( CHRISTIAN LEADERS OF THE 18th CENTURY ) - [ CHAPTER 4 ] - { PT. 16 }


 { PT.  5 } - Above all, George Whitefield was the very first Englishman who seems to have thoroughly understood what Dr. Chalmers appropriately called the aggressive system. He was the first to see that Christ's ministers must do the work of fishermen. They must not wait for souls to come to them, but they must go after souls and compel them to come in ( LUKE  14:23 ). He did not sit quietly by his fireside, like a cat on a rainy day, mourning over the wickedness of the land. He went forth to face the devil in his high places. He attacked sin and wickedness face to face, and give them no peace. He dived into holes and corners after sinners! He hunted out ignorance and wickedness wherever they could be found. In short, he set on foot a system of action which, up to his time, had been comparatively unknown in this country. However, it is a system that, once begun, has never stopped being used down to the present day. City missions, town missions, district visiting societies, open-air preaching, home missions, and special services all demonstrate that the value of the aggressive system is now thoroughly recognized by all the churches. We understand better how to go to work now than we did a hundred years ago. Let us never forget, though, that the first man in recent history to operate in this way was George Whitefield, and let us give him the credit he deserves. The distinct character of Whitefield's preaching is the next subject that demands some consideration. People naturally want to know what the secret of his unparalleled success was. 

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