[...]... understand this tension and work within it At times, they call their movements to reject the dominant culture and society But this rejection can never be complete Indeed, in ways that these leaders and their followers may never completely acknowledge or even understand, the success of their movements hinge on maintaining contact with the culture around them 8 AMERICAN SAINT Asbury didn’t accept American. .. with the prevailing culture of their adherents Popular religious movements like early American Methodism exist in a tension between religious values and the values of the dominant culture, alternately challenging and embracing the larger culture around them To either completely accept or reject the larger culture is to cease to be either religious on the one hand, or popular on the other Leaders like Asbury. .. the other.14 If so, then Asbury acted as a mediator between Wesley and common Americans Wesley and Asbury came from significantly different backgrounds, but they shared a realization that the dominant religious institutions of their day were failing to reach most people The great question they both addressed was how to make the gospel relevant in their time and place The audience was never far from their... association with John Wesley, the founder of Methodism in England and no friend of the revolution Meanwhile, southern Methodists had decided to ordain themselves, outside of any episcopal oversight, and begin offering the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, a clear break from the movement’s Wesleyan roots in England Asbury had one last chance to bring them back into the fold at a conference scheduled... Church, Philadelphia, the Staffordshire Records Office, Stafford, England, the Stockport Central Library, Stockport, England, the Library of Virginia, Richmond, and the Virginia Historical Society Portions of several chapters of this book appear in Francis Asbury and American Methodism” in The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies, edited by William J Abraham and James E Kirby (2009) , and are used with... well-informed (the product of his travels and love of conversation) and flexible in keeping up with these changes, but everyone has their limits Though the American Revolution led to a good deal of persecution of American Methodists, Asbury fretted that its end would produce too much prosperity and thereby dampen Methodist zeal Later he worried that the availability of cheap land in the West would have the same... number of people who generously shared their knowledge of matters connected to Asbury s life My sincere thanks to David Hallam for taking me on a tour of “Asburyland” in the West Midlands in June 2003 and offering helpful comments on drafts of the first two chapters, and to Harry Clarke, curator of the Asbury cottage, who kindly shared his knowledge of the cottage and the Asbury family I am also grateful... ideas.13 The third conduit of Asbury s vision was the way that he understood and used popular culture John Wesley and Asbury were alike in their willingness to negotiate between competing religious and cultural worlds In his biography of Wesley, Henry Rack argues persuasively that Wesley acted as a “cultural middleman” between Methodists on the one hand and clergymen and educated gentlemen in England on the. .. also on the journals, letters, and memoirs of dozens of others who knew him or had contact with the early Methodist movement Asbury was a transitional figure in the development of American religion, promoting the separation of religious leadership from wealth and formal education The system of religious economy that Asbury and the Methodists were largely responsible for creating—churches unaided and not... America and himself as a younger man Whatever the reason, Asbury now paused to reflect on his life as leader of the Methodist movement in America Francis Asbury was born at the foot of Hamstead Bridge in a cottage in the parish of Handsworth, about four miles outside of Birmingham, England Birmingham is located about 110 miles northwest of London in the West Midlands His parents, Joseph and 16 AMERICAN SAINT . alt="" American Saint This page intentionally left blank American Saint Francis Asbury and the Methodists JOHN WIGGER 1 2009 3 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford. that Asbury was neither an American nor a saint. He was born and raised in a small village outside of Birmingham, England, and didn’t come to America until the age of 26. Yet he adapted to the landscape. Wesley, the founder of Methodism in England and no friend of the revolution. Meanwhile, southern Methodists had decided to ordain themselves, outside of any episcopal oversight, and begin offering the