Both the following accounts are of the period shortly after George Whitefield and John Wesley left Oxford and before they both launched into open-air preaching. At this time, John was still associated with the Moravians and had come down to London to meet George, who had just returned from the American colony of Georgia.
From George Whitefield's journal, about an all-night prayer meeting at the Fetter Lane Society, a Moravian fellowship attended by John:
Sometimes whole nights were spent in prayer. Often we have been filled as with new wine. And often we have seen them overwhelmed with the Divine presence and crying out, "Will God indeed dwell with men upon earth! How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God and the gate of Heaven!"
This second account is of another night shortly after, written by John:
About three in the morning, as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of His majesty, we broke out with one voice, 'We praise Thee, O God; we acknowledge Thee to be our Lord!"Really ... don't you guys think it odd that these guys' meetings sound so characteristically pentacostal?
4 comments:
Thanks for the post. I do think that most christians would believe God can empower spiritually minus the tongues. Their experience might be similar to some emotional meetings in college groups today with all night prayers and intense worship services...but I am only guessing.
enough pontification.. we wanna see cute pictures!! hehe.. :-)
TS--
I, too, have noticed this pentecostal element in the writings of those men and others. I think something happened to us somewhere along the way, and we (that is to say, "modern" Christians) lost touch with open expression of being "in the Spirit." I know from talking to some of the elderly people in my church--Methodist, by the way--that the Methodist church where we live was very much more pentecostal in their youth, which, I guess, was in the early 20th century.
What happened? I don't know. Maybe all the upheaval of last century--World War I, Depression, World War II--made people so crave order and peace that they imposed "order" on everything, including the church. Someone told me that around the 50's and 60's was when the Methodist church of the US got so organized. Maybe we've organized ourselves right out of spiritual spontaneity?
And....contrary to what Bipin Sen said, I don't think you are pontificating here. I think you are expressing genuine concern, and I think it is entirely appropriate for you to do that in your blog, if you want to! But don't stop those cute pictures!
And also....why have you not written anything since this entry?!
cute pictures it is! (as soon as i get them onto my computer and the web.)
judy, when you read about the lives of whitefield and wesley, you see a lot of pushback from established religion and criticisms not unlike those leveled at some charismatic ministers today.
i think there is a lesson to be learned here: God is not always intereseted in preserving man-made traditions or decorum, and His move is always sure to polarize professing christians and unsettle our carnal nature.
... ok, enough pontification! :-)
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