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Why Mr. Wesley Failed and Mr. Whitefield Succeeded:

The History of Their Work in the Colony of Georgia

A Thesis Submitted in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of History

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT SPRINGFIELD

2005

Albert C. Whittenberg


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Wesley and Whitefield 2

Abstract

The names of John Wesley and George Whitefield are well known in most

Western religious circles. One is considered the father of Methodism while the other was

one of the chief instigators of the Great Awakening of the 1700s. Both would share a

number of similarities: the same schooling, same profession, and even the same mission

field. Both would travel to the New World in search of bringing colonists and Indians to

Christ. Both journeyed to James Edward Oglethorpes Georgia and confronted an

extremely varied population. Wesley failed while Whitefield succeeded. What

happened? What was the difference? Was it just luck? The reasons for success or

failure were actually because of many factors (some beyond the control of each man). In

the end, their journey to Georgia was more than just a small footnote in two powerful

lives. For one, it was a sign of what was wrong and the other a stepping stone to

greatness.


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Table of Contents

Introduction . 4

Oglethorpe and Georgia . 5

John Wesley . 14

George Whitefield . 28

Comparisons & Conclusions . 43

Endnotes . 51

Bibliography . 59

Notes on Illustrations . 62


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How can two men be so alike and yet worlds apart? How can two men grow up

in basically the same surroundings, go to the same school, choose the same calling and

yet achieve such different results in one place?

Born in 1703, John Wesley would follow in his fathers footsteps to become a

minister of the Church of England. He would attend Oxford University, graduate and

then start missionary work in the new colony of Georgia. Born in 1714, George

Whitefield would also go to Oxford, become a friend to John Wesley, also be ordained

and journey to Georgia as well (about the same time that Wesley was leaving). Both

would be labeled Methodists due to their habit of organizing each hour of the day to

some task (religious or not). Both later achieved great success even while distancing

themselves from the policies of the Church of England. Both led thousands through their

preaching. Both had their journals and sermons published while also being turned away

from pulpits in England. Wesley and Whitefields lives were strangely similar.

However, one left Savanna, Georgia a broken man while the other left a hero (and also

returned a hero several times). America was fertile ground for Mr. Whitefield but

tragedy for Mr. Wesley. What was the difference? Was it the man or the surroundings?

Or was it a host of other things that made one man fail where another succeeded?

We will examine each mans humble beginnings, their realization of a need to

preach and their eventual journey to the New World. The colony of Georgia will also be

examined along with the man who created it, James Edward Oglethorpe. He would also

play a hand in the events of both these men. An unusual colony, an unusual time, and a

very peculiar leader would help mold the successes and failures of John Wesley and

George Whitefield.


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Oglethorpe and Georgia

Before we focus on Wesley and Whitefield, it is necessary to examine the social,

physical and geographic environment to which they were heading. America was still the

property of England, and Georgia would be the last of the original thirteen colonies that

would eventually break free of their mother country. The story of Georgia actually

begins with one man, General James Edward Oglethorpe.

Who was Oglethorpe? Biographer Webb Garrison called him a philanthropist

but he was more: a petty gentleman with blood coursing through his veins and ambitions

churning in his head.

1

Another biographer, Phinizy Spalding, called him a man of a

distinguished and volatile Jacobite family who inherited from both his parents an almost

unbounded enthusiasm and zest for life.2

Oglethorpes father, Theophilus, was a close friend to King James II and his

mother was a considered a trusted member of the royal inner circle.3

When James was

forced to flee into exile, Oglethorpes parents plotted to bring him back into power. His

mother was a master politician and tried to win political preferment for her son through

her contacts with James II. This led to a commission as an Ensign in the 1st

Floor Guards

at age 14 and three years later being commissioned at Windsor as a Lieutenant

unassigned and rank as Captain of the Foot.4

Again his mother intervened, and he left the

military temporarily to attend Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He would not stay long

(although he did keep his name on the books) and would again join the army.

It was during this time of school and rejoining the army that the reign of the Stuart

monarchs had ended. Queen Anne had died in 1714, and the new Hanoverian king

George I was on the throne. Oglethorpes family was still plotting their Jacobite


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movement (mainly in France). However, James decided to not follow the path of his

mother and his sisters (no interest in reinstating old monarchs). He had quietly taken

over the family estate from his brother and remained out of the spotlight till he ran for

Parliament in 1722 for the borough of Haslemere, Surrey .

It was not unusual that James should run for Parliament. His father had served as

a representative in the House of Commons as well as both his brothers, Lewis and

Theophilus, Jr. It was a heated election in which he fought his enemies not only with

words but his sword. Biographer Gordon Vaeth writes,

The scrap occurred in the Haslemere marketplace. The fight resultedwhen Oglethorpe, with a friend, happened upon two of his political

opponents. An exchange of not-very-pleasant remarks took place. One of

the two opponents drew his sword. Immediately the remaining three men

did the same. There were thrusts and parries. Onlookers gathered in timeto see Oglethorpe wound one man in the stomach, the other man in the

thigh.5

Like his father who had also been known as a brawler and had once been accused of

killing a man, Oglethorpe had a fiery temper and would not be insulted. He was willing

to fight for a cause if he believed in it. A nontraditional candidate produced a tight race

with Oglethorpe narrowly coming out on top. The final vote of March 1722 was

Oglethorpe, 46; Peter Burrell, 45; More Molyneaux, 25; and Lord Blundell, 24.6

For the

next thirty-two years, James name would be listed on the House of Commons.

It was an interesting time to serve in Parliament. British society was clearly

divided into people with means and those without. At one side of the scale, there were

maybe 400 great landlords earning three thousand or more pounds per year; a handful of

shopkeepers making around 400 pounds per year; around 15,000 families who owned

real property but made under 500 pounds per year (Oglethorpe being one of them); and


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finally around 100,000 families with small pieces of land making less than 100 pounds

per year. Below that were poor beyond number whose cash income could be as low as

thirty shillings per week. These poor would flock to the cities in hopes of a better life as

places such as London swelled to nearly 500,000.7

With such large numbers of poor, it is not a surprise that Oglethorpe became

focused on the frightful jail treatment given in England to debtors who could not pay

their financial obligations.8

Oglethorpe had visited an architect friend of his, Robert

Castell, in one of these debtor prisons and had been shocked by the conditions (the house

was contaminated with small-pox, which Castell eventually caught). With high

unemployment and men turning to robbery to pay their debts, Oglethorpe knew that

people could not raise money to pay their debts from a prison cell. Jailers would also add

fees on top of the ones originally owed, meaning someone confined to a debtors prison

would likely remain there. Oglethorpe began a long investigation and produced three

reports to the House of Commons in which he charged the respective jailers and their

deputies with the sale of offices, breaches of trust, enormous extortions, oppression,

intimidation, gross brutalities, and the highest crimes and dismeanors.9

In his first

report regarding the Fleet Prison, Oglethorpe stated the warden Thomas Bambridge,

hath not regarded or compiled with the official regulations, but hath

exercised an unwarrantable and arbitrary Power, not only in extorting

exorbitant Fees, but in oppressing Prisoners for Debt, by loading them

with Irons, worse than if the Star-Chamber was still subsisting, andcontrary to the great Charter, the Foundation of the Liberty of the Subject,

and in Defiance and Contempt thereof, as well as of other good Laws of

this Kingdom.10

It is not surprising that the House of Commons voted unanimously to prosecute

Bambridge and his associates. This was a good first step, but Oglethorpe wanted more.


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The more Oglethorpe thought about the poor in England, the more he thought

about the colonies in America. He approached another member of Parliament, John

Viscount Perceval, with his idea. Perceval had served with James on the prison

committees and was impressed with his work. They worked out a plan of where they

wanted the new colony (between South Carolina and Florida), who they wanted (men out

of work but not guilty of any serious crime), and what crops/goods they would produce

(medicinal plants, grapes, olives, and silk). They petitioned King George I in 1717 and

after much administrative headaches finally got George II to sign the charter in 1732.

The colony would be called Georgia in honor of the monarch (or perhaps monarchs

since both kings petitioned were named George). The Georgia experiment created a new

colony in America, specifically for debtors and the unemployed. Then, Oglethorpe was

chosen to lead these men and their families to the new world.

This Georgia experiment was to be like no other colony. The land was made to

be worked by debtors without the benefit of slaves or strong drink. It was organized in a

somewhat military fashion to provide a wedge between Carolina and Spain, who

controlled Florida. As written in one of the proposals, the cost to create this new colony

would be nothing compared to

the Fruits, Oils, Wax, Cotton, Tobacco, Indigo, Cocoa-Nut, Skins,

Timber for Building, and other sorts of Wood, Pitch, Tar, Canvas, Linen,

Silks, Brandy, Exquisite Wines, Wheat, Rice, and other Products, useful

both in Physick and Dyeing, which will be all returned from thence, andnothing repaid in Exchange, but Merchandises that arise from the

Manufactures of Great Britain. 11

The greatest pressure was the expectation for a strong silk harvest. It was hoped that

within thirty years England might not only meet her own needs, but supply all Europe as

well with silk.12


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On January 13, 1733, there arrived in Charles Town, South Carolina, the two-

hundred ton ship Ann, completing a voyage of seven weeks from England with 110

persons on board.13

Ogelthorpe led the group south to create the new city of Savannah.

This land was originally part of a Royal Grant made in 1663 by Charles II to the Lord

Proprietors of Carolina. Subjected to frequent Indian raids and confronted with the ever

present fear of Spanish invasion from the south, the Lord Proprietors made little attempt

to settle this southernmost section of their grant, and in 1729 relinquished their claim to

the area.14

George II had given the rights to a group of trustees, including Dr. Burton

and Ogelthorpe. This delighted the people of South Carolina to have a new colony in-

between them and the Spaniards in Florida.

The town that would be created for this group of people would be called

Savannah. Oglethorpe described first viewing this spot:

I went myself to view the Savannah River. I fixed upon a healthy

situation about ten miles from the Sea. The River there forms a half moon

along the South side of which the banks are about 40 foot high and upon

the top a flat which they call a bluff. The plain high ground extends intothe country five or six miles and along the river side about a mile. Ships

that draw twelve foot water can ride within ten yards of the bank. Upon

the river side in the center of this plain, I have laid out the town. Overagainst it is an island of very rich land fit for pasturage which I think

should be kept for the trustees cattle. The river is pretty wide, the water

fresh, and from the key of the town, you see its whole course to the Sea.15

Oglethorpe was already conceiving how the city would look. Some historians

claim that he planned Savannah inspired by his friendship with an English architect,

Robert Castrell, who had written The Villas of the Ancients Illustrated.16 Others

claimed Oglethorpe was a fan of the classic Roman castra, which promoted easy

defense and small compact lots of land. In 1736, Francis Moore remarked:


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Where the town land end, the villages begin; four villages make a ward

without, which depends on one of the wards within the town. The use of

this is, in case of war should happen, the villagers without may have

places in the town, to bring their cattle and families into for refuge, and tothat purpose there is square left in every ward, big enough for the

outwards to come in.

17

Whatever the inspiration, Savannah was a carefully created town meant to survive attacks

from the Spanish or the Indians. The picture below details Oglethorpes idea of small but

organized lots:

A popular illustration of Savannah that appears in several texts on Oglethorpe and Wesley

Oglethorpe worked hard to improve relations with Savannahs immediate

neighbors, the Indians. With an Indian outpost roughly 15 minutes from the town,


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Oglethorpe understood that the Indians were far more a concern than the Spanish

initially. To his credit, many biographers compliment him on his treatment of the Indians

(compared to other men of this time). It is said that he would not conclude a deal with

an Indian before the Indian understood it, would not show any impatience with an

Indian, and would bestow as much care upon a sick Indian as upon a sick white man.18

On his first trip back to England, he even took one of the Indian chiefs, Tomochichi, back

with him to show his superiors of his success with dealing with the natives.

Oglethorpe worked with the Indians and various traders, introduced the silk

culture, and later tobacco. He also welcomed other refugees (other than debtors from

England). This colony was to be a great experiment where Oglethorpes rules were to be

obeyed. Each piece of land given to a colonist carried specific stipulations. In a letter to

potential colonist George Dunbar, Oglethorpe would give five hundred acres on the

following conditions:

1. Ten shillings will be paid to Great Britain for every hundred acres in taxes.2. The land must be settled within one year with only free men, tenants or

servants.

3. The land must remain settled at least three years.4. Mulberry trees must be planted on twenty of said acres.5. None of the five hundred acres shall be alienated.6. They should not manufacture pot ash as a company.7. They shall not have slaves or any black in the Province of Georgia.8. If the person dies (without successor) or is guilty of treason, the lands shall

return to the Trust.19

It is interesting to note that one of the main conditions he put in any document

regarding the transfer of land was the prohibition of any slave labor. This was not due to

Oglethorpe being against the slave trade (he actually had some investments in it). The

absence has been credited to his belief that these colonists should work on their own. As

he described it, the poor, the unemployed, and the unemployable would be relocated in


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the southern borderlands where, through the medium of work, they would become useful

and virtuous citizens.20

Also, since a group of slaves had run away from South Carolina

and had set up a community in Spanish held Florida, Oglethorpe and the Trustees felt

additional blacks might pose a serious military problem. But for whatever the reasons,

Georgia started out without slavery. This would be one of the few points that colonists

would argue with Oglethorpe.

Another odd thing was how very few of the people that came with Oglethorpe

were debtors. Some historians argue that as few as a dozen actually got selected to go to

Georgia. To say that only the poor came would also be an error. Settlers were flooding

in from everywhere. Historian Harry E. DeFoor writes:

Any attempt to reduce the population to a single type is apt to give a falseimpression. The Colonists varied in nationality, economic status,

occupation, sex, religion, education, and general culture. There were Jews

and Gentiles, English, Germans, Scotch, Irish, French, Italians,Portuguese, and perhaps other nationalities represented; there were men

and women of every trade and profession: viticulturists, doctors, silk

workers, sawyers, pindars, Indian traders, bakers, ministers, carpenters,

surveyors, shopkeepers, bricklayers, midwives, pilots, shoemakers,wheelwrights, and numerous other occupational groups; there were

masters with indentured servants and poor settlers entirely dependent upon

the charity of the Trust; there were Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians,Lutherans, Moravians, and other religious groups; there were graduates of

Oxford, persons with only a few years of academic training, and hundreds

of illiterates, the latter not excluding some officials in high positions; therewere in general men and women of all walks of life.

21

People saw the possibilities of riches, land, escaping from high taxes, and the Anglican

Church. Georgia was a great experiment with colonists arriving for multitudes of

reasons.

James Oglethorpe was truly the master of his domain. One historian said that

Oglethorpe so completely established himself as patriarch, patron, and protector that the


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people called him father.22

His birthday was celebrated like Christmas. He gave each

settler gifts, an iron pot, frying pan, and three wooden bowls, a Bible, Common Prayer

Book and [The] Whole Duty of Man.23

He told them what to plant, where to build,

when they could work, when they could relax and what they could drink (rum and strong

drink were outlawed). He was quick to put down any kind of trouble (especially anything

that might endanger his relation with the local Indian tribes).

By the time Oglethorpe returned to England, Georgia and specifically Savannah

was growing. It had a thriving population representing different religious beliefs,

economic status, and political affiliation. Colonists were attempting to grow a host of

crops such as silk, rice, corn, tobacco, wheat, and rye. They were building a town and

looking towards other building locations as well. It was starting to feel like home. It is

also around this time that Oglethorpe wrote to some of the Trustees, saying the people

hadbecome indifferent but hedhopes of a new church being built speedily.24

He

needed a minister and perhaps his journey back to England would produce one.

These are three common illustrations of Oglethorpe. The first is very popular but considered inaccurate due toOglethorpes preference for long wigs (from around 1847). The second was probably done in honor of Oglethorpes

promotion to general in 1743. It is not known if the image was done with Oglethorpe as a live subject posing. The final

picture is thougha sketch of the man at the age of 88.


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John Wesley

Who was John Wesley? He labeled himself as a brand plucked from the

burning1and described the world as hisparish.

2He traveled throughout the world,

spoke five languages, wrote almost every day of his life, worked until the day before his

death, and gave most of his earned income away to anyone in need. He is considered the

father of the United Methodist Church and is certainly considered one of the founding

fathers of several other denominations. His movement broke free from the chains of the

Church of England although he refused to leave the church throughout his lifetime. He

was a master organizer, speaker, and politician. He was an amateur scientist and doctor.

3

John Wesley lived nearly eighty-eight years. For sixty years, he arose at four o

clock in the morning and for fifty years had preached every morning at five.4

He

preached at least twice a day every day. Some scholars have estimated Wesley traveled

every year between four and five thousand miles upon horseback where he would often

face mobs, thieves, and the English government opposed to his theology. His following

grew in England, Scotland, Germany, and the American colonies. He trained traveling

ministers, set up schools for instruction, wrote books on universal history, church

history, and natural history.5

He studied natural philosophy most of his life, writing

papers on Greek thinkers and authors.6

He voiced opinions strongly regarding the

conflict between England and the American colonies, although his sympathy did change

several times. He died in 1791 on the day hed have traveled to preach his normal pair of

sermons. He never slowed down, and his organization continues to prosper today.

John was one of nineteen children born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley. Only

nine of the children would reach adulthood. John grew up in a predominantly female


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household. His oldest brother, Samuel, was twelve when John was born and would soon

leave for school. This left John alone with five older sisters till his brother Charles was

born (along with two other sisters, Martha and Kezia). The most influential person in

Johns early years was his mother. There was no question of who really ruled the house,

according to biographer Bonamy Dobre:

They were mostly reasoners, for they came of an arguing stock. Their

parents also had liked to think things out for themselves, for, both born

Dissenters, they had both returned to the Church as by law established.

They knew their own minds, stubbornly. For instance, at the end of theseventeenth century, Mr. Wesley noticed that his wife was always silent

when the King was prayed for, and thus discovering that she was a

Jacobite, he declared that unless she became as good a Whig as he was hewould leave her. She stood firm, and leave her he did. Luckily William III

soon died, and the couple was reconciled under Anne, the earliest fruit of

their reunion being John, who inherited their willfulness. The discipline of

his education, entirely conducted by his mother, helped to encouragestrength of character. At five years old the children were taught to read,

one day only being allowed to learn the alphabet, and they were made to

cry softly after being whipped, measures essential in a large, understaffedhousehold. Mrs. Wesleys motto, Break the childs will, ultimately had

the opposite effect; but she did succeed in breaking, or at least cracking,

her husbands. She had the misfortune, she told her son, never to think like

his father; but when any difference arose, for example as to whether sheshould hold a conventicle at home when the rector was away, it was she

who won. She ruled the house, except on extraordinary occasions, while

old Samuel Wesley, stern, harsh, ambitious for his sons, worked out hiscommentaries on the Book of Job.

7

At the tender age of six, John, according to his mother, became very serious about

religion. He was known to analyze everything, much like his mother. Not knowing how

to take him at time, his father remarked about John that he will have a reason for

everything he has to do. I suppose he will not even break wind, unless he had a reason

for it.8

This is surely Samuelsway of poking fun at Susannas way of teaching the

children, but it does show John early on questioning everything he does. This would


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haunt him on more than one occasion in his adulthood as he faced questions on love and

his salvation.

It was during these days that a remarkable event took place. Wesley biographer

Martin Schmidt describes what happened:

On Thursday night, 9th

February 1709, between eleven and midnight, fire

broke out in the rectory and completely destroyed the building. Themother lay ill in her bedroom, and her husband was by himself in another

room. The warning was given by one of the daughters, Hetty, when

sparks fell on to her feet, and she rushed to her parents bedroom.

Meanwhile shouts of Fire from the road had aroused Samuel Wesley.Quickly grasping the situation he aroused the whole family and gave his

instructions. The childrens maid took charge of the younger children,

while their mother painfully got herself up. The older children were ableto look after themselves, some by jumping out of windows. The father

believed that he could hear one still crying from inside the house, and this

was little John. A strong north-east wind drove the flames so furiously

into the building that every attempt to enter it was frustrated. In thismoment of extreme danger the father knelt down and commended to God

the soul of his little son. Meanwhile John himself was surprised because

he saw his room brightly lit up. He ran to the door, but the smoke made itimpossible for him to get further, so he climbed on to a chest of drawers

and looked out. Somebody saw him and wanted to rush for a ladder, but

someone else said there was no time, and suggested standing by the wall

of the house so that a lighter man might get on his shoulders and take thechild from the window. This was done. Scarcely had the little boy come

out when the roof fell in.9

From then on, Johns family and especially his mother felt he was meant for some higher

purpose. This is why John referred to himself as a brand plucked from the burning. As

Wesley grew into a young man, this event signified more and more to him that he should

preach. He should dedicate his life to the service of the Church like his father before

him.

John would follow brother Samuel to Christ Church (one of the stronger colleges

in Oxford). Charles would later join John as well. He was a solid student with a strong

social life and graduated with his bachelors in 1724. He would then continue towards his


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Masters, when events started to change for him. Wesley began to struggle with the idea

of predestination. He read books that showed different ideas about theology from what

was accepted (or to be more preciseexpected) by the Church of England. He also

explored books regarding ideas about moderation in food and drink, strict regiments of

sleep and exercise, and the importance of simple lifestyle. Wesley also fell in love.

The girls name was Sally Kirkham. Her family was well known in Oxford and

connected with many of the groups that Wesley was also acquainted. There was no talk

of marriage as Wesley had no real income and was also in a great deal of debt due to

school (and other activities). It is not known if Sally was the one to first introduce

Wesley to some of these books from whence he had culled these new ideas. She would

eventually tire of Wesleys flirting and lack of funds, and marry another. The really sad

thing is she kept leading Wesley along. They held hands, and she would say to him,

Methinks tis almost a sin to prostitute those expressions of tenderness to others which I

have at any time applied to you. I cant think it expedient nor indeed lawful to break off

that acquaintance which is one of the strongest incentives I have to virtue. 10 It would

take Wesleys mother putting her foot down before John would drop the subject.

That Susanna would object is not surprising. Her children were not known for

their success in the field of romance. His oldest sister had planned on marrying a friend

from the university but her family had forbid it. She would eventually give up on love

and return to the rectory. The next oldest, Susanna, would marry an abusive husband

whom she would eventually leave (but sadly, after bearing a number of children with

him). Johns next sister, Hetty, would get pregnant before marriage, elope with one man,

leave him, and then marry another. The child would die after childbirth, and the man she


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married would be very abusive as well. Only Anne would have a stable and happy

marriage.11

It was also during this time that John would join his brother Charles in the famous

Holy Club. Charles had formed it along with two other students, William Morgan and

Robert Kirkham. This society would encourage themselves and others of like mind to

regular attendance at Holy Communion, a strict observance of the rules of the Anglican

Episcopal Church, the earnest study of the classics and the Holy Scripture, and the spread

of philanthropic deeds.12

They had gotten the name Methodists before John had

joined, due to their scheduling at every hour of the day some sort of duty or study. They

were also given other titles: Bible Moths, Supererogation Men, the Godly Men,

Sacramentarians and Enthusiasts.13

When John came, he made such an impression that

he became their natural leader, plus their number started to grow (including a young

undergraduate by the name of George Whitefield). These men began to experiment with

their religion, their diet, their budgets, and anything else they could think of. They tried

to go on less sleep so they could pray more or study more. Wesley would let his hair

grow long to save on costly wigs or barbers. They would try to survive on less material

items and less food to give their earning to the poor (and also less and less food). John

had started his Methodist following.

However, the John Wesley that traveled to America was a far different person

from when he was at school. In 1735, he had just lost his father in June and had recently

left Lincoln College (feeling he was now too old to mingle with the students). He had

been spending his time completing a commentary on Job on which his father had spent

his last 10 years. John was to present a copy to Queen Caroline, who looked at and said


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it was very prettily bound and then left unopened.14

Feeling rejected at this, the

occasion did present him the opportunity to run into an old friend of his, Dr. John J.

Burton, who approached Wesley about missionary work in Georgia. Dr. Burton was a

member of the Board of Trustees for the Establishment of Georgia and also of the Society

for the Propagation of the Gospel.15

Dr. Burton introduced John to James Oglethorpe,

who was looking for laborers, artisans, tradesmen, soldiers and ministers.16

Ever

cautious, John did not immediately accept the offer from Oglethorpe but spoke with his

mother, his brother, and several others. All told him to go. His mother remarked, had I

twenty sons, I would rejoice that they were so employed, though I should never see them

more.17

His brother Charles even went himself and agreed to be Secretary for Indian

Affairs in Georgia and a personal secretary for Oglethorpe. Thinking this also a chance

to minister to the Indians, and having his brother willing to go with him, John agreed to

go.

Secretly, his chief motive for going was the hope of saving his own soul and to

learn the true sense of the gospel of Christ by preaching it to the heathen.18 A man who

had been taught the gospels from a dedicated mother, with a father also in the ministry,

much schooling, and extreme self study, was having a crisis of faith. He did not believe

he had truly been saved, and his faith in God was badly shaken. Wesley biographer

Stephen Tomkins remarks that the traditional interpretation is that Wesley was

attempting salvation by works saving ones soul by being holy enough to satisfy Gods

standards.19

This is not unusual, as Luthers liberating idea of justification by faith

saving ones soul merely by accepting Gods offer of forgivenesshad been buried

under two centuries of rubble.20

The endless study and rigorous schedule that Wesley


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held to was a hope to achieve salvation. If death was to come, Wesley was thinking he

did not know his eternal destination.

Wesley kept a journal of his entire voyage to and from America. While on the

journey, Oglethorpe got to view the strict Methodist schedule of John and Charles:

Our common way of living was this: From four in the morning till five,

each of us used private prayer. From five to seven we read the Bibletogether, carefully comparing it (that we might not lean to our own

understandings) with the writings of the earliest ages. At seven we

breakfasted. At eight were the public prayers. From nine to twelve, I

usually learned German, and Mr. Delamotte, Greek. My brother writsermons, and Mr. Ingham instructed the children. At twelve we met to

give an account to one another what we had done since our last meeting,

and what we designed to do before our next. About one we dined.The time from dinner to four, we spent in reading to those whom each of

us had taken in charge, or in speaking to them severally, as need required.

At four were the evening prayers; when either the second lesson was

explained, (as it always was in the morning,) or the children werecatechized and instructed before the congregation. From five to six we

again used private prayer. From six to seven I read in our cabin to two or

three of the passengers, (of whom there were about eighty English onboard,) and each of my brethren to a few more in theirs. At seven I joined

with the Germans in their public service; while Mr. Ingham was reading

between the decks, to as many as desired to hear. At eight we met again, to

exhort and instruct one another. Between nine and ten we went to bed,where neither the roaring of the sea, nor the motion of the ship, could take

away the refreshing sleep which God gave us.21

This had been their practice at Oxford and gave Oglethorpe a preview of how the

brothers would attempt to govern things in Georgia.

It was also on this journey that Wesley encountered the German Moravians.

During a violent storm at sea, John and his brother had been trying to calm down their

fellow passenger when John noticed the Moravians quietly singing. Wesley wrote in his

journal: The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterwards, Was you not

afraid? He answered, I thank God, no. I asked, But were not your women and children


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afraid? He replied, mildly, No; our women and children are not afraid todie. 22

Impressed by their faith, he also noticed that

I had long before observed the great seriousness of their behavior. Of

their humility they had given a continual proof, by performing thoseservile offices for the other passengers, which none of the English wouldundertake; for which they desired, and would receive no pay, saying, it

was good for their proud hearts, and their loving Savior had done more

for them. And every day had given them occasion of showing a meeknesswhich no injury could move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown down,

they rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their

mouth.23

Wesley began to talk to them and continued to fear that his own faith was not enough (he

admitted to himself that he was afraid of dying, being unsure of his eternal destination).

His doubts about his salvation continued to grow.

Their journey would end on February 6th

as they docked into a small island off of

Tybee. Oglethorpe had already sailed on to Savannah and had returned with a Moravian

minister, August Spangenberg. Ever curious about the Moravian religion, Wesley

attempted to question the minister. To his surprise, he found himself being questioned.

Biographer Roy Hattersley describes the confrontation:

To Wesleys astonishment, Spangenberg immediately cross-examinedhim about his spiritual condition. Does the Spirit of God bear witness

with your spirit that you are the child of God? Wesley was mortified that

he knew not what to answer. Spangenberg pressed on. Do you knowJesus Christ? Wesley, who had recovered his composure, replied, I know

He is the saviour of the world. Spangenberg was not satisfied. True, but

do you know He has saved you? No doubt anxious not to seem certain

about his own premature sanctity, Wesley explained, I hope He has diedto save me. Wesley feared that the conversation had exposed his spiritual

inadequacy. But Spangenberg himself believed that the new minister had

passed the test. I observe that grave really dwells and reigns in him.24

Nevertheless, John was scared somebody already knew his secret. After offering thanks,

John and Charles wasted no time in holding their first service on American soil.


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Two popular illustrations of Wesley (unknown whether Wesley was posing live), and a plaque that is dedicated in Savannah as the

spot of his first sermon (from photograph taken in 2003).

On March 7, 1736, John Wesley preached his first formal sermon to an

extravagantly dressed crowd. John had been warned that he would see as well dressed

a congregation on Sunday as most he had seen in London.25

Wesley had assumed that a

crowd recently rescued from debtors prison would be more plain in appearance. He

also made a note to himself to preach against costly apparel in the future.

One of the first things he did was read the rules by which he intended to conduct his

ministry.26

As he had managed his daily life by a very rigid schedule so too he also

planned on managing the souls of these people.

One of his first mistakes (over following the rules to the letter) was over baptism.

One of the bailiffs, Mr. Parker, and his wife requested that their baby be baptized by

Wesley. John explained that he only followed the literal instructions of the Prayer Book

and only baptized by trine immersion, which meant dipping the child three times in

water.27

The parents were upset. John made it worse by saying he could pour water on

the child if it was too weak to handle the immersion. The Parkers found someone else to

baptize their child.


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John also did not endear himself to several men of the colonies by asking

Oglethorpe to pass a ruling against the use of firearms on Sunday. Since the colony had

been formed, the men had enjoyed hunting on Sundays, but this was clearly against the

rules of the Church of England regarding the Sabbath. Wesley had also begun a number

of Bible studies and meetings with some of the women of Savannah. Several of the men

complained both about these meetings and their loss of Sundays gun privileges.

Wesley biographer John Hampson sums up these mistakes by saying the

Americans were not to be managed, but by a delicate and skillful handa particular

talent is necessary, great prudence as well as favor.

28

Wesley was seen more as

someone bringing in rules instead of taking away sins.

On March 13, 1736, John Wesley was invited to the house of Mr. and Mrs.

Thomas Causton. Mr. Causton was chief magistrate and supervised the colony supply

center. He and his wife had a problem in their eighteen year old niece Sophia Christiana

Hopkey. Her family had left her money, and had made the Caustons feel very welcome

to watch over her (at first). Sophia (Sophy for short) had recently been dating Tom

Mellichamp who had been in trouble with the law. The Caustons wanted to end the

relationship and saw Wesley as good husband material. The event did not as planned due

to one of the guests invited to dinner that night being one of the German Moravians.

Wesley was very polite to Sophy but spent most of his time discussing religion with the

Moravian. The Caustons assumed Wesley must have had little interest in women.29

The Caustons did not give up hope. They asked Wesley to serve as Sophys tutor

and so-called spiritual counselor. Thus she came daily to his house, where he taught her

French, identified the proper highways to eternal salvation, read to her from William


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Laws Christian Perfection, and, within a year, reached the point of asking for her hand

in marriage.30

The Caustons were not the only ones hoping to do some match-making.

Oglethorpe knew everything that was going on in his town including Wesleys troubles

with the local townsfolk. He remarked that he saw a man superior to everything that

usually captivates human nature. He saw a man, as he thought, fit for his purpose. But

Mr Wesleys religion or, as he termed it, his enthusiasm, was standing in the way.31

The

problem was how to make this young man calm down. Oglethorpe would write:

Mr Causton had a young lady in his house of an improved understanding,and elegant [in] person and manners. [I] had found in her a proper bait for

this soaring religionist. And as some of the greatest men that are recorded,

even in the oracles of God, have fallen by this snare, [I] had some ground

to hope for success.32

Oglethorpe would work to make sure Sophy had every opportunity to be in Wesleys

company. Had Wesley consulted with Oglethorpe on this matter (which he did not),

Oglethorpe would have probably told him to settle down in Savannah and rear a family

of good Georgia citizens.33

To the disappointment of the Caustons, Oglethorpe, and Sophy, John sought

advice from Charles and his new Moravian friends. They told him to forget the idea of

marriage. Wesley even cast lots in order to seek the will of God. With three

alternatives provided, he drew the slip that said: think of it no more. 34

With the townspeople tiring of his rules and wondering if he was ever going to

declare his love for Sophy, Wesley had enough to worry about besides his brother

Charles. As mentioned, Charles had accepted both the role of Oglethorpes personal

secretary as well as Secretary of Indian Affairs for Georgia. Charles was more than


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competent in clerical duties and a strong organizer in his own right, but he had the same

failing as his brother, allowing no pardon from the rules of the Church of England. When

an M. Germain came to him about the baptism of her baby, Charles immediately talked

about complete immersion. As he wrote in his journals, she was much adverse to it,

though she owned a strong, healthy child.35

More trouble developed when two women confessed to Charles that they had

engaged in misconduct with Oglethorpe.36

When Charles confronted Oglethorpe, he

laughed it off and basically told him that the women were lying. The news got out,

including Charles accusing their great leader. After enough people started complaining

and a few even threatened to leave, Oglethorpe called a meeting with Charles and

charged him with mutiny and sedition; with stirring up the people to desert the

colony.37

The next day, there was another heated meeting where Oglethorpe asked why

there was no love, no meekness, no true religion among the people but instead of that,

mere formal prayers.38

Charles conitnued to write in his journal about the growing hostility between

Oglethorpe and himself. After several bouts with sickness and seeing the number at his

prayer meetings dwindle, Charles declared to his brother his desire to go home. He left

on July 26, 1736. He had scarcely been there three months before he left his brother to

return to England. He would not return to America.

With Charles gone, John assumed the secretarial duties for Oglethorpe. He threw

himself into the work along with additional duties from his parish to help him forget

about Sophy. It was not working, so he grew increasingly zealous in his spiritual self-

flagellation39

to take his mind off asking for Sophys hand in marriage. His final


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his attention all the more alluring and married him on March 12, 1737.43

Wesley then

refused to admit her to the Lords Supper on the grounds that she had deceived him

concerning her attitude toward her lovers.44

This upset Sophy, the Caustons, and of

course William Williamson, who filed a suit for damage for one thousand pounds.45

The story began to circulate among the colonists and feelings began to get frayed as

evidenced in this entry of Wesleys journal:

Mrs. Williamson swore to and signed an affidavit, insinuating much more

than it asserted; but asserting, That Mr. Wesley had many times proposedmarriage to her; all which proposals she had rejected. Of this I desired a

copy: Mr. Causton replied, Sir, you may have one from any of the

newspapers in America.

46

Before it was all over, the law suit had been combined with other charges and

brought before a Grand Jury. Wesley listed them in his journal:

That John Wesley, Clerk, had broken the laws of the realm, contrary to

the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, his crown and dignity.1. By speaking and writing to Mrs. Williamson, against her husbands

consent.

2. By repelling her from the holy communion.

3. By not declaring his adherence to the Church of England.4. By dividing the Morning Service on Sundays.

5. By refusing to baptize Mr. Parkers child, otherwise than by dipping,

except the parents would certify it was weak, and not able to bear it.6. By repelling William Gough from the holy communion.

7. By refusing to read the Burial Service over the body of Nathaniel

Polhill.8. By calling himself Ordinary of Savannah.

9. By refusing to receive William Aglionby as a godfather, only because

he was not a communicant.

10. By refusing Jacob Matthews for the same reason: And baptizing anIndian traders child with only two sponsors. (This, I own, was wrong;

for I ought, at all hazards, to have refused baptizing it till he had procured

a third.)47


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The trial dragged on for many months, and Wesley saw his chances with both the

colonists and Indians dwindle. Eventually all charges were dropped, but Wesley had

already grown weary of all the trouble and returned to England in late 1737.

John Wesley would never step foot in America again, but this is really only the

beginning of the story.

George Whitefield

As Wesleysboat was returning to England, George Whitefield, himself, was

getting onto a ship himself to head to Georgia. He did not entirely know what he was

getting into, but a letter from Wesley had given him hope that he was making the right

decision. Unlike John Wesley when he first sailed, Whitefield was traveling as a

celebrity (he had some of his sermons published and been such a successful minister in

London that he could no longer walk on foot as usual, but was constrained to go in

coach, from place to place, to avoid the hosannas of the multitude1). He had also raised

a considerable sum of money for his work in the New World. London churches had given

him about 1,000 pounds for the charity schools and got upwards of 300 pounds for the

poor of Georgia.2

Whitefield was going to this mission field with confidence in himself

and his salvation. It was a far more hopeful start than Wesley with his crisis of faith.

Why was the younger Whitefield more the veteran than the older and supposedly wiser

Wesley? Like Wesley, the question must be answered of who Whitefield was and from

whence he came.

George Whitefield was born in Gloucester in December of 1714. His parents

were the proprietors of the Bell Inn. At birth, Whitefield had five brothers and one sister.

Whitefield had said of his mother that she has often told me how she endured fourteen


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weeks sickness after she brought me into the world; but was used to say, even when I

was an infant, that she expected more comfort from me than any other of her children.3

Georges father must have been a solid businessman with their inn prospering. They paid

considerable high taxes, which showed his income was high.4Georges father, Thomas,

had come from a family of considerable means and his mother, Elizabeth, had several

relatives in political office. George had been born to an upper-middle class family, and

one that was well known in Gloucester.

It is also interesting to point out some features of the Bell Inn. It was three stories

high with both a dining room and tavern. It also contained a Great Room that was

mainly used for various types of entertainment, and specifically plays. This area was so

popular in fact that several well-known actors used it throughout the year.5

It is no

wonder that Whitefield at an early age had some interest in the stage (that would certainly

serve him well throughout his career).

Two other items must be mentioned concerning Whitefields early years. One is

that he caught measles and due in part to neglect by the babys nurse, his eyes became

permanently misfocused (much like but not quite as bad as cross-eyes). Some would

simply call it a squint, and during his ministry, several of his detractors referred to him

as Doctor Squintum.6

Also worth noting is Whitefields fathers when George was

only two, leaving his mother to manage the inn by herself.

Whitefields motherworked hard to keep the business going and used her children

to help take care of the load. George was no exception, but he has written in his journals

that his mother was very careful about his education. She wanted better things for him

than running the inn. His mother would marry again (this time unhappily, according to


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Whitefield) when George was ten years old. He would be sent off to school two years

later:

When I was about twelve, I was placed at a school called St.

Mary De Crypt, in Gloucester, the last grammar school I ever went to.Having a good elocution and memory, I was remarked for makingspeeches before the corporation at their annual visitation. But I cannot say

I felt any drawings of God upon my soul for a year or two, saving that I

laid out some of the money that was given me on one of thoseforementioned occasions, in buying Kens Manual for Winchester

Scholarsa book that had much affected me when my brother used to

read it in my mothers troubles, and which, for some time after I bought it,

was of great benefit to my soul.During the time of my being at school, I was very fond of reading

plays, and have kept from school for days together to prepare myself for

acting them. My master seeing how mine and my schoolfellows vein ran,composed something of this kind for us himself, and caused me to dress

myself in girls clothes, which I had often done, to act a part before the

corporation. The remembrance of this has often covered me with

confusion of face, and I hope will do so, even to the end of my life.7

It is interesting what the reader can gleam from just these two paragraphs. One is

that Whitefield had already shown himself at the age of twelve a natural orator. The

second is his interest in acting continued to grow. The third his being often placed in the

female role, which had caused him confusion and probably embarrassment. Is this due

to not having a strong father figure in his life? Is this perhaps one reason he turned away

from this passion and would eventually see it more as a sin? His journals do not say

specifically, so we can only look at how the rest of his life unfolded.

In any event, his love of acting grew. Biographer Arnold Dallimore confirms that

Whitefield became so engrossed on occasion with practicing not only his part, but the

other parts as well, that he would not even go to school. He would remain home all day,

and the next two or three days too, dead to things around him, but wondrously alive to the

world he had created in his own imagination.8


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Things were not going well at home during these times. Whitefields mother was

having trouble with her new husband, Capel Longden. He had demanded to be able to

manage the inn and had proved very good at running the customers off. The business

was declining rapidly. George wrote home to his mother, asking if he could come home

to help. At first, she refused but George kept on until she let him return. He left his

wonderful school (and acting) for a broom and apron.

For a year and a half, George swept floors, mopped, and cleaned rooms in his blue

apron. He wrote in his journals that he would sometimes have the care of the whole

house but also found time to play at writing a few sermons. He started to read the Bible

more and began, in his words, to be much pressed to self-examination, and found myself

very unwilling to look into my heart.9

He would watch the other boys go back and forth

to school, and began to desire more and more a chance to attend a university like Oxford.

Whitefield knew that the innkeepers life was not for him.

Georges mother would eventually leave the inn (and her second husband) to

retire to a small cottage, while Richard, one of Georges older brothers, would take over

management duties. This would have probably relieved George, but Richards wife

caused George problems. Their arguments forced George to live with his mother for a

time in her cottage (which was so small that George had to sleep on the floor).

Though this may seem like a low point in Whitefields early life, he had learned

some valuable lessons. In working at the inn, he had gotten experience working with all

sorts of people. As biographer Harry S. Stout wrote, Where an Edwards or a Wesley

spent time in the company of respectful parishioners and polite supplicants, Whitefield

inhabited the robust and vulgar world of everyday England.10

He also had a great desire


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for education and to not be in the trade industry. Without these, it is unlikely he would

have taken advantage of his next opportunity.

While talking with a friend in Gloucester, Whitefields mother learned how poor

students were allowed into Oxford by acting as servitors. They served the wealthy

students who had left their rich homes to study culture or management. She asked

Georges old school master to speak for him, and they eventually won George a place at

Oxfords Pembroke College. When asked by his mother ifhe would go, George replied

with all my heart.11

George would then embark on further study of the classics, the

Bible, and Latin in preparing for Oxford. He also continued to read play after play,

although doubts were starting to creep in. Again, Whitefield biographer Stout put it

clearly:

With schooling complete, the most unlikely of pulgit giants embarked for

his sojourn at mighty Pembroke College, Oxford. He fit no clearstereotype in Christian hagiography: he was religious but theatrical,

Anglican but dissenter in spirit, poor but destined for greatness. His life

was a series of tensions: he could not read enough plays and he could not

get enough religion, he felt inferior and he felt famous, he lived bypassions and he renounced passions. All of these conflicting strains would

stay with him throughout his life. They would propel him to Oxford and

beyond that, to a career that had no precedent or parallel in the annals ofEnglish preaching.

12

Pembroke College was split into three distinct classes: gentlemen commoners,

commoners, and servitors. The gentlemen commoners were wealthy, invited to all sorts

of parties and dinners, were treated with respect by the poorer students and faculty, and

often donated money to the school throughout the remainder of their live. The regular

commoners paid their own way through school, but could be charged fines for missing

lectures or meetings with tutors. School was not one party after the other; it was work.

This did not even compare to the servitors life. They had to run errands for the


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gentleman commoners, serve food and drink at those wonderful parties, clean the wealthy

students clothes, and do all the school work expected of the other students. While some

servitors became angry, Whitefield had already had a taste of the serving life through the

inn and knew what to expect from the other classes. This attitude often put him in high

demand from several of the gentleman commoners.

This was a lonely time for Whitefield. Although in high demand by the wealthy,

this did not mean he was accepted into their society. Whitefield wrote that the other

servitors wanted him at first to join their riotous mode of life.13

Whitefield knew how

easy it could be to slip into that lifestyle and what it would mean to his studies. He was

also struggling with his religion. In the end, he chose to be alone. In his memoirs,

Whitefield showed his energy of resolution by sitting alone in his study till he was

sometimes benumbed with cold, in order to escape their persecutions; and when they

discovered his singularity of character, and his strength and fortitude in carrying it out,

they abandoned him to his own course, and suffered him to pursue it in peace.14

One potential reason for this choice to be alone was that Whitefield was becoming

more and more religious. For some time before he even attended school, he had been

having dreams (or sometimes he referred to them as visions). On one such occasion, he

dreamed he was standing on Mount Sinai waiting to see God but was very much afraid to

do this. He told this to some people and their reply was this is a call from God.15

He

felt Gods finger upon him several times. He also wrote:

All of this while I was not fully satisfied of the sin of playing at

cards and reading plays, till God upon a fast-day was pleased to convinceme. For, taking a play, to read a passage out of it to a friend, God struck

my heart with such power, that I was obliged to lay it down again; and

blessed be His Name, I have not read any such book since.16


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George became a very serious student. He attended every service he could, fasted

on Fridays, received the Holy Sacrament, read every religious book he could find, and

tried to help the poor and needy around him. George also began to hear about the

Methodists or Holy Club. As mentionedpreviously, this was a group of 8 to 9

students (including the John and Charles Wesley) who practiced a form of self-displine in

their religious life keeping a schedule where not a minute would be wasted without doing

some sort of service or study to God. They would rise early and have devotions, spend so

many hours studying the Bible and other text, attend services and perform acts of charity

throughout the day. Whitefield became more and more interested in these men (although

his roommates and other students made fun of them). He could not introduce himself to

them since he was a servitor while the majority of them were commoner students.

Then, an opportunity arose when Whitefield sent a woman that worked at

Pembroke to tell Charles Wesley about a workhouse woman who had tried to commit

suicide and that he might want to go pray with her. Charles was curious and asked the

lady who sent her? She refused, saying she had been forbidden to give the name.

Wesley persisted and got his answer. He had heard about the young servitor student and

promptly invited him to breakfast. Biographer John Pollock describes the scene:

Next morning the knock sounded almost as timid. Then entered a neat,

rather pallid young man, little more than a boy. He had a marked squint in

one of his dark blue eyes and a twinkle in both, which was suppressed at

once as George Whitefield looked at the floor in the modesty appropriateto a servitor who was not yet nineteen, before a Master of Arts aged

twenty-six. But that first glance had won Charles Wesley: I saw, I loved,

and clasped him to my heart.17

Although he probably did not realize at the time, George Whitefield was starting

an important new chapter in his life. He would soon get to know both Charles and John


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Wesley and start a friendship that would affect his career for years to come. We have

already spoken of John and Charles and their work in Oxford. They also had a

tremendous affect on Whitefield. He began to emulate their ways of study, fasting, and

worship. In this club, biographer Arnold Dallimore wrote Whitefield certainly found

many examples to emulate:

John Wesley was a Master of Arts, a lecturer in Greek, a Fellow

of Lincoln and an ordained priest. At this point in our narrative he was

thirty years old.

Charles Wesley was twenty-six, a Master of Arts and a tutor atChrist Church.

John Clayton was an M.A. from Brasenose, where he had been

Hulmes Exhibitioner in 1729 and after that time a Tutor. He processed ameasure of learning similar to that of the Wesleys, and held a position of

influence in the Club, second only to that of John Wesley.

John Gambold held the Masters degree from Christ Church, and

in later life became an outstanding Moravian Bishop.Thomas Broughton, who in after life spent forty years as the

Secretary of the S.P.C.K., was at this time a Master of Arts and a Fellow

of Exeter.Charles Kinchin was an M.A. and a Fellow of Corpus Christi,

where in four years time, he was appointed Dean.

James Harvey was an undergraduate; he manifested extraordinary

ability as a Hebraist and later earned a lasting place in English literature asa write of religious prose. 18

For the remainder of his time at Oxford, the Holy Club was a powerful force in

Whitefields life as a student and a person. The Wesleys would frequently loan their

books to him and one in particular caused him much concern. Recommended by Charles,

this book changed Whitefields outlook on himself as a Christian. The title was The Life

of God in the Soul of Man and was written by a Scotsman, Henry Scougal. This book

reamarked about the new birth experience. In it, Scougal writes, I cannot speak of

religion but I must lament that among so many pretenders to it so few understand what it

means and then explained:


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Others place it on the outward man, in a constant course of external

duties and model of performances. If they live peaceably with their

neighbors, keep a temperate diet, observe the returns of worship,

frequenting the church or their closet, and sometimes extend their hands tothe relief of the poor, they think they have sufficiently acquitted

themselves.

19

Scougal then defined religion as an experience that is a union of the soul with God, a

real participation of the divine nature, the very image of God drawn upon the soul.20

This seemed totally against the practices of the so-called Methodists. A person could

pray more, go to church more, give to the poor more and more and yet still not reach this

union with God. Whitefield wrote that God showed me that I must be born again, or be

damned! I learned that a man may go to church, say prayers, receive the sacrament, and

yet not be a Christian.21

Whitefield began to take drastic measures to truly achieve this

experience. He starved himself, wore torn clothes that would not protect him from the

elements, and locked himself in his study for weeks at a time. He would become deathly

ill and be stuck in bed for six to seven weeks. Yet he never stopped praying and he never

stopped seeking. Finally in the spring of 1735 (during Passion Week), Whitefield wrote:

One day, perceiving an uncommon drought and a disagreeable

clamminess in my mouth and using things to allay my thirst, but in vain, itwas suggested to me, that when Jesus Christ cried out, I thirst, His

sufferings were near at an end. Upon which I cast myself down on the

bed, crying out, I thirst! I thirst! Soon after this, I found and felt inmyself that I was delivered from my burden that had so heavily oppressed

me. The spirit of mourning was taken from me, and I knew what it was to

truly rejoice in God my Saviour; and for some time, could not avoid

singing psalms wherever I was; but my joy gradually became more settled,and blessed be God, had abode and increased in my soul, saving a few

casual intermissions, ever since. 22

Now, it is not necessarily critical if we as researchers truly believe that Whitefield

had this experience. The truly important thing is he believed he had and had had it before

and did it before the more learned John Wesley. While Wesley traveled to Georgia


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wondering if he was truly born again, Whitefield felt he was before he even graduated.

It is also interesting that Charles was the one that gave this book first to Whitefield, and

John was also very fond of it (he read it to Sophy often in Savannah). Both John and

Charles never seemed to grasp the true meaning like Whitefield did.

The new George Whitefield was still weak but far more happy and excited.

Everywhere, he went he talked about the new birth. He told his family, friends, fellow

students and of course, the Wesleys. It had such an affect on Charles that he wrote a

poem about it (although he had also written a poem when he first met Whitefield as well).

In any case, Whitefield read his Bible more, prayed more and tackled his coursework

with a new zeal. He graduated with his bachelors degree and sought ordination from

Bishop, Martin Benson, at the early age of twenty-one. Even though Dr. Benson had a

general rule of not ordaining anyone under the age of twenty-three, he remarked yet I

shall think it is my duty to ordain you whenever you come for holy orders and gave

George five guineas in gold to purchase books for his sermons.23

On June 20, 1736, Whitefield was officially ordained at Glouchester Cathedral.

The following Sunday he preached his first sermon. He tried to mix in study with his old

passion for play-reading. He received a number of compliments and supposedly drove

fifteen people mad, to which the Bishop replied: I hope their madness lasts until next

Sunday.24

Benson had two parishes lined up for Whitefield, but Whitefield decided he was

not ready. It is fortunate that he passed on these opportunities as he might have never

become the person he was. Instead, he took offer after offer to preach at other churches.

A friend gave him his first speaking engagement in London where George Whitefield


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found untold success. He would preach in any church, prison or room that offered him

the chance. As the attendance of each service grew and grew, the new popularity of this

young minister was spreading.

Why was Whitefields preaching so effective? Most ministers at this time

preached to teach, to instruct and to explain theology. Whitefield talked of passion and

feelings. Christianity was not something that was learned but felt in his opinion. His

sermons were simple and yet powerful because they were filled with primarily emotion

(and also primarily the new birth). Whitefield acted out roles in his sermons. He might

play a common man or woman, or he might play a Biblical character like Abraham or

Peter. He would cry on stage and be in constant movement. Each sermon was filled with

emotion and drama. No one had seen a preacher like him before.

Dr. Harry Stout, a biographer of Whitefield, described this style of preaching:

In analyzing Whitefields novel manner, two considerations

immediately present themselves. The first is thematic emphasis. Earlier

treatments of the New Birth tended to present the subject in a theological

context before turning to personal application [i]t mattered less thatindividuals felt this new position before God than that they understood

what had happened in the spiritual realm and responded to that new status

with appropriate acts of praise and thanksgiving.In Whitefields sermon, the personal experience was immediate

and overwhelming. He preached as though there might be no tomorrow,

to an audience who might never again assemble in its presentconfiguration. Throughout, he showed no interest in theology. Instead of

doctrine, he explored the feelings of New Birth and through his

exploration invited hearers to experience it for themselves.25


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These are two very different images of Whitefields preaching with the top referring to him as Dr. Squintum (due to his eyes) while

the lower being more formal and traditional.

With each new success, Whitefield became more and more confident. He began

to preach without notes or a formal outline. He started publishing his sermons and even

his accounts of meetings (basically stories about his exploits like a religious Buffalo Bill).

More and more churches and locations invited him to preach. It was also during this time

that he began to receive letters from John Wesley concerning his coming to Georgia as a

missionary. Charles Wesley had returned back from America and had spoken with him.

Benjamin Ingham, who had also accompanied the Wesleys to the new colony, had

returned too putting Wesley in desperate need of laborers. Whitefield said his heart


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leaped and felt it a call from God.26

He would delay his trip for almost a year due to

waiting on funds, Colonel Oglethorpe and other preaching appointments. The Wesleys

talked about building an orphan house in Savannah so Whitefield took advantage of each

speaking engagement to talk about this work and what he planned to do when he got to

Georgia. Within a year, Whitefield raised 1,300 pounds from freewill offerings and

private donations for his Georgia mission work. This sum was more than what most of

the wealthiest bishops made in a year.27

He also was able to gather up literature, Bibles,

food, and various other goods as well. Whitefield left on February 2, 1738 (the same date

that John set sail back to London).

In Whitefields journal and memoirs, he provided much information regarding his

journey to Georgia on the ship The Whitaker. Like Wesley before him, Whitefield tried

to minister to all the potential colonists (nearly twenty women) traveling to America and

the hundred or so sailors and soldiers onboard. He complained that on the first Sunday

nothing was to be seen but cards and little heard but cursing and blasphemy.28

He

talked to the officers first and then the captain. He won him over very humbly and

meekly by first offering money to sleep in the captains cabin (since he really had no

other place to rest), talking to him at length about conditions there, and then by the trick

of switching the book on the captains pillow one night from The Independent Whig to

The Self-Deceiver. From then on, the captainjoined him at every service and expected

his men to be there as well.

A sickness hit the ships passengers on the journey. Whitefield wrote that he

immediately began ministering to the sick. He visited twenty and thirty sick persons,

crawling between decks upon his knees, administering cordials to them, and such advice


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as seemed suitable to their circumstances.29

This rose considerably his standing with

both the captain and his men as they neared Savannah.

Of his first impressions of this colony, Whitefield summarized:

The people were denied the use of both rum and slaves. The lands wereallotted them according to a particular plan, whether good or bad; and the

female heirs prohibited from inheriting. So that in reality, to place people

there on such a footing, was little better than to tie their legs and bid themwalk. The scheme was well meant at home; but, as too many years

experience evidently proved, was absolutely impracticable in so hot a

country abroad. However, that rendered what I had brought over from my

friends, more acceptable to the poor inhabitants; and gave me an oculardemonstration, which was what I wanted, when the hint was given of the

great necessity and promising utility of a future Orphan-house, which I

now determined, by the divine assistance, to get about in earnest.

30

The need for the orphanage was certain. Several of the settlers had died leaving a

number of children. In five months, he sold people on this idea, met with most of the

officials, traveled not only to Savannah but another settlement, Frederica, and even met

with the Indians that Oglethorpe had befriended (there is no record of Oglethorpe having

the same concerns over Whitefield as Wesley). He then sailed back to London to get

more support (and funding) and promised to return as soon as possible.

It sounds so simple,but Whitefields first trip to America (he would make seven)

was far shorter than John Wesleys and met with success after success. In this short time,

he had removed the bad name that the Wesleys had given Methodism. What made the

difference?

He brought a great deal of gifts with him. Wesley had too, but it was mainly

books and not money or food. Maybe it was that he did not agree with Oglethorpe about

either rum or slavery (which most of the colonists did not agree with either). It is a sad

mark against Whitefield, but he did not preach against slavery like Wesley (he would


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change his mind two years later). He also took a much softer view on baptism as

recorded by Colonel William Stephens, the secretary of the colony:

June 18. Mr Whitefield went on moving the people with his captivating

discourses. A child being brought to church to be baptized, he performedthe office by sprinkling, which gave great content to many who had takengreat distaste at the form of dipping so obstinately withstood by some

parents that they have suffered their children to go without the benefit of

the sacrament, till a convenient opportunity could be found of anotherminister to do that office.

31

His journal is filled with him visiting house after house talking to people one-on-

one about their soul. Whitefield seems to be in a constant state of motion (like his

preaching). He never stays in one spot very long but tries to leave each place in the best

possible circumstances. People were quick to compare Whitefield to the Wesleys. In his

journals, he wrote I have endeavored to let my gentleness be known among them and

have striven to draw them together by the cords of love.32

Even though people talked

about John and Charles to Whitefield, he refused to say anything but the highest praise

for them. Some would even accuse him of exaggeration on what his friends had

accomplished in Georgia. Biographer Arnold A. Dallimore, though, would comment:

In making a comparison, however, of the accomplishments of the two menin Georgia, one must bear in mind that, while Wesley had not been able to

bring with him anything other than a few books, Whitefield came with a

great array of goods. Wherever he went he had clothing, medicines,books, hardware and foodstuffs to distribute and such gifts could not fail

to win him a warm reception.33

In none of his journals or letters does there appear any problems with Oglethorpe.

The only letter published of Whitefield to Oglethorpe was a statement of thanks to the

Colonel for supporting the orphanage during his absence and assisting his friends when

prejudices may be raised against us by evil reports and misrepresentations.34

In any

case, Ogelthorpe apparently was more impressed with Whitefield than by the Wesleys,


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or, perhaps, he had grown tired of these Methodists and was glad this one was gone more

often than not. Since few records exist, it is certainly open to interpretation.

John Wesley had spent 22 months in Georgia. Charles had spent only seven.

Whitefield was only there five months on his first visit but was able to clear the name of

Methodist, give out needed supplies, win many with his ministry, help open a school

for girls and set the foundation for his orphanage. Running low on supplies, he sailed

back to London promising to return as soon as he could.

Whitefield returned seven times to America and visited all the original thirteen

colonies. Savannah would always be his base and where much of his resources went for

the orphanage. He would also voyage to Ireland twice, Scotland fifteen times, once to

Holland, Gibraltar, and Bermuda. He would journey back to London time and time again

as well, always preaching to thousands and raising unheard of funds for the orphanage,

his ministry, the poor, and several other institutions.35

Comparisons & Conclusions

It would be easy to dismiss John Wesley as the wrong man for the job. Was he

guilty of all the crimes laid at his doorstep? Did he truly deserve everything that

happened to him? Could he have done some things different? Would everything have

been okay then? These are interesting questions, but with many possible answers. John

was guilty of being too strict (which was not unusual for other colony pastors in

America). He let his heart get in the way (or maybe he should have simply gave in to his

emotions and settled down). He let Oglethorpe down (which was probably the worst of

his crimes since Oglethorpe could and would get rid of any obstacleincluding people).


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The important question is did this experience change Wesley? The answer would seem

yes.

Wesley returned to England determined that his failures were due (at least partly)

to his lack of salvation. He poured himself into this weakness until May 24, 1738 when

he had his Aldersgate experience:

In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate-Street,

where one was reading Luthers preface to the Epistle to the Romans.

About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which

God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangelywarmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an

assurance was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and

saved me from the law of sin and death.

1

As mentioned in the section regarding Whitefield, this is one of the primary

differences between these two. Whitefield had already had his new birth experience.

He started his journey to America with confidence that his soul was saved. Wesley had

extreme doubts (partially because of his own lack of confidence and also his comparing

himself to the Movarians). His brother Charles had also felt like this, and had his new

birth experience a short time after Aldersgate. John Wesley was certainly a far more

effective (and I would even say dynamic) speaker after this event. He never became as

animated an orator as Whitefield, but was certainly more effective in England than in

Georgia.

The new birth is not the only reason for success or failure. Here is a list of

differences in the two men:


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John Wesley George Whitefield

1. New Birth Experience After Georgia2. Kept Strict Rules on Baptism of Infants3. Brought Mainly Book Donations to

Colony

4.

Companions Added to Problems5. Problems with Oglethorpe6. Relatively Unknown when Arrived in

Colony

7. Along with BrotherSaw Need forOrphanage

8. Stayed Primarily in Savannah(Mainly Due to Ogelthorpe)

9. Failed Relationship/Scandal

1. New Birth Experience Before Georgia2. Allowed Sprinkling (Infant Baptism)3. Brought Food, Supplies, Books and

Money to Colonies

4.

Companions Added to Success5. Little to No Contact (or Problems)with Ogelthorpe

6. Celebrity when Arrived in Georgia(Several Sermons Published)

7. Established Orphanage8. Visited Other Locations9. No Negative Incidents10.Absolute Confidence in Mission

Several of these differences gave Whitefield far more freedom than Wesley.

Besides being his personal secretary, Oglethorpe also saw Wesleys primary role as

Savannahs pastor and was uncomfortable with him going anywhere else (especially to

the Indians). John was also reluctant to leave Sophy. This was never a concern with

Whitefield. He was free to go from place to place and home to home. He built

relationships that furthered his cause.

Besides all this, most of this comes down to the two mens personalities and

experiences. John Wesley felt a great need for control in his life and in others. His first

sermon was about rules which he would enforce despite the peoples opinion. As

mentioned in the section on Wesley, the topic of infant baptism had won Wesley several

enemies among the colonists. He did not perceive that he was insulting the parents in

this, while Whitefield happily offered to sprinkle. John and Charles felt they should

argue about the men shooting game on the Sabbath even though this was the day that

Oglethorpe had set aside for it. Whitefield would be more flexible if he saw logic in a

matter.


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The colonists looked up to Oglethorpe (and also Whitefield) because he seemed a

natural leader, was concerned about their needs and could handle the tough decisions.

Wesley hesitated, weighed every option and then had to ask his brother or the Moravians.

This could have been seen as a weakness for someone who was supposed to be the

colonys spiritual leader. As remarked, Wesley saw the need for an orphanage and talked

about it, but Whitefield came and actually started building it. Rough times and rugged

conditions demanded decisive action, and this was not Wesleys nature.

For a person to succeed in Georgia, he had to have the support of Oglethorpe.

Indeed,

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