A Short History Of The Methodists... - Media Sabda Org

churches. But his preaching led to a controversy that was so sharp as to break down the good effects
of his evangelism. Mr. Edwards had led what is known as the "Great Awakening" -- a revival that
assumed Wesleyan proportions -- and had sent over to England, to Dr. Watts, the famous hymn
writer, a full account of it. Mr. Wesley had reprinted it, and it appears that there was an
understanding that Mr. Wesley's revival in England had its counterpart in Mr. Edwards' "Great
Awakening" in New England. But New England was left a "burnt-over district," with strong
prejudices against any form of enthusiasm. Another thing Mr. Lee met with was the gossip about the
Methodists: that they were ignorant, fanatical, enthusiastic, and "butted right into the other man's
flock, breaking it up and organizing a Methodist society."
At the Conference which met in New York in 1789 Mr. Lee received the appointment he had long
desired: he was read out for Stamford, Conn. This meant that he was going farther north than any
other Methodist preacher had been before. "I set out with a prayer to God on my endeavors and an
expectation of much opposition. I came to Norwalk about four o'clock in the afternoon, to the home
of a Mr. Rodgers. One of our friends had asked permission for his home to preach in; but on our
arrival Mrs. Rodgers said that her husband, who was not then in, objected to my preaching in their
home. I spoke to an old lady present about preaching in her orchard, but she was afraid the crowd
would trample down the grass. The people were then notified that the preacher would go to the
roadside and preach."
Mr. Lee preached to about twenty hearers from the text, "Ye must be born again." He then
announced he would preach there again before long and passed on.
In July following he found his way into Boston, and after several unsuccessful efforts to get a
place in which to preach he announced on Saturday that the next day at six o'clock in the evening
he would preach on the commons. At the appointed time, before a respectable audience, under an
elm tree, on the commons, he mounted a table and preached the first Methodist sermon in Boston.
He returned again that fall, and preached on the commons to more than three thousand people. On
this visit he preached in the homes of a number of the people in the town.
At the Conference in New York in 1790 he was ordained both deacon and elder. For several years
he had refused to take orders, though he had frequently been urged by Bishop Asbury and others to
do so. He was at this time very anxious about his work in the North and spent several hours with the
bishop soliciting help. While at Conference he was sorely grieved at the news of his mother's death.
John, his preacher brother, took his departure for Virginia, Jesse going with him to the ferry, and
watching him till he disappeared in the distance. At this Conference Jesse was appointed to Boston,
Mass. He turned his face again to the North, preaching and visiting on his way, and arrived there on
November 13. There great and heavy trials confronted him: no house to preach in, no home open for
his entertainment, and even the friends made on his former visits had fallen away from him. After
many trials he set out for Lynn, a place that was more friendly to him and the Methodists than any
other he had found. It would be but a tedious repetition to follow him on his constant ongoing, but
the year was a busy one to him.