Rite and Reason: As the annual conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland takes place in Ballymena, the Rev George Ferguson reflects on the life of John Wesley, born 300 years ago next week
On June 17th, 1703, John Wesley was born at Epworth in Lincolnshire. He was one of 19 children. Not all survived. He himself had a narrow escape when he was six. His father was the village rector and not very popular - perhaps partly because he preached against drunkenness.
One night some of the parishioners left the pub determined to set fire to the rectory. They succeeded. The occupants ran out and the rector was doing a desperate family count when it was discovered that one child was missing. Then they saw him. High up on a window ledge a little figure was clinging. The men stood on each others' shoulders to form a human ladder and young John was snatched to safety as the roof collapsed behind him.
Such a traumatic experience made an indelible impression on the young boy. In later life, he applied the words of the prophet Ischuria to himself - "Is not this as a brand plucked out of the fire?" He had escaped with his life for some great purpose.
The other major influence on young John was his mother. Susannah Wesley was a strong and resourceful woman. She managed the affairs of her large family by adherence to order. She set aside a regular time to communicate separately with each of her children. In this way she nurtured both their minds and spirits. John Wesley never lost the advantage of such ordered living. It was what helped him to achieve so much.
When John went to Oxford University he gathered a group about him who lived their lives according to a strict regimen. There was a time to rise, a time to eat, a time to study and to read the Bible, a time to engage in good works, a time to rest. It was not the usual conduct of undergraduates. Soon the group was mocked and became the object of name-calling. "Bible Moths", "The Holy Club", "The Methodists" , were amongst the epithets used. It was the last title which stuck, and so was founded the Methodist Church.
Methodism is sometimes accused of being a church without a theology. The theology was in the hymns. Wesley was essentially realistic and practical. He was painfully aware of the cruelty and degradation of early 18th century England. A harsh legal and penal system offered no hope of reform. A sign outside a public house illustrated conditions: "Get drunk for a penny, Dead drunk for tuppence, Clean straw provided."
Against such a background Wesley formulated a simple theology of four universals: "All men need to be saved, All men may be saved, All men may know themselves saved, All men may be saved to the uttermost."
His brother Charles put it to a hymn: "Outcasts of men, to you I call, harlots, and publicans, and thieves! He spreads His arms to embrace you all."
Such preaching and teaching was not acceptable to everyone. How dare Wesley offer salvation to all when it was popularly accepted that the Lord, in His infinite mercy, had predestined only the Elect for Heaven? This was very comfortable for those who considered themselves to be the "Elect", but tough on the rest!
That the first two universals were the means of winning very many for Christianity was soon evident. At factory gates, at the mines as the shifts changed, Wesley preached his message. As was said of our Lord, "the common people heard him gladly".
The third universal, "that all men may know themselves saved", was not quite so satisfactory. It left open a gateway to triumphalism and superiority for some, while the chronic doubters persecuted themselves with uncertainty. Again, it is a hymn that expresses the theology - this time by John Wesley. His followers sang: "Peace, doubting heart! My God's I am, Who formed me man, forbids my fear, The Lord hath called me by my name, The Lord protects, for ever near, His blood for me did once atone, And still He loves and guards His own."
The last universal could be considered the most vital and distinctive emphasis of Methodist theology. Wesley never spared himself and he expected the same of those who followed him. There was always more to be done. There were always those still to be won for the Kingdom.
It was such teaching that enabled Wesley to rejoice at the end of his 86 years that Methodism was established in Britain, Ireland, and America, and to exclaim, "What hath God wrought!" Once again, it was Charles Wesley who summarised the message: "Enlarge, inflame, and fill my heart, With boundless charity divine; So shall I all my strength exert, And love them with a zeal like Thine; And lead them to Thy open side, The sheep for whom their Shepherd died."
The Irish Methodist Church has shared in the growth. There are worshipping congregations in almost every county. There are well-established schools in Dublin and Belfast, a college for rural education in Tipperary, an extended Christian Education Centre in Belfast, a new hostel for the homeless in Derry, and care centres for the aged have been created in Cork, Dublin, and Belfast. Happy Birthday, dear John!
Rev George Ferguson has served as a minister of the Methodist Church in Ireland