Spiritual Revolution

John Wesley ushered in a much needed spiritual revival in 18th century England.  Some historians have written that the spiritual renewal brought to England as a result of his preaching averted a revolution such as the one which took place in France.  It is certain that his ministry gave hope to the common ordinary person who was largely forgotten by the Church of England.  In Wesley's day the church seemed unconcerned with the vast poor masses of people who struggled to survive from one day to the next.  It was these forgotten people who gathered around Wesley and became a part of this great spiritual revival which swept across the land.   

In many ways it was a Jesus centered ministry which gave life to the the downtrodden and hopeless.  Jesus touched the lepers, called tax collectors to follow Him, and gave an important place to the invisible members of the community around Him.  In much the same way, Wesley gave women places of leadership, utilized lay preachers, and established schools for the children and places of healing for the sick.  There is no way to measure how this spiritual stream impacted a society that saw little reason to attend the organized church of their day. All of this is the heritage of those who call themselves Methodist.  

As we see our gathered congregations today, we see too many heads full of gray hair, too many white collar folks, and too few of those who are broken down by lost battles with life and are, therefore, not really seen at all.   Of course, such descriptive words may describe more denominations than just the one given birth by John Wesley. There were many social and political issues in Wesley's day even as there are in ours.  It was a spiritual revolution which saved that land from internal chaos and despite what might be said in the houses of government, only a spiritual revival like unto the one which was let loose through Wesley in England has any hope of saving us.