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‘T ri § 'DIA 1 r -1-' ~—» Ml Volume 7 George Whitefield And Bethesda BY O. W. BURROUGHS When the man and the occasion meet, the result may not be a happy one for the man; may not conduce to his comfort and well-being, but to a multitude of others it will bring good, to some the very means of life. The pages of history provide many instances of such a meet¬ ing of the man and the need. For example, what other man than George Washington could have had the patience, courage and canniness to face and overcome the conditions that he met when the American colonists were fight¬ ing for independence? “There is a Leoni¬ das for every Thermopylae. 9f A generation earlier than Washington another George had arisen to head a cause, not national in scope, but one that he was fitted by nature and educa¬ tion to lead. When in 1738 George Whitefield came to the Georgia colony as curate of the Church of England, he was stricken full in the face by a need that seemed to him greater than that of the ministrations of the church, im¬ portant though that be. The sight of helpless children, bereft of parents or the victims of broken homes, laid hold on his heart to the exclusion of all else. He determined to make a home for them and to provide the training and educa¬ tion that would fit them for life, '“hi he did successfully for three decades, beginning in 1740 and until his death in 1770. The details of the history of Bethesda will be left for future consid¬ eration since this is only to be a charac¬ terization of the man who made Bethesda and left his imprint upon it for gen¬ erations to come. He was no particular bright star at school, being distinguished rather for histrionic zeal than for high academic rank. This talent helped him in his work of later years. The best preachers have something in them of the actor. But when he entered Oxford University, met and associated with the Wesleys, his dramatic instinct lay fallow for the time being only to be revived again when he faced the world in his great mission of preaching and building Bethesda. Although on fire with faith and zeal in his religious convictions, Whitefield was no bigot. Once, when preaching from the balcony of the court-house in Philadelphia, he cried out: “Father Abraham, who have you in heaven? Any Episcopalians ?” * * No. 9} Any Presby terians?” “No. a Any Baptists?” “No. yy 44 Have you any Methodists there ? yy 4 i No. 44 Why, who have you then ? yy 44 We don’t know those names here; all that are here are Christians. , ’ The actor again, staging a scene. His oratorical ability and power were a matter for comment. It is said that in preaching to multitudes of thousands in the fields his voice carried easily to the farthest of his thrilled audience. So much for the physical power of the man. What was more important, his faith and personality were such that he had great spiritual power and control over his hearers. Continued on Page 6 FEBRUARY, 1917 M VJ f # .*••• *#** ■ ; ' f IT * m l pi § [#■ .,. 1 $ Number 24