Probably more stirring than his messages about God's plan of redemption
United Societies printed and enforced, the quarterly visitation of the classes arranged for, lay preaching instituted, places of worship secured, and the sacraments administered."83
In 1744, after the Wesleys had established hundreds of Societies throughout England, the first Annual Methodist Conference was held in London. All lay preachers and leaders congregated to hear directly from John, find encouragement as well as reproof, present significant problems, and propose solutions. This conference was part of John's plan to meet the spiritual and intellectual needs of his traveling preachers and local leaders. In addition to establishing the Annual Conference, he also published books on many various subjects expressly for the purpose of educating his growing band of teachers. He published his best sermons and other classic theological works in inexpensive books and used the proceeds to set up schools to educate individuals who were interested in becoming Bible teachers. Wesley advocated the development of the intellect along with the social and emotional aspects of Christian living—even for those who were not called to full-time ministry.
John's widespread success can be attributed largely to his faithful band of lay preachers and class leaders, a group that grew in rank and number with every passing year. Requirements and methods became increasingly formalized. John published a list of four questions all leaders were to ask their class members in order to guide and discipline them. These questions were:
1. What known sins have you committed?
2. What temptations have you overcome?
3. How did God deliver you?
4. What have you thought, said, or done that might be sinful?
Probably more stirring than his messages about God's plan of redemption was John's plan for continued spiritual formation and discipleship. He felt this plan was a critical ingredient for the success of every believer, whether young or mature in Christ. After returning from a trip to Wales in 1763, John made this powerful observation:
Preaching like an Apostle, without joining together those that are awakened,
and training them up in the ways of God, is only begetting children for the murderer. How much preaching has [there] been for these twenty years! But no regular societies, no discipline, no order or connection; and the consequence is that nine in ten of the once-awakened are now faster asleep than ever.84
The Annual Conference brought together all types of Methodist leaders and continued to grow over the years. Lay preachers traveled from afar to participate. Beginning in 1767, and for every year thereafter, there came a time in the annual proceedings when the question was asked: "Are there any objections to any of the preachers?" Each preacher's name was called out one by one, followed by a few moments of silence. None was immune to the culture of accountability that governed the growing organization.
In the same respect, lay ministers came with the assurance their concerns would be heard. In addition to accountability, the conferences provided a forum where the needs of the local leaders and their families were made known and formally addressed by the executive committee. Decisions at the conferences included giving a living stipend to traveling preachers and their wives and guaranteeing basic care provisions, such as formal education, to their children. Schools were organized expressly for the children of traveling preachers and their local lay-leaders.
From Methodist societies to classes, bands, circuits, and districts—from traveling preachers to class leaders, delegates, officers, and teachers—Wesley had an unprecedented genius for organization. He was astutely aware that God had given him this special gift, as he noted in a letter to his sister Martha: "I know this is the peculiar talent which God has given me."85 As a leader, he was willing to incorporate suggestions made by others, and he learned continually from the lessons of experience. He closely observed the strategies that helped believers grow in Christ and wove them into the Methodist machinery.
By October 1768, a Methodist chapel was opened in New York. In 1771, Francis Asbury was commissioned to oversee the work in America. In September 1784, Wesley ordained his clerical helper, Dr. Thomas Coke, as bishop, instructing him to ordain Asbury to administer the sacraments. Following in Wesley's footsteps, Asbury became known as a "circuit-riding preacher" whose dedication to the colonies, even during the War of
Independence, was instrumental in helping Methodism to take root in America. Asbury would lead a new generation of American circuit riders, including Peter Cartwright, who would be influential in the dawning of the Second Great Awakening that so stirred America in the early nineteenth century.
As Methodism took hold throughout the Old World and New World alike, the constant demands involved with governing such a burgeoning organization weighed heavily on John. By 1770, he actively sought a successor to oversee the ministry in the future. He hoped John Fletcher, a servant of Christ he considered his equal, would succeed him. Fletcher had been his close travel companion after Charles retired from the itinerant life in 1750, and John could think of no one else who was as close to being a kindred spirit, and certainly no one as knowledgeable. Fletcher died in 1785, however, three years before Charles himself passed away.
John was concerned about the future of the Methodist movement. He knew that maintaining the integrity of the doctrine depended on a delicate balance of knowledge of the Word, experience of the Spirit, discipline of thought, and holy Christian conduct. All of these combined, he felt, to perfect the heart and ensure continued growth in the faith—"the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14 nkjv).
A contemporary of Wesley who was a correspondent for the New York Evangelist wrote,
The first time I was in the company of the Rev. John Wesley, I asked him what must be done to keep Methodism alive when he was dead. To which he immediately answered: "The Methodists must take heed of their doctrine, their experience, their practice, and their discipline....if they do not attend to their discipline, they will be like persons who bestow much pains in cultivating their garden, and put no fence round it to save it from the wild boars of the forest."86
John had a strong conviction that strict oversight of the soul was paramount to lasting victory in Christ. As it was with the individual, so it was with the body of Christ. All aspects of life must be brought into "the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). "Is it any wonder," Wesley asked, "that we find so few Christians? Where is Christian discipline? In what part of England is Christian discipline added to Christian doctrine?" Wesley felt the church as a