In this tercentenary year of the birth of John Wesley a new book by Iain H. Murray, 'Wesley and Men who Followed', is to be published by the Banner of Truth Trust next month. It deals with the immense gospel work done by Wesley and some of his Methodist preachers.
John Wesley left behind him a family of churches among which his reputation was to be revered across the earth.
26 years after his death, William Carvosso spoke for thousands when he wrote of Wesley in the year 1817, 'I often think I shall praise God to all eternity for His raising him up, and sending him into Cornwall.' Ten years later as missionaries established an outpost in one of the darkest corners of the Pacific - Bay of Islands, New Zealand - affection led them to name it 'Wesleydale'. A century and a half later Wesley's 'Twelve Rules' for preachers were still being used in Papua New Guinea. Summing up a life-long study of Wesley, Frank Baker wrote in 1974: 'In all sincerity, and with all the weight I can muster, I claim that whatever his errors of memory, in judgment, in tact, throughout his long adult life until his death at the age of 87 in 1791, John Wesley consistently and courageously lived to the glory of God.'
