings, vol. 4, Ethics and Society. Zondervan, 2014.
Pollock, John, John Wesley: Servant of God. Victor Books, 1989.
Sanders, Fred, Wesley on the Christian Life. Crossway, 2013.
Tomkins, Stephen, John Wesley: A Biography. Eerdmans, 2003.
Waller, Ralph, John Wesley: A Personal Portrait. Continuum, 2003.

Dallimore, Arnold, George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth Century, 2 vols. Banner of Truth, 1970, 1980.
For those not wishing to read those 1200 pages, a 200-page abridged version is available:
Dallimore, Arnold, George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century. Crossway Books, 1990.
Kidd, Thomas, George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father. Yale University Press, 2014.
Lawson, Steven, The Evangelistic Zeal of George Whitefield. Ligonier, 2014.
Noll, Mark, The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield and the Wesleys. IVP, 2004.
Pollock, John, George Whitefield and the Great Awakening. Lion, 1972.

[2012 words]