Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'john wesley'

Charles Wesley: Hymn Writer of the Evangelical Revival

The evangelical revival we have been revisiting not only left a legacy of Christians and churches renewed and empowered but also a devotional spirituality embedded in hymn and song. Charles Wesley (1707–1788) worked tirelessly alongside his elder brother John as evangelist and pastor. Continue Reading...

John Wesley: The World Is My Parish

Our journey through the 18th-century evangelical revival continues in the company of John Wesley (1703­–1791). Wesley was an extraordinary individual. First, he was a systematic organizer, one key reason for his legacy in Methodism—as seen most prominently in his forming of bands (3–4 people) and classes (10–12 people) for Christian education. Continue Reading...

Why the British Evangelical Revival Still Matters

In the middle decades of the 18th century, a powerful spiritual movement swept through much of North America and Great Britain, as well as some parts of northern Europe. This evangelical revival (or, in North America, the Great Awakening) transformed not only individual believers but culture and society as well, and produced some extraordinary personalities, people used mightily by God. Continue Reading...

John Wesley teaches us the true value of money

John Wesley, the father of Methodism, defended a rigorous and intentional plan for Christlikeness that would touch every aspect of a believer’s life. Caring intensely for the poor, he endeavored to create short, easy-to-read “penny pamphlets” and small booklets that would help anyone to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and to follow Him in such a way that they would begin to take on his very character. Continue Reading...

‘You are the spring that puts all the rest in motion’

“You are the spring that puts all the rest in motion; they would not stir a step without you.” John Wesley (1703–1791) was talking about the slave trade and was impugning the buyers and owners of slaves as equally culpable as those who captured and sold them, those who “would not stir a step” without buyers for their wares. Continue Reading...

What Methodism Teaches us about Poverty

We all know the promises government has made over the years about how certain programs and initiatives would eradicate poverty. But perhaps nothing rivals the Methodist movement in terms of effectively stamping out poverty in England. Continue Reading...

Disaster Response and the Ministry of Presence

I wrote a piece on the Church’s response to disaster relief in the Spring issue of Religion & Liberty. The article for R&L is in part an extension of my commentary “Out of the Whirlwind: God’s Love and Christian Charity” after a tornado hit Joplin, Mo. Continue Reading...