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You are about to download The Works of Reverend John Fletcher - Volume 2, for your Nook or other E-Reader device.
John William Fletcher (September 12, 1729 – August 14, 1785), English divine, was born at Nyon in Switzerland, his original name being de la Fléchère.
Fletcher was a contemporary of John Wesley (the founder of Methodism), a key interpreter of Wesleyan theology in the 18th century, and one of Methodism's first great theologians. Of French Huguenot stock, his given name was actually Jean Guillaume de la Fléchère. Fletcher was renowned in the Britain of his day for his piety and generosity; when asked if he had any needs, he responded, "...I want nothing but more grace."
Early life
He was educated at Geneva, but, preferring an army career to a clerical one, went to Lisbon and enlisted. An accident prevented his sailing with his regiment to Brazil, and after a visit to Flanders, where an uncle offered to secure a commission for him, he went to England in c.1740/50. He had harbored a secret desire to travel to England, and had studied the English language prior to his arrival in London. In the autumn of 1751[2] he became tutor to the sons of Thomas and Susanna Hill, a wealthy Shropshire family, who spent part of the year in London. On one of the family's stays in London, Fletcher first heard of the Methodists and became personally acquainted with John and Charles Wesley, as well as his future wife, Mary Bosanquet. In 1757 Fletcher was ordained as deacon (6 March 1757) and priest (13 March 1757) in the Church of England, after preaching his first sermon at Atcham[3] being appointed curate to the Rev. Rowland Chambre in the parish of Madeley, Shropshire.
In addition to performing the duties of his curacy, he sometimes preached with John Wesley and assisted him with clerical duties in Wesley's London chapels. As a preacher in his own right, but also as one of Wesley's coadjutors, Fletcher became known as a fervent supporter of the Evangelical Revival. Fletcher perceived a vocational call from God to parochial ministry, and being led by this calling rather than by the temptation to wealth and influence, he refusing an offer to be presented to the wealthy living of Dunham[disambiguation needed], accepting instead the humble industrializing parish of Madeley in Shropshire. He had developed a sincere religious and social concern for the people of this populous part of the West Midlands where he had first served in the Christian ministry, and here, for twenty-five years (1760–1785), he lived and worked with unique devotion and zeal, described by his wife as his "unexampled labours" in the epitaph she penned for his iron tomb. Fletcher was devoted to the Methodist concern for spiritual renewal and revival, and committed himself to the Wesley's by correspondence and by coming to their aid as a theologian, while maintaining a never wavering commitment to the Church of England. Indeed, much of Fletcher's controversial theological writings claimed their foundation was the 39 Articles, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Homilies of the Church of England. Yet, for all his support of John Wesley's and his Methodist societies which in many cases came into tension with the parish clergy, John Fletcher believed the Methodist model functioned best within the parochial system, and himself implemented his own brand of Methodism in his own parish.
Theology
In theology he upheld the Arminian doctrines of free will, universal redemption and general atonement, against the Calvinist doctrines of unconditional election and limited atonement. His Arminian theology is most clearly outlined in his famous Checks to Antinomianism. He attempted to confront his (and John Wesley's) theological adversaries with courtesy and fairness, although some of his contemporaries judged him harshly for his writings. His resignation on doctrinal grounds of the superintendency (1768–1771) of the countess of Huntingdon's college at Trevecca left no unpleasantness. Fletcher was characterized by saintly piety, rare devotion, and blamelessness of life, and the testimony of his contemporaries to his godliness is unanimous.
Although Fletcher's funeral sermon was preached by his friend, Rev. Thomas Hatton, a like-minded clergyman from a neighboring parish, Wesley wrote an elegiac sermon in the months after Fletcher's death, reflecting upon the text of Psalm 37:37, "Mark the perfect man." He characterized him as the holiest man he had ever met, or ever expected to meet "this side of eternity." [7] Southey said that "no age ever provided a man of more fervent piety or more perfect charity, and no church ever possessed a more apostolic minister." His fame was not confined to his own country, for it is said that Voltaire, when challenged to produce a character as perfect as that of Christ, at once mentioned Fletcher of Madeley.
John William Fletcher (September 12, 1729 – August 14, 1785), English divine, was born at Nyon in Switzerland, his original name being de la Fléchère.
Fletcher was a contemporary of John Wesley (the founder of Methodism), a key interpreter of Wesleyan theology in the 18th century, and one of Methodism's first great theologians. Of French Huguenot stock, his given name was actually Jean Guillaume de la Fléchère. Fletcher was renowned in the Britain of his day for his piety and generosity; when asked if he had any needs, he responded, "...I want nothing but more grace."
Early life
He was educated at Geneva, but, preferring an army career to a clerical one, went to Lisbon and enlisted. An accident prevented his sailing with his regiment to Brazil, and after a visit to Flanders, where an uncle offered to secure a commission for him, he went to England in c.1740/50. He had harbored a secret desire to travel to England, and had studied the English language prior to his arrival in London. In the autumn of 1751[2] he became tutor to the sons of Thomas and Susanna Hill, a wealthy Shropshire family, who spent part of the year in London. On one of the family's stays in London, Fletcher first heard of the Methodists and became personally acquainted with John and Charles Wesley, as well as his future wife, Mary Bosanquet. In 1757 Fletcher was ordained as deacon (6 March 1757) and priest (13 March 1757) in the Church of England, after preaching his first sermon at Atcham[3] being appointed curate to the Rev. Rowland Chambre in the parish of Madeley, Shropshire.
In addition to performing the duties of his curacy, he sometimes preached with John Wesley and assisted him with clerical duties in Wesley's London chapels. As a preacher in his own right, but also as one of Wesley's coadjutors, Fletcher became known as a fervent supporter of the Evangelical Revival. Fletcher perceived a vocational call from God to parochial ministry, and being led by this calling rather than by the temptation to wealth and influence, he refusing an offer to be presented to the wealthy living of Dunham[disambiguation needed], accepting instead the humble industrializing parish of Madeley in Shropshire. He had developed a sincere religious and social concern for the people of this populous part of the West Midlands where he had first served in the Christian ministry, and here, for twenty-five years (1760–1785), he lived and worked with unique devotion and zeal, described by his wife as his "unexampled labours" in the epitaph she penned for his iron tomb. Fletcher was devoted to the Methodist concern for spiritual renewal and revival, and committed himself to the Wesley's by correspondence and by coming to their aid as a theologian, while maintaining a never wavering commitment to the Church of England. Indeed, much of Fletcher's controversial theological writings claimed their foundation was the 39 Articles, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Homilies of the Church of England. Yet, for all his support of John Wesley's and his Methodist societies which in many cases came into tension with the parish clergy, John Fletcher believed the Methodist model functioned best within the parochial system, and himself implemented his own brand of Methodism in his own parish.
Theology
In theology he upheld the Arminian doctrines of free will, universal redemption and general atonement, against the Calvinist doctrines of unconditional election and limited atonement. His Arminian theology is most clearly outlined in his famous Checks to Antinomianism. He attempted to confront his (and John Wesley's) theological adversaries with courtesy and fairness, although some of his contemporaries judged him harshly for his writings. His resignation on doctrinal grounds of the superintendency (1768–1771) of the countess of Huntingdon's college at Trevecca left no unpleasantness. Fletcher was characterized by saintly piety, rare devotion, and blamelessness of life, and the testimony of his contemporaries to his godliness is unanimous.
Although Fletcher's funeral sermon was preached by his friend, Rev. Thomas Hatton, a like-minded clergyman from a neighboring parish, Wesley wrote an elegiac sermon in the months after Fletcher's death, reflecting upon the text of Psalm 37:37, "Mark the perfect man." He characterized him as the holiest man he had ever met, or ever expected to meet "this side of eternity." [7] Southey said that "no age ever provided a man of more fervent piety or more perfect charity, and no church ever possessed a more apostolic minister." His fame was not confined to his own country, for it is said that Voltaire, when challenged to produce a character as perfect as that of Christ, at once mentioned Fletcher of Madeley.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940014620475 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | GraceWorks Multimedia |
| Publication date: | 07/13/2000 |
| Series: | The Works of Reverend John Fletcher , #2 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 935 KB |
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