April 11 - From Actor to Preacher

April 11 – From Actor to Preacher

George Whitefield was born to a widow, an owner of an inn in England. In his young life, he fell in love with the theater. Later in life, his talent for acting would be featured in his sermons when he delivered them with great passion and re-enacted Biblical stories to the delight of his audiences.

Because he came from a poor background, he entered Oxford University as a ‘servitor.’ While this granted him a free education, he was responsible for taking care of many of the higher ranking servants, doing everything from waking them in the morning to helping them write their assignments. Whitefield joined the Holy Club, which John and Charles Wesley were also a part of and at some point during those years met God in a very personal way and become fully converted to lead a Christian life.

His preaching style incorporated his talent for acting and his passion for Jesus. He was soon ordained into the Anglican Church, but found that he reached more people by taking to open-air preaching. He followed the Wesleys to America and became a parish priest in Savannah, Georgia. After a year, he returned again to England. He joined up with the Wesley brothers in establishing Methodist Churches throughout England, but differed with them regarding Calvinism, predestination and slavery. He formed the first Methodist Conference in England, but left to become an evangelist and soon traveled to America to begin preaching a series of revivals.

Benjamin Franklin attended one of his revival meetings and could not believe the reports that Whitefield could be heard by ten thousand people at once in an open air venue. He moved further and further from the speaker, listening closely for the clarity of speech. When he got to the point that he could no longer hear Whitefield clearly, he realized that the man’s voice carried an incredible distance and that the reports were not exaggerated.

Whitefield preached to the slaves, but at the same time believed that no business could exist without them, so refused to side with the abolitionists and even owned several, though he treated them well and they were said to be devoted to him.

He traveled back and forth from America to England, then traveled into Scotland where he held several great revivals. In his mid 50s, he continued to travel and preach in open air services, ignoring his health. At the age of 55, he told his friends he would rather wear out than rust out and died from severe respiratory problems the morning after a successful service.