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Top 10 Interesting Facts about John Wesley
John Wesley was a passionate evangelist, theologian, and cleric. He rose from deacon position to ordination as a priest of the Anglican Church of England. Later he founded Methodism which is the foundation of the modern-day Methodist Church.
Methodism revolutionized the church of England when it began. Wesley is famous for quotes such as agree to disagree. Also, cleanliness is next to godliness among so many other quotes. Get to know the life of the fervent evangelist, John Wesley in these 10 amazing truths about John Wesley.
1. John Wesley was born and raised in a huge family
Wesley was born on 28 June 1703, in Epworth, near Lincoln. His parents were Samuel Wesley(father) who was a clergyman in the Church of England. John’s mother was Susanna Wesley. She was a devoted woman with a commitment to instilling moral and Christian values in all her children.
Wesley was the 15th child of Samuel and Susanna out of their 19 children. Families were huge in the eighteenth century because the child mortality rate was very high in many parts of the world including England.
According to statistics, children under the age of 10 in England accounted for about 70 percent of all deaths in the region. Thus, people bore many children in preparation for the worst. Susanna (John’s mother) was the last born of 25 children. Susanna bore 19 children and lost 9 during infancy and at death, in 1742 she was survived by only eight.
2. John Wesley’s mother encouraged his Christian Faith
Wesley and his siblings were given early education by their parents as was the case for many families at the time. All children including the girls were expected to be schooled. The children were expected to have a good mastery of Greek and Latin languages as well as a good grasp of the New Testament.
John’s mother (Susanna), examined each child at midday before meals and in the evening before prayers. Susanna forbid the children to eat between meals. Once a week Susanna took an evening to interview each of her children. This ensured instilling of spiritual instructions in them.
Wesley practiced the virtues he learned at home. While in Lincoln College, Oxford he was elected a fellow on March 17th, 1726. The position gave him the right to a room in the college. The position was entitled to a regular salary. While studying, Wesley taught philosophy and Greek. He became a moderator of daily disputes at the university and he also lectured on the New Testament.
3. The fiery evangelist John Wesley, was ignited by a childhood rectory fire experience
John Wesley at five years old had first-hand experience of a rectory fire. His parents managed to save the other children. But John was left inside with the stairs on fire and the rectory roof threatening to collapse. John was saved by a parishioner who stood on another man’s shoulders and lifted him out of the window.
Wesley throughout his life referred to himself as a brand plucked out of the fire during the fiery experience. This is a Zechariah 3:2 Bible quotation that Wesley based his faith on. He believed that his was a special destiny and was called for extraordinary work.
4. John Wesley was free from slavery
Wesley joined the anti-slavery movement encouraged by a pamphlet he read by Anthony Benezet. Anthony was a Quaker abolitionist. John advocated against slavery in his preaching. As well as through a public pamphlet he authored to express his thoughts on slavery- condemning the act.
The last letter John wrote was to encourage William Wilberforce (a convert and abolitionist). He told him not to grow weary of well-doing. Also, to keep the good fight in the name of God and His might. So, even the vilest of American slavery that ever existed under the sun would at one time vanish before the might of God. The letter is dated1791 and it saw fulfillment sixteen years later when England’s parliament outlawed slave trade participation.
5. John Wesley enjoyed horseback traveling
According to John Wesley’s biographer Edward T. Oakes, Wesley traveled 250,000 miles by horseback his entire life. This translates to approximately ten times the circumference of the earth.
6. The Methodist, John Wesley agreed to disagree
Wesley and George Whitefield shared enthusiasm for evangelism. They had their theological difference and sometimes clashed in their opinions. Wesley held to Arminian doctrine while Whitefield believed in Calvinism. This formed part of the source of their doctrinal differences.
But, when George passed away Wesley in the memorial sermon advised the attendees to hold fast to the essentials of faith. He added that they concentrate less on the challenges that exist in the many doctrines. Because they will always cause an agree to disagree opportunity.
This was the first time the agree to disagree quote is believed to have appeared in print. Wesley is known for many other quotes but another well-known is that cleanliness is next to godliness.
7. Wesley encountered bullying in his early years
John Wesley was bullied in his early years. Although being intelligent, he was a short boy and his peers bullied young Wesley in his childhood. The experience affected him up to his adult years. Some accounts record that Wesley would at times tremble. It occurred whenever he narrated the ordeal in his adulthood. This was proof that the incident had affected Wesley.
8. John Wesley’s Methodist name was disparaging
The term Methodist was used by Wesley’s critics who despised him and his Holy club followers in college. It was because they followed a method in a bid to grow closer to God. This included a two-day weekly fast that they observed. Being referred to as Methodist, they took advantage of the name and accepted it as a reference to their movement.
9. Wesley was forced out of the Church of England
John Wesley’s intention was never to break away from the church of England. His act of being reasonable caused him trouble. After the American colonies’ revolution, the majority of the Anglican priests returned home. This meant that followers in the colonies had none to administer sacraments. So John ordained ministers and sent them to America which got him in trouble.
The Anglican pulpits were closed to him. But he preached in the open air to tens of thousands. Often beginning at or before daybreak and preached up to three times a day. But, The Methodist Church in England was formed when Wesley died.
10. John Wesley was born a doctor
Though Wesley was never a trained professional doctor, he was fascinated by the field of medicine. John invented many cures for diseases that he document in a book. He also started clinics to cater to the poor. Wesley experimented on the effects of electric shock . He used his findings to treat people affected with nervous disorders. None experienced side effects from the treatment.
John Wesley inspired many and had a big following including Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin printed a sermon by Wesley called On Free Grace. Franklin printed several of Wesley’s sermons and those of his friend preacher Whitefield. That made John Wesley a faithful reader of Benjamin’s physics of electricity. He wrote his treatise on electricity. Wesley and Franklin never met but they acknowledge each other’s work.
When John Wesley died on 2 March 1791, his following in England was 79000 followers, in America the number was 40000 and by 1957 Methodist faithful believers were 40 million globally.
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