Everyone Needs a George Whitfield

Recently I have been reading a Biography of John Wesley. His story is pretty amazing (though like us, he definitely had his issues). It was in 1738 that John Wesley had a pretty powerful "God moment." Something happened in him that set him free to experience a transformative faith, a faith that in Jesus Christ we are justified before the Father as an act of God's grace, through faith. That moment has come to be called the "Aldersgate Experience." Throughout his journals, he would refer back to that moment often.

But like all of us, once a "God moment" is had, the question is then asked, "What do I do with this?" Couple that with his general unpopularity with the established Church of England, and Wesley really didn't know how he was going to get the "good news" of justification by grace through faith out to the public. He was banned from preaching in many Church of England pulpits. Well, what do you do? Throw up your hands and say..."Well God, it would have been a good thing." Or...do you get "carried away?"

Enter stage right...George Whitfield. Ten years Wesley's junior, Whitfield had already established a reputation for being a fiery preacher whose methods were a bit non-traditional. In fact, Whitfield told Wesley that if they won't let you preach in the church, then preach in the fields. "Field Preaching?" At first Wesley thought that this might be a bit out-of-bounds, even a bit "carried away." But through Whitfield's tenacity and the Spirit's movement in Wesley's life, Wesley decided that he needed to let go and be carried away by God's Spirit. So he did! He began to preach! In fact, Wesley preached an amazingly powerful sermon standing on top of his father's tombstone because the church wouldn't let him inside.

All of us need a George Whitfield in our lives. We need the kind of person to remind us that the "Good News" of the gospel is too good to just bury in the ground. We need someone to remind us that sometimes the "organized church" isn't willing to get carried away. Sometimes we need to be moved by God's Spirit in non-traditional manners to be effective in reaching those that God cares about.

By the way...if you don't know the rest of the story, John Wesley, his brother Charles, and George Whitfield sparked a revival in England that changed the fabric of the English culture during their time. Thousands were saved, the poor were looked after, prisons and schools were reformed. Praise be to God for getting "carried away."