Founders Friday - May 14, 2010

George Whitefield (1714-1770):
Best known person in America. He preached in crowds without screaming. He was not allowed to preach in churches. He was often at odds with the Church of England. Up to 30,000 people attended Whitefield’s Boston Sermon. He had a beautiful voice that people wanted to listen to. George had amazing talking skills.
Franklin was Whitefield’s closest friend. So close, in fact, that Franklin wanted to move to Ohio with Whitefield to start a new colony.
Whitefield raised enormous amounts of money for charity like his orphanage. Many people pushed him aside for those reasons.
This is the guy who helped create a deep relationship with God. He made popular the term “born again.” He wanted a personal relationship that effects his heart not just his mind. He was a common man that spoke common man which got people to listen.
He was a slave owner but he thought they had souls that needed to be saved. He believed salves deserved an education. In 1748, Whitefield pressured GA colony to legalize slavery.

Whitefield’s Political Involvement:
As the 1760’s went on he became very involved with the crisis in Britain and the colonies. He may in fact have been one of the earliest people from Britain to warn the colonist that there was trouble coming. In 1764, he came to America and said “There is trouble coming from Britain and your golden days are at an end.” He called it “There is a deep laid plot against your civil and religious liberties. My heart bleeds for you America.” When he goes back to England he is there with his good friend Franklin. When Franklin testifies before Parliament on the colonies behalf because of their protest against the Stamp Act and Whitefield is advocating behind the scenes against the Stamp Act. By the time you get to Whitefield’s passing in 1770 on his last trip to America he dies in Massachusetts and the sermons by the colonial pastors say he his largely to thank for the repeal of the Stamp Act. George was a true patriot. He is a representative of what the Revolution was really about.