Revivalism was one of the main causes of division in nineteenth century British Methodism, but the role of revivalist theology in these splits has received scant scholarly attention. In this book, James E. Pedlar demonstrates how the revivalist variant of Methodist spirituality and theology empowered its adherents and helped foster new movements, even as it undermined the Spirit’s work through the structures of the church. Beginning with an examination of unresolved issues in John Wesley’s ecclesiology, Pedlar identifies a trend of increasing marginalization of the church among revivalists, via an examination of three key figures: Hugh Bourne (1772-1852), James Caughey (1810-1891), and William Booth (1860-1932). He concludes by examining the more catholic and irenic theology of Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932), the leading Methodist revivalist of the early twentieth century who became a strong advocate of Methodist Union. Pedlar shows that these theological differences must be considered, alongside social and political factors, in any well-rounded assessment of the division and eventual reunification of British Methodism.

A response to the prominent Methodist historian David Hempton’s call to analyse women’s experience within Methodism, this book is the first to deal with British Methodist women preachers over the entire nineteenth century. The author covers women preachers in Wesley’s lifetime, the reason why some Methodist sects allowed women to preach and others did not, and the experience of Bible Christian and Primitive Methodist female evangelists before 1850. She also describes the many other ways in which women supported their chapel communities. The book also includes discussion of the careers of mid-century women revivalists, the opportunities home and foreign missions offered for female evangelism, the emergence of deaconess evangelists and Sisters of the People in late century, and the brief revival of female itinerancy among the Bible Christians.

The relationship between John Wesley and George Whitefield has often been viewed as suffering from irreconcilable theological differences. In fact, for several years, the relationship between these two leaders of the revival of Christian faith in eighteenth-century England was strained almost to the breaking point. Whitefield, a Calvinist, believed that individuals were destined either for the glories of heaven or the horrors of hell by an irrevocable decree of God. Wesley, on the other hand, argued that each person has the option to either accept God's forgiveness or to reject it in favor of following one's own way. Previously, most books have focused on the differences between the theology of John Wesley and George Whitefield, while overlooking the lasting friendship between the two, which, after a brief period of separation, was restored for the sake of the continuation of the revival movement on two continents. Catholic Spirit: Wesley, Whitefield, and the Quest for Evangelical Unity in Eighteenth-Century British Methodism focuses on the key themes upon which both men agreed. James Schwenk explores the commonalties between these leaders of British Methodism and illustrates the great lengths they went to further the revival of Christianity in England and North America. Wesley and Whitefield each claimed to possess "Catholic spirits"; that is, they both believed the importance of working with other like-minded individuals to spread the message of salvation through Christ. Schwenk argues that they were successful in promoting that spirit of cooperation-even as some of their followers failed to understand how hard they worked at making "molehills out of mountains." Book jacket.

"This third volume of A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain, which began to be published in 1965, and took another step forward in 1978, brings the story of British Methodism to the event which was intended to conclude the whole work, that is, to the consummations of Methodist Union in 1932. Some chapters, however, advance beyond that event, since the description of some of the processes then in train could not be abruptly curtailed without historical injustice." -- From the Preface

"This book - the first on its subject since 1964 - outlines the development of British Methodist ecclesiology from the time of the Wesleys to the present day. It begins with a brief analysis of the complex intervention between the shifting ecclesiological consciousness of the early Methodist societies. It then expounds the now largely forgotten tradition of 'classical' Wesleyan ecclesiological thought, and takes a brief look at non-Wesleyan Methodist traditions. It incorporates some material (principally from William Shrewsbury) that has never been discussed academically." "David Carter surveys the last century of Methodist ecclesiological development, setting it in an ecumenical context, and attempts to relate Methodist insights to the wider ecumenical debate in ecclesiology. The aim of his book is to whet the reader's appetite for the further and more profound investigation that the subject deserves. It will be mandatory reading for Methodists who wish to understand their distinctive ecclesial tradition, and will also be of interest to those other Christians in partnership of dialogue with Methodists, who wish to have a clearer understanding of Methodist ecclesiology for themselves."--BOOK JACKET.