So ist das leben

Last night I finished reading ”William Grimshaw of Haworth” by Faith Cook. Grimshaw is little known, but was an extremely influential Methodist Leader in the 18th century in Britain. He was close friends and ministry partners with John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and John Newton. His name has been lost in relative obscurity since his death however. It is actually a remarkable insight into the “history of history” to trace the reasons why Grimshaw was so little known.

The first reason has to do with the fact that in the years immediately following his death there was almost no biographical material available. John Newton was the first to attempt to give something of the details of his life in his short biographical sketch of Grimshaw in 1799 (nearly 40 years after Grimshaw’s death). This sketch was based largely on personal recollections however.

The second reason probably has to do with the relatively obscure location where he ministered. Haworth is far north in England and Grimshaw never preached or ministered in London.

The story gets interesting when five manuscripts and over fifty personal letters that opened up the story of Grimshaw’s life were discovered. In the 1820’s, James Everett used these manuscripts to write a full, rather lengthy biography of Grimshaw. But with one chapter left to write, he set the manuscript aside, and never published it. His biography and the manuscripts and letters on which it was based were stored in an obscure, unclassified Methodist archive, undiscovered for over 100 years.

So in 1963 when Frank Baker finally brought these materials to light and wrote a dissertation on Grimshaw, the enormous significance of Grimshaw’s influence on early Methodism was finally realized.

This biography was deeply moving. Not only were the results of Grimshaw’s itinerant preaching astounding, but his personal zeal for the Lord and for the souls of others was inspiring. Grimshaw was indeed a significant influence on the Evangelical Revival of the 18th century. Tens of thousands of people heard his preaching. John and Charles Wesley thought so highly of him, they put in writing that Grimshaw was to be their successor in the event of their death. George Whitefield visited Grimshaw at every opportunity he had (some historians believe up to 17 different times in his church). When Grimshaw came to his church there were 12 regular attenders. At the height of his ministry there were 1,200.

But the most impacting part of the book was Grimshaw’s earnest love for Jesus Christ. I have read of very few other men who so tirelessly, moment by moment sought after Christ. What was very clear after reading the story of his life was that his tremendous influence was empowered by his walk with the Lord.

I hope to post a few quotes and statements from the book that were particularily impacting here in the next day or two.

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