George Whitefield: America's Spiritual Founding Father

George Whitefield is not well known by Americans today, including American evangelical Christians, his spiritual heirs. In the eighteenth century, however, Whitefield was well known not only in America, but also in his native England—well known, well loved, and widely criticized. Thomas S. Kidd outlines the life of this influential evangelist in George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father.Whitefield was born in a Gloucester inn on December 16, 1714, to hardworking though not particularly religious parents. He secured a work-scholarship to Oxford University, where he fell under the spiritual influence of John and Charles Wesley and entered ministry in the Church of England. Together with the Wesley brothers, Whitefield led the trans-Atlantic evangelical revival that came to be known as the Great Awakening through ceaseless itinerant evangelism, innovative use of print media, and development of personal and institutional relationships across denominations.“[Whitefield’s] colleague and frequent rival John Wesley left a greater organizational legacy,” Kidd writes, “and his ally Jonathan Edwards made a more significant theological contribution. But Whitefield was the key figure in the first generation of evangelical Christianity.” Kidd concludes: “Whitefield was the first great preacher in a modern evangelical movement that has seen many. Perhaps he was the greatest evangelical preacher the world has ever seen.”Reading Kidd’s biography of Whitefield—which will be the standard work for years to come—I was struck by several similarities with contemporary American evangelicalism that are worth noting, both positive and negative.The first is Whitefield’s blend of principle and pragmatism. Whitefield was an ordained priest in the Church of England and a convinced Calvinist. This did not prevent him from working with English Dissenters and Arminians (at least of the Wesleyan variety), Scottish Presbyterians, or American Congregationalists, however. Rather, with them, he emphasized the experience of the “new birth”—that is, being born again—and the doctrine of justification by faith. These expressed the essence of the gospel.To proclaim that gospel, Whitefield pragmatically utilized a variety of innovative techniques. These included itinerant evangelism, field preaching, personal discipleship (the hallmark of Methodism), and the use of newspapers to promote the ministry. The result was a trans-Atlantic revival united by a powerful spiritual encounter and a theology that explained it, far more than by ecclesiology or denominational distinctives.The second is Whitefield’s emphasis on the ministry of the Holy Spirit, both as the One who brings about regeneration (the technical term for the new birth) and the One who empowers ministers to proclaim the gospel. Wesley’s journals are filled with descriptions of people experiencing the throes of spiritual conviction, not to mention the experience of breaking through to the peace of conversion. He also routinely speaks of the Spirit prompting his actions and words. Kidd even notes a handful of occasions where Whitefield, his colleagues, or his followers may have spoken in tongues. Ironically, in light of the cessationist theology that characterized evangelical Calvinism in the early twentieth century, Kidd points out that the revivalists believed in the contemporary work of the Holy Spirit—though not as Pentecostals do today—while their non-evangelical critics were the ones who were cessationists, believing that the gifts of the Holy Spirit had ceased in the Apostolic Era.This emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit was often a help to the emerging evangelical movement, rooting God’s work in the heart and not merely the head, but it was also occasionally a hindrance. Critics routinely accused Whitefield and his followers of “enthusiasm,” a mindless religious ecstasy detached from good theology, good taste, and good sense. Sometimes, they were right. In turn, under what Whitefield assumed to be the prompting of the Spirit, he often criticized non-evangelical ministers for being “unconverted,” that is, not even Christian. This won him few friends among that group. As Whitefield and his followers matured, they learned to distinguish the fire of genuine revival from “wild-fire.”The third is the paradoxical combination of unity and division. As noted above, the Anglican Whitefield partnered with ministers of other Protestant denominations to promote revival. This is true of evangelicalism to the present day. But just as there are sharp theological disputes today between Calvinist and Arminian evangelicals, there were sharp theological disputes between the same two groups in the eighteenth century. Whitefield was a staunch Calvinist, as was the Welsh evangelist Howell Harris. The Wesley brothers, on the other hand, were equally staunch Arminians. The theological debates between those four individuals, and their respective followers, were intense and often nasty. Nevertheless, throughout his ministry, Whitefield found his way toward cooperation with the Wesley’s in gospel ministry.The fourth is the confusion of the gospel and patriotism. Whitefield came to prominence during Protestant England’s seemingly endless wars with Catholic powers. Like other Protestants in his age, he viewed the Reformation dispute with Rome as both theological (How are we saved?) and political (Who will rule us?) in nature. During the War of Jenkins’ Ear with Spain and the Seven Years War with France, Whitefield preached pro-English, anti-Spanish, anti-French, and anti-Catholic sermons that are embarrassing to read today. My guess is that in two hundred years, the patriotic sermons of today’s evangelicals will cause readers to blush too.It has been said that the past is a foreign country. Reading Whitefield’s biography reminds us that his age was vastly different from our own. Like many in America in the eighteenth century, Whitefield owned slaves, a fact for which he can (and should) be criticized. (His marriage was also nothing to write home about.)On the other hand, the past is not so foreign that it is unable to teach us lessons about our own time. This is especially true of contemporary American evangelicalism. The trans-Atlantic evangelical revival of the eighteenth century initiated patterns of spiritual experience, theological doctrine, and ministry methodology that are still recognizable among American and British evangelicals today, for better and for worse.As evangelicals move forward in the twenty-first century, it is thus reasonable to ask: Who will be our Edwards, to teach us in this postmodern intellectual milieu? Who will be our Wesley, to organize, network, and disciple us? And who will be our Whitefield—the evangelist whose preaching of the gospel will draw men and women, boys and girls to Christ? Kidd notes that Whitefield was perhaps “the greatest evangelical preacher the world has ever seen.” I would add only five words: though hopefully not the last.

George Whitefield was the “central figure” of the Great Awakening of the mid 1700s, and quite possibly the first English celebrity. It can be estimated that he preached over 18,000 sermons in his lifetime, commonly featuring audiences in the ten, twenty, and thirty plus thousands (remember this is before microphones, P.A. systems, and online marketing). There is no question that Whitefield is a hero of the faith and a founder of Western Evangelicalism. This was a necessary biography.Whitefield, pre-conversion, was a man of immense struggles—almost Martin Luther like. There was even a season in his life at Oxford where Whitefield felt tormenting assaults from the devil, where he could be found writhing "on the floor day and night, praying and commanding the devil to leave his body, in the name of Jesus" (430). Whitefield fasted, mourned his sin, struggled, and made penance—until God met him. Whitefield was "born again," proclaiming, "the Day Star arose in my heart" (451). This conversion experience would come be the focal point of his preaching.Whitefield called the new birth: "one of the most fundamental doctrines of our holy religion, the very hinge by which the salvation of each of us turns" (1198). But do not think Whitefield preached salvation at the expense of a life of commitment as "he closely linked conversion with a life of holiness and benevolence" (1228).I was surprised to find out that Whitefield theologically was somewhat of a "Calvinistic Charismatic." By today’s standards those two seem almost incompatible, but not to Whitefield. Kidd writes that Whitefield was "convinced that a recovery of robust Calvinist teaching was essential to a renewal of pure gospel preaching" (1718). This Calvinism caused a major rift between Whitefield and the Wesley brothers (and many others) that only grew with time. To Whitefield, Calvinism (primarily the doctrine of election) was fundamental because it made Christians forever secure in their standing before God.But Whitefield was perhaps more so accused of his "enthusiasm," almost akin to forms of the Charismatic movement. He would claim that the Holy Spirit made him do things. Kidd writes, "He was certain that the Holy Spirit had moved powerfully not just in the gospels or the book of Acts, but that he was 'the common privilege and portion of all believers in all ages'" (1279). The Holy Spirit was real and alive to Whitefield and he believed the same Spirit must be alive in every Christian. "He did not let the charge of enthusiasm dissuade him, for he believed that 'every Christian, in the proper sense of the word, must be an enthusiast—that is inspired of God, or have God in Him'" (1605).Whitefield achieved much for the Kingdom of God. But I was surprised that though the Great Awakening was a powerful revival—there was much opposition against Whitefield. By the Anglicans, Whitefield was far too ecumenical and accepting of other denominations. The Wesleys spurned him for his Calvinism and many others were wary of Whitefield’s reliance on the Holy Spirit’s "revelation." There was much in anti-revivalist, anti-Whitefield propaganda—which shows that there will always be intense opposition to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ no matter the fruit.The itinerant had a grueling pace to his life: ever on the move (13 trips between England and the colonies); preaching multiple times a day, often exhaustingly seven days a week. It could be said that Whitefield preached unhealthily too much—ultimately preaching himself to his death in September of 1770 at the age of 55. Fifteen years earlier he only wished he could spend a day in "retirement and deep humiliation before that Jesus for whom I have done so little" (4838).Kidd’s biography is good, scholarly, and enjoyable. He also gives an evangelical perspective necessary for a good recounting of this great life. My only concern is the price--$19.99 for the Kindle edition is too much for any book no matter the quality. The biography also is a tad repetitive, but that is more due to Whitefield’s life than Kidd’s retelling of it.4/5 stars