John Wesley in America: Restoring Primitive Christianity

by Geordan Hammond

Why did John Wesley leave the halls of academia at Oxford to become a Church of England missionary in the newly established colony of Georgia? Was his ministry in America a success or failure? These questions--which have engaged numerous biographers of Wesley--have often been approached from the vantage point of later developments in Methodism. Geordan Hammond presents the first book-length study of Wesley's experience in America, providing an innovative contribution to debates about the significance of a formative period of Wesley's life.
John Wesley in America addresses Wesley's Georgia mission in fresh perspective by interpreting it in its immediate context. In order to re-evaluate this period of Wesley's life, Hammond carefully considers Wesley's writings and those of his contemporaries. A laboratory for implementing his views of primitive Christianity, the mission served to restore the doctrine, discipline, and practice of the early church in the pristine Georgia wilderness. Understanding the centrality of primitive Christianity to Wesley's thinking and pastoral methods is essential to comprehending his experience in America. Wesley's conception of primitive Christianity was rooted in his embrace of patristic scholarship at Oxford. The most direct influence, however, was the High Church ecclesiology of the Usager Nonjurors who inspired him with their commitment to the restoration of the primitive church.

Genres: History, Theology, Church History, Biography, Religion, American History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Wesley is renowned as the founder of Methodism. Methodism is considered the Arminian branch of the evangelical movement that emerged out of the Church of England. It is fairly well known that Wesley had high church proclivities, but the common assumption is that he found that understanding wanting and after a moment of spiritual awakening following his time in Georgia, which is viewed as a failure, he abandoned his former views and became an evangelical.

In Geordan Hammond's wonderfully written revised Ph.D. dissertation (University of Manchester) published by Oxford University Press, we discover that there is much more to the story than we have been lead to believe. Instead of a time of failure, Wesley was able to experiment in Georgia with his vision of restoring a pure primitive Christianity. While as time passed, and in part due to his experiences in Georgia, he modified earlier views, it was not because he failed. It was because he was able to test ideas and see what made the most sense.

As a student of the Nonjurors, I found Geordan's work on the influence of Nonjurors such as Thomas Deacon extremely insightful. I knew that Wesley was influenced by Deacon, but this book advanced the discussion much further. I should note that Geordan made significant reference to my own work on the Nonjurors, but the important point for me is how he showed us how deeply indebted Wesley was to them, and how his own liturgical and eucharistical understandings were in line with the Essentialist (Usages) party among the Nonjurors.

The book takes from Wesley's journey to America on board the Simmonds, through his two years in Georgia, to his return to England. While Wesley had gone to Georgia hoping to minister to the Native American populace, his ministry in Savannah (not his choice) served as a place to bring into place his vision of primitive Christianity. When he arrived in Georgia, he stood with the high church and Nonjuror portion of the Church of England in viewing the primitive Church as that which existed up to and beyond Nicea. In time he would bring the era of primitive perfection to the New Testament Age, but that was long after he returned to England.

He got himself into trouble with certain sectors of the populace because of his "narrowness," especially regarding admission to the Eucharist. Interestingly enough, he also caused ripples of discontent within the leading lights because of his inclusion of women in his societies and even in leadership. He was at work, it appears, establishing an order of deaconnesses. In part this order was supposed to help with preparation for baptism, since Wesley believed that immersion was the most appropriate mode of baptism. Ironically, it was one of the women he worked with, a woman for whom he seems to have had romantic feelings for, but since he was ambivalent about whether he could engage in the form of ministry he felt called to and be married, she married someone else. When she drifted away from regular fellowship he ended up barring her from the Table and this led to charges against him being filed -- he was accused of exceeding his authority as a priest (taking on episcopal functions).

The book is fascinating (I say this as a historian of 18th century Anglicanism and the Nonjurors). It is well written, thoughtful, engages the primary documents (not just Wesley's journals published later, but the diaries kept during his time in Georgia. He has also consulted the journals/diaries of others who were present at the time, including the Lutheran pietists and Moravians with whom he was in contact. Their responses are helpful in understanding Wesley's views and practices.

I am not a historian of Methodism or even of Wesley himself, but the case Geordan makes for the lasting influences of his time in Georgia, especially his successes, should prove invaluable to modern Methodist historians.

For a more in depth review, check my blog at http://www.bobcornwall.com/2014/11/jo...

[Richard Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geordan Hammond's book fills in important gaps in our understanding of John Wesley's ministry in Georgia. The prevailing view that Wesley's ministry in Georgia was a failure is no longer tenable after reading this well researched book. Hammond has explored primary sources that probably have not been read in two centuries or more, and the fascinating picture of John Wesley that emerges both upends and enhances what we know of his later ministry. The continuities and discontinuities pre- and post-Georgia and pre- and post-Aldersgate yield insights into how Wesley became more sophisticated in his theology and practice as he matured. I think this is a must read for any person who wants to understand Methodism and John Wesley.

[John Crowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that I've been looking for in my research on Wesley's theology of sanctification and the early eastern Christian writers' theology of theosis for he directly quoted them in his sermons and writings.

It along with other documents shows how a spiritual relationship formed between Wesley and these writers.

Beyond these few comments, I commend my friend and colleague, Robert D. Cornwall's review of this book!