John Wesley: The World Is My Parish-the Life of Wesley

Few men have left as indelible an impression on their age and ages to come as John Wesley. He was a preacher, abolitionist, theologian, author, philanthropist, and founder of the Methodist church. From his childhood years at Epworth, to his years at Oxford, to his missions work in America, to his encounter with the pietistic Moravians, and finally to his itinerate revival preaching through England, John Telford reconstructs the life of this fascinating and complex character. The secret to Wesley’s great success lay neither in his intellectual abilities, nor his stature—he was a mere five feet six inches tall and weighed 125 lbs. His secret lay in a promise he made when he was twenty-three years of age: “In the year 1725, being in the twenty-third year of my age, I resolved to dedicate all my life to God, all my thoughts and words and actions.”