You don’t have to travel far to realize how blessed our region is with the gospel. There are numerous gospel-spreading Churches. I went to preach in Kuwait in 2007 and I remember trying to wrap my mind around the fact that there existed only 2 evangelical Churches in all of Kuwait. In Yemen, there are not any known Churches. In Saudi Arabia, there are not any known Churches…yet we know God has a remnant! But could you imagine not being allowed to gather and worship in a church?
Well, there is a reason why our region is blessed with the gospel. The reason is because of the faithful ministry of men like Peter Cartwright (1785-1873). He was a circuit riding preacher shortly after the American Revolutionary War. Our good Methodist friends will appreciate this article because Peter was a strong Methodist and labored very hard for the denomination. What impresses me the most about Peter Cartwright was his stand against slavery. He grew up in Logan County KY, only one mile from the TN state line.
As slave trade grew more popular among the Church, he preached against it fiercely. He would preach that Scripture taught us to love our neighbor as our self. How could Christians own slaves and fulfill this Scripture? As a result, thousands of slaves obtained their freedom due to his preaching!
I often wonder if Preaching Christ Church existed in the days of slave trade, and if I were its pastor, would we have fought against this evil? I hope so. I hope, even if we were in the South, that we would have stood against slavery and preached strongly the Word of God.
As time went on, slavery became worse within the Church. He moved his family and ministry to Illinois because it was a free state. When the Methodist Church divided over slavery, he sided with the anti-slavery side. He and Abraham Lincoln entered politics together and became good friends.
For our purposes in this month’s article, I thought it would be best to share Peter’s conversion in his own words. This is taken from his autobiography, The Backwoods Preacher written in 1856.
Peter felt the conviction of his sin and toiled with the Lord to seek repentance. I hope you enjoy reading of his conversion. It is my prayer that God will send His Holy Spirit to bring conviction like this back to the Churches of our region!
Some days after this, I retired to a cave on my father’s farm to pray in secret. My soul was in agony; I wept; I prayed, and said, “Now, Lord, if there is mercy for me, let me find it.” And it really seemed to me that I could almost lay hold of the Saviour, and realize a reconciled God. All of a sudden, such a fear of the devil fell upon me that it really appeared to me that he was surely personally there, to seize and drag me down to hell, soul and body, and such a horror fell on me that I sprang to my feet and ran to my mother at the house. My mother told me this was a device of Satan to prevent me from finding the blessing then. Three months rolled away, and still I did not find the blessing of the pardon of my sins…
In the Spring of this year, Mr. M’Grady, a minister of the Presbyterian Church, who had a congregation and meeting-house, as we then called them, about three miles north of my father’s house, appointed a sacramental meeting in this congregation, and invited the Methodist preachers to attend with them, and especially John Page, who was a powerful Gospel minister, and was very popular among the Presbyterians. Accordingly he came, and preached with great power and success.
There were no camp-meetings in regular form at this time, but as there was a great waking up among the Churches, from the revival that had broken out at Cane Ridge…many flocked to those sacramental meetings. The church would not hold the tenth part of the congregation. Accordinly, the officers of the Church erected a stand in a contiguous shady grove, and prepared seats for a large congregation.
The people crowded to the meeting from far and near. They came in their large wagons, with victuals mostly prepared. The women slept in the wagons, and the men under them. Many stayed on the ground night and day for a number of nights and days together. Others were provided for among the neighbors around. The power of God was wonderfully displayed; scores of sinners fell under the preaching, like men slain in mighty battle; Christians shouted aloud for joy.
To this meeting I repaired, a guilty, wretched sinner. On the Saturday evening of said meeting, I went, with weeping multitudes, and bowed before the stand, and earnestly prayed for mercy. In the midst of a solemn struggle of soul, an impression was made on my mind, as though a voice said to me, “Thy sins are all forgiven thee.” Divine light flashed all around me, unspeakable joy sprung up in my soul. I rose to my feet, opened my eyes, and it really seemed as if I was in heaven; the trees, the leaves on them, and everything seemed, and I really thought were, praising God. My mother raised the shout, my Christian friends crowded around me and joined me in praising God; and though I have been since then, in many instances, unfaithful, yet I have never, for one moment, doubted that the Lord did, then and there, forgive my sins and give me religion…
“Lord, may You send this kind of revival that will soundly convert sinners into life-long Christ followers! Help us to not lead people to a decision…but to repentance through Your kindness. In Christ’s Name, Amen!” – Pastor Chad
