Wesley Corpus

A. It may be owing either, (1.) To the want of zeal and exactness in the Assistant, occasioning want of discipline throughout: Or (2.) To want of life and diligence in the Preachers: Or (3.) To our people’s losing the life of God, and sinking into the spirit of the world. It may be owing, farther, to the want of more field-preaching, and of trying more new places. Q. 56. What can be done in order to revive the work of God where it is decayed? A. (1.) Let every Preacher read carefully over the “Life of David Brainerd.” Let us be followers of him, as he was of Christ, in absolute self-devotion, in total deadness to the world, and in fervent love to God and man. Let us but secure this point, and the world and the devil must fall under our feet. (2.) Let both Assistants and Preachers be conscientiously exact in the whole Methodist discipline.- (3.) See that no Circuit be at any time without Preachers. Therefore let no Preacher, who does not attend the Confer ence, leave the Circuit, at that time, on any pretence what ever. This is the most improper time in the whole year. Let every Assistant see to this, and require each of these to remain in the Circuit till the new Preachers come. Let not all the Preachers in any Circuit come to the Conference. Let those who do come, set out as late and return as soon as possible. (4.) Wherever you can, appoint prayer-meetings, and par ticularly on Friday. (5.) Let a fast be observed in all our societies, the last Friday in August, November, February, and May. (6.) Be more active in dispersing the books, particularly the sermon on “The Good Steward,” on “Indwelling Sin,” “The Repentance of Believers,” and “The Scripture Way of Salva tion.” Every Assistant may give away small tracts: And he may beg money of the rich to buy books for the poor. (7.) Strongly and explicitly exhort all believers to “go on to perfection.” That we may “all speak the same thing,” I ask, once for all, Shall we defend this Perfection, or give it up? Youall agree to defend it, meaning thereby, (as we did from the beginning,) salvation from all sin, by the love of God and man filling our heart.