FRANCIS ASBURY AS A PREACHER

     He was a man with a message. His biographer, Dr. Strickland, says he preached seventeen thousand sermons during his forty-five years of ministry in America. This would be an average of one a day. His journal contains notes on nearly two hundred texts. They show that his preaching was expository, logical, direct, and preeminently spiritual. One of his friends said of him: "Asbury was the only preacher I ever heard who preached to his text. He never preached from it, as many do who select a passage as the mere theme of a discourse, the discussion of which would be as applicable to an axiom of Coleridge as to the text, but he would start a proposition, and in its elaboration would come directly to the text. With him, proposition, argument, illustration, incident, everything was either immediately drawn from or directly connected with the subject of discourse."

     The following is the outline of a sermon preached in Baltimore, August 16, 1801, on the text, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

     I. The character of those who, by justification, are in a special manner, called to be pure in heart; called by promise, by privilege, by duty.

     II. The purity of the gospel in authority, in example, precept and spirit; in its operative influence on the understanding, conscience, intentions, will, hopes, fears, joys, sorrows and affections, producing sanctification of the soul in a deliverance from all sin.

     III. The visions: in what manner the pure in heart should see God; they shall see Him in His perfections, in His providences, in His works of nature, and the operations of His grace, and they shall see Him in His glory.

     His preaching was directed toward the heart and consciences of his hearers. There was a serious cast to his mind which, at times, was tinged with melancholy. This became noticeable when he had "a dry time," or "a dull time," or his hearers were "dead," "indifferent to the message," or "at ease in Zion." But when he felt "enlargement of heart," "great liberty of soul," or his congregations were "moved," or "there was a stir," or "souls convicted, converted and sanctified," this melancholy disappeared and he was happy and praising the Lord. Frequently he speaks of delivering an "awful sermon," or of the Lord's giving him a "searching message."

     As a preacher, he was a constant and unremitting student. Deprived of an education in his youth, he made such use of his time that he mastered Greek and Hebrew, and was familiar with history, theology and general literature. When it is remembered how constantly he was on the move, it is remarkable how much studying he accomplished. He carried his Greek and Hebrew texts with him and always had a few books in his saddle bags, which were read and studied by the hour as his horse threaded the lonely trails of the wilderness or hurried over the more beaten roads of the settlements. Over one hundred titles of books he had read are given in the journal. In many instances these are accompanied with criticisms or comments which indicate a discriminating. mind, keen analytical powers and a balanced judgment. During one of his enforced stays at Bath, Virginia, taking treatments from the mineral wells there, he made the following entry: "I am now closely engaged in reading, writing, and prayer-my soul enjoys much of God. We have great rains, and are obliged to keep close house; but we have a little of almost everything to improve the mind-the languages, divinity; grammar, history, and belles-lettres; my great desire is to improve in the best things."

     Francis Asbury's Constructive Work. Methodism is the science of saving souls by method. The method included definite conversion, sanctification of the soul, an aggressive, untiring evangelism operating along the lines of an itinerating system original within itself, the whole regulated by such necessary rules as, from time to time, seemed to be necessary. A new world in which to work; a new evangelism to be housed and set in order; a new body of workmen, untrained, to be conserved and made contributory to the success of the whole; all of this required qualities in a leader which would include sound wisdom; good judgment; broad vision and indomitable courage. Such a leader was to build; not for a day; not for a generation; bur for the future. Alexander's dream of a world empire collapsed like a bubble before he was scarcely cold in his grave. Napoleon had years in which to view the wreckage of his ambitions before he went hence. The apostle's admonition for every man to take heed how he builds is of universal application. The qualities, natural and acquired, which made Francis Asbury the man, the Christian and the preacher that he was found their highest expression in his work as a constructive builder.

     He believed firmly that his position was of divine appointment. Hear him: "I will tell the world what I rest my authority upon. 1. Divine authority. 2. Seniority in America. 3. The election of the general conference. 4. My ordination by Thomas Coke, William Philip Otterbein, German Presbyterian minister, Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey. 5. Because the signs of an apostle have been seen in me." Fortified by this conviction; conscious that the exercise of his episcopal powers were ever and always for the glory of God and the best interests of the church; for thirty-two years his executive genius was exerted in shaping American Methodism.

     Following the example of Mr. Wesley, he planned for the establishment of schools. He projected a scheme for the opening of preparatory schools in every conference. The ill-fated Cokesbury College of Maryland was the object of his special care and solicitation for the necessary funds for its maintenance. He organized the first Sunday-school in America in Hanover county, Virginia, in 1786. He laid the foundations of what is now the Methodist Book Concern and raised funds for its support. He was an active home missionary, sending preachers to new and needy points and then soliciting funds for their support. He carried with him a subscription book for what was known as The Asbury Mite Fund. This was used for the worn-out preachers and widows and was the foundation of what was afterwards the "Preachers' Fund." He also planned a fund for the relief of needy preachers on the frontier which has since been incorporated under the "Chartered Fund." One writer says: "Wesley himself never devised and carried into execution so many plans of benevolence in connection with his societies as did Asbury for the Methodist Episcopal church."

     The first conferences held in America had nothing in the way of rules of procedure, except the minutes of the Wesleyan conferences in England. The quarterly, annual and quadrennial gatherings, together with the rules incident thereto, were formulated as the growth of the church and the exigencies seemed to demand. The guiding hand and the directing mind during this formative period was Bishop Asbury. It was he who presided at the conferences; it was he who edited the discipline, and, out of the mass of conference minutes, reduced to logical order the legislative acts which formed the basis of ecclesiastical Methodism.

     Unquestionably, the centralization of power in an episcopacy is accompanied by great danger. Modern church history is proof. In Bishop Asbury this power was well-nigh absolute. He did not have even the so-called "cabinet." He made the appointments and beyond his decision there was no appeal. The latter part of his life, when the last sitting of the conference was held, he would have his horse saddled and waiting at the door. The moment the appointments were read he was mounted and off, no one knew where. If the appointments were not satisfactory, there was nothing to be done; the bishop was gone. There was a certain military finality about it all, that, to some, in these days of ease and luxury, seems almost heartless. But Bishop Asbury was a man of God; he was a man of prayer, each appointment being made only after earnest supplication for divine direction; he possessed a remarkable faculty for reading character and judging as to the fitness of men; he had an unselfish, God-given passion for the welfare of the church; above all, he was the noblest Roman of them all-not one could excel him in holy zeal, patient suffering, arduous labor, personal sacrifice and unceasing devotion. To serve under such a leader was an honor; to be appointed to a hard field was an expression of confidence; to die in the line of duty was but a soldier's lot. In such a program and under such a general, laggards had no place, place-seekers no opportunity; policy men no recognition. But those who believed in losing the life in order to save it formed an ever increasing band of moral heroes and skillful workmen with whom Bishop Francis Asbury laid the foundations and raised a large part of an ecclesiastical superstructure, the shadow of which has fallen on every land. If later builders have marred the building as planned or have used counterfeit material, the responsibility is theirs. It does not detract from the greatness of the original architect; he is made greater by the contrast.

     Conditions change; environments change; the approaches to men's minds and souls change; but the fact of sin and salvation remains. The physical disabilities and inconveniences of Bishop Asbury's day are past. The moral problems of today are as perplexing and exacting upon mind and soul as then. Their successful solution and the success of present day evangelism demand the same genius for masterly planning, the same whole-hearted devotion, the same deadness to every invitation to ease and pleasure, the same untiring application, the same high standards of spirituality that crowned his work with such glorious success. May a double portion of his spirit fall upon the entire ministry of the collective Methodism of today!

     "Twilight and Evening Bell." At the session of the Tennessee conference in 1815, Bishop Asbury made the following entry in his journal: "My eyes fail. I will resign the stations to Bishop M'Kendree - I will take away my feet. It is my fifty-fifth year of ministry, and forty-fifth year of labor in America. My mind enjoys great peace and consolation." This was in October. By November he was in Virginia; by December he was at Columbia, South Carolina; a few days later, the seventh, he makes his last entry. Weak in body, yet clear in mind and ambitious in spirit, greatly desirous of meeting with the general conference at Baltimore in May, he turns northward, tenderly nursed and cared for by his traveling companion, the Rev. John Wesley Bond. Richmond, Virginia, was reached in March, where he preached his last sermon the twenty-fourth. He had to be carried from his carriage to the pulpit. Seated on a table prepared for the purpose, he preached from Romans 9:28, speaking nearly an hour, with frequent pauses for breath. The following Tuesday, Thursday and Friday he journeyed northward, reaching the home of an old friend, Mr. George Arnold, in Spottsylvania.

     Here his weakness and distress became so evident that his friends urged him to call a physician. He refused, saying: "Before the doctor could reach me I should be gone." About eleven o'clock Sabbath morning, March 31, he asked if it was not about time for meeting, then seemed to recollect himself, and requested the family be assembled for prayers. The Rev. Bond sang, prayed and expounded the twenty-first chapter of Revelation. During these exercises, the dying bishop seemed calm and absorbed in devotion. After this, such was his weakness he was unable to swallow a little barley water. Mr. Bond asked him if he felt the Lord Jesus to be precious. Unable to speak, he raised both hands in token of victory. A few moments later, still seated in his chair with his head resting upon the hand of the faithful Bond, without a struggle, he entered into rest.

FOR DISCUSSION AND MEDITATION

1. What four characteristics of Mr. Asbury's preaching are evident from a study of his sermon notes?

2. Deprived of an education in his youth and on the move constantly, how did he master Greek and Hebrew and become familiar with history, theology and general literature?

3. What four things did his method of saving souls include? What four qualities in a leader were required to conserve and continue this new evangelism in the new world with untrained workmen? What convictions fortified him? How many years did God give him to shape American Methodism?

4. Discuss Mr. Asbury's constructive relation to schools, the Sunday School, the Methodist Book Concern, support of worn-out preachers and their widows, and of needy frontier preachers.

5. Was the centralization of power in an episcopacy during the years of Mr. Asbury a good or a bad thing? Prove your answer. What qualities in him made it safe for him to have such well-nigh absolute power? What qualities in him challenged "an ever-increasing band of moral heroes and skillful workmen with whom Bishop Asbury laid the foundations and raised a large part of an ecclesiastical superstructure, the shadow of which has fallen on every land."

6. Discuss Mr. Griffith's statement: "The success of present day evangelism demands the same genius for masterly planning, the same whole-hearted devotion, the same deadness to every invitation to ease and pleasure, the same untiring application, the same high standards of spirituality that crowned Mr. Asbury's work with such glorious success."

7. Analyze your own feelings as you read "Twilight and Evening Bell". What challenge comes to you?