In Wesley: Apostolic Man, Edgar Thompson distinguishes four elements in the spiritual composition and churchmanship of John Wesley: (1) Acceptance of the Holy Scriptures as the Rule of Faith and Practice (2) Reverence for the usages of the Primitive Church (3) A warm and unquenchable love for the Church of England (4) A constant and unshakable conviction that God had commanded him to proclaim the Good News of Salvation to all whom he could reach, and had appointed him to care for the souls of those who were converted under the preaching of himself and his "Helpers." Thompson discusses the validity of these principles and their application to Wesley's consecration of Dr. Coke and his ordination of others. This book is of special interest to Methodists and Anglicans, but its presentation of facts and discussion of general principles make it important to those of all denominations who are concerned about the unity of the church and the doctrine of episcopacy.

The proposal of this book is to guide the reader to the contrastive ministries of the two most dominant preachers of the eighteen-century evangelical revival. In a wonderful comparative approach the author draws John Wesley and George Whitefield's portraits and explores their life and practice, as well as their relationship. Committed to the principle that the 'whole world was their parish', Wesley and Whitefield manifested their singular desire to be men of one book through preaching ministries that were equally committed to the spread of the gospel throughout the transatlantic world.

Wesley and the Wesleyans challenges the cherished myth that at the moment when the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution were threatening the soul of eighteenth-century England, an evangelical revival - led by the Wesleys - saved it. It will interest anyone concerned with the history of Methodism and the Church of England, the Evangelical tradition, and eighteenth-century religious thought and experience. The book starts from the assumption that there was no large-scale religious revival during the eighteenth century. Instead, the role of what is called 'primary religion' - the normal human search for ways of drawing supernatural power into the private life of the individual - is analysed in terms of the emergence of the Wesleyan societies from the Church of England. The Wesleys' achievements are reassessed; there is fresh, unsentimental description of the role of women in the movement, and an unexpectedly sympathetic picture emerges of Hanoverian Anglicanism.

This book is about those preachers whom John Wesley called his Sons in the Gospel, their lives, their importance in the Methodist movement and their wider significance. It is about those who entered in Wesley's lifetime; they had begun their work by 1791. Because of their unity and dedication they had more effect than either of the Wesley brothers in the creation of the worldwide Methodist Church. This study analyses their lives and achievements. It provides new statistical information and brings to life the calling, travels, and everyday experience of individual preachers.

In a time when the need for and the relevance of the Gospel has seldom been greater, the relevance of the church has seldom been less. The Shaping of Things to Come explores why the church needs to rebuild itself from the bottom up. Frost and Hirsch present a clear understanding of how the church can change to face the unique challenges of the twenty-first century. This missional classic has been thoroughly revised and updated.