Visiting Wesley's England
As I prepare for tomorrow's webinar on my upcoming book, Revival, I wanted to share with you some special photos from my travels last year to England. The first five photos are from the day we spent filming in the small town of Epworth, John Wesley's birthplace. The last picture was made in a town in the Cotswolds. I'm holding the communion chalice Samuel Wesley (John's father) used to serve the eucharist for 30 years at St. Andrew's Church. John would have used the same cup when he began to assist his father in 1727. It was deeply moving to me holding this cup and being in the church. Filming the small group study in the St. Andrew's Church. I am standing before the baptismal font where John and Charles Wesley were each baptized by their father as infants. The exterior of the St. Andrew's Church in Epworth where Samuel Wesley served for 39 years as priest. The oldest parts of the building were built in the 1100's. The kitchen of the Epworth rectory (parsonage) – the home of Samuel and Susanna Wesley. John lived in the Epworth Rectory until he went off to boarding school in London when he was 11. Susanna ran a tight ship – a strict disciplinarian and a hugely important influence on John and the Methodist movement. Samuel Wesley's grave. This is famous as the place where, after the new priest refused to invite Wesley to preach in the church, Wesley preached outside on his father's grave. This is a market cross. Market crosses were erected in every town in England and Scotland where a sanctioned market was permitted. Located in the center of the market, some believe it was meant to be a witness to shopkeepers and merchants that Christ was watching them as they conducted their business (and hence they should be honest with their scales). In his journals Wesley repeatedly records that he stood on the steps of various market crosses to preach. Join the Revival Webinar Tomorrow! Join me for a live webinar on August 7 at 3pm ET/2pm CT at MinistryMatters.com. We'll discuss this new book as well as my travels to England where I followed the life of John Wesley, and we'll talk about the defining characteristics of a Wesleyan Christian. Find out more and sign up to reserve your seat at MinistryMatters.com.