The People Called Methodists
May 18, 2025
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
THE BIRTH OF THE METHODIST MOVEMENT
The Methodist movement did not grow out of some general movement like the Protestant Reformation; it began as a movement within the Church of England. It came out of the deep religious experience and heroic labours of a group of men, the most prominent being John Wesley and his younger brother, Charles.
John Wesley, born in 1703, and Charles Wesley, born in 1707, were two of nineteen children born to the Rev. Samuel and Susanna Wesley. Both were born into a family that could already boast two generations of ministers.
The Wesley brothers founded the “Holy Club” at the University of Oxford in November 1729. The group met every evening from six until nine for prayer, psalms and reading of the Greek New Testament. They prayed every waking hour for several minutes and each day for a special virtue. They took Communion every Sunday; they fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays as was commonly observed in the ancient church. They abstained from most forms of amusement and luxury and frequently visited the sick and the poor, as well as prisoners. Fellow students heaped persecutions upon the group, branding them a new form of “Methodists” so named because they methodically set about fulfilling the commands of Scripture. The regularity of their behaviour gave occasion for others to take up the ridicule and call them Methodists. John, who was leader of the club, took the mockery and turned it into a title of honour.
A pivotal moment took place in 1738 which many consider to be John’s evangelical conversion experience.” On the evening of May 24th, 1738, John reluctantly attended a prayer meeting. For some time, he had been struggling with his soul. He felt dull within and little motivated even to pray for his own salvation. John found himself crying out, "Lord, help my unbelief!" He was in spiritual heaviness but, on the evening of May 24th, 1738, all that changed with a burst of overpowering joy as he famously described in his Journal and I quote:
"…. I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine and saved me from the law of sin and death……Then I began to pray with all my might for those who had in a more especial manner despitefully used me and persecuted me. I then testified openly to all there what I now first felt in my heart." End of quote.
John’s “heart-warming” encounter with God that evening resulted in him becoming known as a passionate evangelist, social reformer, theologian and church planter. John Wesley was at last converted. He at once began to declare the “glad tidings of salvation” in prisons, workhouses and whatever churches would open their pulpits to him and they were few and far between.
For three decades, the law and the Church turned a blind eye to the constant drunken and brutal attacks by mobs and gangs on Wesley and his supporters. They endured physical assault with missiles of various kinds; frequently bulls would be driven into the midst of congregations, or musical instruments blared to drown the preacher’s voice. Under physical attack and disparaging & insulting language thousands of times, John Wesley NEVER once lost his temper. He loved his enemies, and do what they would, they could not make him discourteous or angry. John Wesley’s life was a triumph of God’s grace.
As time went on, the Lord used John Wesley to reform England. The Methodists became a national force. John rode as many as 20,000 miles a year preaching as only a man filled with the Holy Spirit can preach, preaching especially to those “neglected” by the Church of the day, telling the Gospel to all who would listen. He proclaimed “the world was his parish.” Wherever he preached, thousands came to hear him share God’s good news; people were healed and people were set free from bondage and sin. Lives were changed and manners and morals were changed for the better. He acted “as though he were out of breath in the pursuit of souls.” He opened schools, was a prolific author, fought against slavery, advocated for prison reform and provided food and medical assistance for the poor. One of his great contributions to the church was his empowering and equipping of lay ministry, and the provision of structure for discipleship and congregational care. John intended that all his services be nothing more than a revival movement within the Anglican Church. That said, the Methodist Church emerged as a separate entity near the end of John’s life in 1791 although he remained a Church of England clergyman for most of his life and Charles remained one for all of his life.
John and Charles Wesley are considered two of the greatest Christians of the modern (orany other) age of the Church. Both preached, both wrote hymns. But John is most noted for his sermons having preached over 40,000 sermons, some to congregations in excess of 20,000. He would regularly preach 4 or 5 times a day. During his ministry, John rode over 250,000 miles on horseback, a distance of 10 circuits of the globe along the equator. John Wesley died in 1791 at 87 years old. No commentary on Methodism would be complete without mention of the significant contribution of Charles Wesley. Charles Wesley, a prolific hymn writer, composed nearly 6,500 hymns and sacred poems throughout his lifetime. As far as we know, Charles did not write hymns before the events of 1738 meaning he wrote approximately one hymn per day for 17 straight years. Charles died in 1788 at age 80. If John Wesley is called the father of Methodism, then Charles Wesley must be the father of Methodist congregational singing.
From its inception, the Methodist Church has always given a large place in its services to “praise.” John Wesley criticized the Church music of the day. John proposed certain guidelines to his Methodist friends on how they should sing hymns at worship services. He reminded them of the distinction we should make between worshipping the Lord and enjoying a performance.
On occasion, he referred to the choir as “screaming boys who bawl out what they neither feel nor understand. Hymns were nothing more than “second class doggerel.” Oh lest you, the congregation, think you can escape his wrath, John found some of your kind “lolling at ease or in the indecent posture of sitting, drawling out one word after another.”Wesley’s advice to preachers on the subject was: “Preach frequently on singing, suit the tune to the words. Do not suffer the people to singing slow. Let the women sing their parts alone; let no man sing with them unless he understands the notes and sings the bass. Exhort everyone in the congregation to sing; in every large society let them learn to sing.” To the congregation, directions are equally explicit. “Sing all, sing heartily and with good courage not as if you were half dead or half asleep. Lift up your voice with strength. Do not bawl so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony but strive to unite your voices together so as to make one clear melodious sound. Sing in time and take care you sing not too slow.
METHODISM ARRIVES IN NORTH AMERICA/CANADA
On this side of the world, from the earliest days of settlement in what was then British North America, the Methodists had conducted out-of-door revivalist gatherings known as “camp meetings” and most who attended travelled great distances from a wide area. These meetings often lasted for several days, often over two Sundays with worshippers camping in the woods during this time. Camp meetings proved to be extremely emotional and were criticized by as many as those who applauded them. Large numbers attended these meetings and for varying reasons: a seeking of religious satisfaction; loneliness; a break from work; curiosity and a desire for entertainment. Participants could take part in almost continuous services with several ministers providing virtually nonstop preaching and hymn singing during the day, in the evening, and late into the night.
Early Methodist preachers were characterized by an energy that took them to the less frequented areas of the province. “Circuit riders” or “saddlebag preachers” took their religious message to isolated individuals, families and groups who might otherwise not see another minister for another year. Methodist ministers were referred to as “saddlebag preachers” because they travelled on horseback, the easiest mode of travel for anyone not burdened by heavy luggage or goods. Sermons tended to be in the language of the Old Testament, with vigorous emphasis on morals and salvation. Religious services were held in homes, barns, taverns and schoolhouses, simply because those were the spaces available for public gathering. But still, through it all, the strong desire to worship in a building exclusively for religious purposes with a permanent minister to lead worship and administer the sacraments would eventually become reality.
As with many denominations, the Methodist Church experienced several splits, separations and mergers or reconciliations in Canada in the 19th century. In 1828, Methodists in Upper Canada (Ontario) formed a new church called the Methodist Episcopal Church and five years later that church merged with the British Wesleyans to become the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Then in 1840, that relationship was severed only to be revived again in 1847. After 1830, there was a further fragmentation of the Methodist cause in Upper Canada by the presence of three other groups – the Primitive Methodists, the Bible Christian Methodists and the New Connexions Methodists. Division on this scale was an embarrassment to many Methodists but the road to union would be a long and winding one.
The formation of The Methodist Church of Canada in 1884 was the culmination of a succession of Methodist mergers during the previous half-century.
From its very beginning, we find The Methodist Church of Canada on a crusade for spiritual and moral progress through ecumenical cooperation and the union of Protestant forces into one dynamic national church. The Methodist Church of Canada concluded that there remained little or no justification for a divided Canadian Protestantism while a world of opportunity awaited united action. How could Christ’s earthly rule begin as long as Christians continued in their narrow, competing denominations? After all, did not Christians throughout the world belong to the same family, share the same values and work for a common end?
And then it happened; on June 10, 1925, the world witnessed a remarkable union of churches consummated by an Act of Parliament. On that day, the United Church of Canada was borne from three historic Canadian denominations, the Methodist Church of Canada, Congregational Union of Canada and 70% of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. It was the first union of churches in the world to cross historical denominational lines.
Through years of amazing growth, the Methodist Churches remained faithful to the principles of the founder and made personal religion their chief concern. They never surrendered any of these convictions by entering the United Church of Canada, retaining the ideals of John Wesley.
So what did the Methodists bring to the table in 1925? Well, what immediately comes to mind is the significant place and role of layleaders. While believing in an ordained ministry as Scriptural and important to the well-being and good order of the Church, Methodism did not dream that the clergy were the church. It was consistently held that the Church did not belong to the ministry, but the ministry to the church. The Methodist Church also brings into the Union a determined purpose to obey God’s Great Commission – that is, to go into the world and make disciples of all nations - to carry the glad tidings wherever individuals tread.
CLOSING REMARKS
Today we recall our past but we cannot live in the past. We must focus on what lies ahead. And what lies ahead, you ask? What lies ahead is our promise, our inheritance as God’s children and as God’s Church.
God is the Lord of history, the Ancient of Days who is weaving together the stories of individuals, generations and nations into His eternal purpose.
We look back to learn, to gain endurance and encouragement, so that we can look forward with unity and hope.
May we seek to live and work in ways that will outlive us, building a legacy of good for those who come behind. Our job…make a better tomorrow than today…with God’s help.
Because They Were, We Are. Because They Did, We Can. PRAISE GOD!