Oxford Methodism began in 1729 as Charles Wesley began to meet with Robert Kirkham and William Morgan. Soon John Wesley joined the group and assumed the leadership role of mentoring the group in a lifestyle of religious piety and observance. This lifestyle of “living by rule and method” became their distinctive approach (Heitzenrater, Mirror & Memory, 69). It involved study, prayer, religious conversation, self-denial, fasting, early rising, the disciplined use of time by keeping a diary, regular partaking of the Sacrament, setting firm resolutions, and participation in a variety of charitable ministries. They studied the Greek New Testament, the classics, the church fathers, and primitive Christian worship. As high churchmen of the Anglican Church, they drank deep into the holy living tradition and its authors.
In 1730 the group began to gain some notoriety around Oxford. Soon others began to join, including John Boyce, William Hayward, John Gambold, Westley Hall, Matthew Salmon, Benjamin Ingham, James Hervey, and John Clayton. Over time the various members scattered and became involved in different strands of evangelicalism and of the Anglican Church. Their writings offer a window into the religious landscape of early Methodism and the religious culture of the 18th century.
The Oxford Methodists
While Oxford Methodism never became a numerically large group, it did raise up several influential leaders. Everyone knows of the Wesleys and Whitefield, but fewer people know much about the other Oxford Methodists who became influential and effective ministers of the Gospel, like Clayton, Ingham, Gambold, Hervey, and Broughton. In 1873 the premiere biographer of early Methodism at the time, Luke Tyerman, published a bio of these five men for the public to gain a fuller understanding of these men and their contribution to the church at large.
Tyerman The Oxford Methodists 1873
John Gambold 1711-1771
Gambold entered Christ Church, Oxford, in 1730 and became friends with Charles Wesley who introduced him to John. He was ordained in 1733 and became vicar of Stanton Harcourt in 1735. The following year he wrote an account of his time as an Oxford Methodist. This account is found in Tyerman’s The Oxford Methodists and is located below. In 1738 John Wesley introduced Gambold to Peter Bohler and the Moravians. Gambold eventually joined the Moravian Church in 1742 and was ordained bishop in their church.
The Oxford Methodists 1736
Christianity Tidings of Joy 1741
Reasonableness & Extent Religious Reverence 1756
Martyrdom of Ignatius, A Tragedy 1773
Works of John Gambold 1789
Works of John Gambold 2nd ed 1823
Benjamin Ingham 1712-1772
Ingham was a member of the Oxford Methodists and served alongside the Wesleys in Georgia in the mid-1730s. He also traveled with John Wesley to Herrnhut in the summer of 1738. Having experienced evangelical conversion in 1737, Ingham became an effective evangelist and established more societies than he could manage. So, in 1742 he turned them over to the Moravian Brethren and joined the movement, though he retained an affinity toward Methodist principles. Later in life he was drawn toward Sandemanianism. In 1763 he published a work explaining his understanding of the gospel and where he differed from the Wesleys and Moravians.
Discourse on Faith & Hope of Gospel 1763
James Hervey 1714-1758
Hervey was tutored by John Wesley at Oxford in the 1730s and a member of the Oxford Methodists. Though he was Anglican, he thoroughly embraced the Calvinist creed and sought to promote that viewpoint in his writings. He became a popular and respected author, with his works filling six volumes. In 1755 he published Theron and Aspasio which espoused a Calvinist viewpoint on imputed righteousness. He had Wesley review it and received several criticisms that apparently hurt Hervey’s feelings. The fallout led to Hervey responding in a series of letters, which were publish posthumously.
Hervey Whole Works vol 1
Hervey Whole Works vol 2
Hervey Whole Works vol 3
Hervey Whole Works vol 4
Hervey Whole Works vol 5
Hervey Whole Works vol 6
John Wesley’s replies:
Letter to James Hervey 1756
Sufficient Answer to ‘Letters to Author Theron & Aspasio’ 1757
[This post was taken from the Featured Monthly Resources Page on Mark K. Olson’s website.]
