John Wesley Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

John Wesley - Essay Example Wesley’s preaching mainly focused in developing the Modern Methodist movement, which encompasses the concept of Pentecostalism, the Charismatic movement and Neo-Charismatic churches. Thus, he strongly emphasized on the evangelical status which was much more deviated form the Orthodox Catholic Christianism. Also, he insisted much on perfectionism among the Christians, where he focused on implanting holiness in their heart and life. He framed small groups through which he preached the sacraments and other religious instructions among the members of the groups. Thus the concept of Christian perfectionism was his major basic sacramental theology. â€Å"Wesley wished Methodist to become peculiar people; to abstain from marriages outside the societies; to be distinguished by their dress and by the gravity of speech and manners; to avoid the company of even relatives who were still in Satan’s kingdom.† (Bloy, n. d). Thus, pertaining to the above statement he insisted th at the Methodist to lead a disciplined and spiritual life. Moreover, he always opted for the Open-air teaching where he preached the essence of faith in Salvation and to feel that each and every human being is the child of God and they are filled with God’s spirit. Also he maintained a cordial and amicable relationship with his fellow followers. This part of the content will identify and link the relationship of John Wesley with his followers and his contribution to the Christian History. Wesley traveled all throughout his life meeting all sections of people propagating the vital elements of Methodism and the concept of evangelism. â€Å"He traveled almost constantly, generally on horse back, preaching twice or thrice a day.† (Theology thru Technology). As mentioned above, he formed small groups or societies and propagated his preaching through the groups. Each group had to follow the religious instructions strictly. He insisted the concept of personal responsibility i n developing the spirituality among the members of the societies. He also selected preachers among the groups and they had the role of spreading the concept of evangelism and taking care of the people. His main motive was to administer discipline among the members of the society and thereby allowing them to feel the spirituality and ultimate salvation. His link and relationship with the people, who were his followers, can be easily identified through various events that he implemented during his period. For example, he opened many chapels and made the people to assemble in those chapels and commissioned the preachers respectively. Importantly, he raised funds for the schools, orphanages and established charity homes in various regions of United States of America. Also, he assisted the poor and the sick people by providing them with appropriate medication and other treatment for illness. Thus, he rendered a helping hand for the people who were in need. Moreover he took earnest steps in preparing the religious literatures through which he could make even a lay man understand the essence of Christianity. Through his continuous and constant traveling he was able to meet people and enlighten them with his preaching. â€Å"He is believed to have traveled in the course of his itinerant ministry more then 250,000 miles and to have preached more than 40,000 times.† (John Wesley, n. d.). Thus he spread the vital essence of spiritual Holiness among the people. John Wesley can be considered as a keen observer of Human behavior,