Book "Shouting and singing their way to heaven"

Get your copy of my latest book "Shouting and singing their way to heaven" with a foreword by Dave Lawton. It is written for those who may know little about Primitive Methodism. You can get a paperback edition or an online version (Kindle) by clicking on the links below. 

Print Edition
Price $9.99 Amazon US
Price  £9.99 Amazon UK

Kindle Edition
$8.05 Amazon U.S.
$9.99 Amazon Australia
£5.99 Amazon UK

My great ... grandfather (or grand mother ) was a Primitive Methodist

A common question I often get asked is "do you have any details on ... (my relative)?".

Here are some useful links that may help you to find the information you need on the ancestor you are researching:

 

The least likely place

In his book Revival, Selwyn Hughes makes this observation. Revival ... begins in the most unlikely places. Pentecost, you remember, began not in the majestic atmosphere of Solomon's Temple, but in an Upper Room. For some reason, God seems to delight in bypassing the places where we might expect revival to break out – in a splendid cathedral or at a large Christian conference – and causes His fire to burst out in a small prayer meeting where only a few are present. In fact, no revival has been an official movement of the Church. This is why revival always astonishes the Church - it flares up where it is least expected.

Have you ever heard of the Primitive Methodist Revival in the 1800s? This began not on the historic sites of former Methodist accomplishments, such as in London or Bristol, but in a tiny hamlet on the hillside of Mow Cop near Stoke-on-Trent. Someone described it as the 'least likely place in which a revival has ever broken out.' And why? Because there were only a few grey, roughly built cottages situated there, inhabited by people with little intellectual ability or learning. The area was bleak, rugged and uninteresting. Nevertheless, this is the place God chose in which to manifest His power and glory. If ever the Church receives a blow to its pride, it is when God breaks forth in revival.

Revival, Times of Refreshing, pages 63-64 Selwyn Hughes, CWR Publishing, 2004

Primitive Methodists at Prayer

William Holt Yates Titcomb (1858-1930)

The painting shows the interior of Primitive Methodists at Prayer on Fore Street, St Ives. The occasion depicted appears to be a prayer meeting following a summer evening preaching service.

Prayer fuelled the growth of Primitive Methodism. If we are to raise an army it will need those who are committed to pray for the workers in the harvest fields of our schools, Universities, colleges, workplaces and social gatherings across the nation.

Sources
1. http://www.wickersleyweb.co.uk/hist/titcomb.htm
2. http://scotwise.blogspot.com/2005/05/primitive-methodists-by-w-h-y-titcomb.html
3. Primitive Methodism, Geoffrey Milburn, page 79

The spread of Primitive Methodism 1810 -1850

Following the River Trent (1810-1820)

The missionary pioneers of the Primitive Methodist movement journeyed from town to town, and village to village. In a ten year span from 1810 to 1820 they “missioned” towns and villages following the course of the River Trent, in the English Midlands from Stoke-on-Trent and going east via Nottingham towards the port city of Hull. In each place they formed Methodist societies and in due course they built chapels. The slideshow illustrates the spread of the movement county by county.


1. How does your garden grow?
2. Multiplication by budding
3. Multiplication by offshoots

Turning the World Upside Down

Turning the World Upside Down is now available as an ebook with a new cover illustration.

Now available on your Kindle and iPad or iPhone. Click here to preview

What’s in a name?

Every person has a name. Everyone has a name that they would prefer to be called by. Some of us also have names that others give to us, such as a nickname. We may or may not like the name or names people call us, but we cannot control how others refer to us.

Like people, every identifiable movement of God has a name.

The early followers of Jesus chose a name for themselves. They described themselves as followers of The Way (Acts 9:2, Acts 22:4, Acts 24:14). This is the name the believers preferred.

But the name that others gave them was first used in Antioch. Acts 11:26 says “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch”. The word Christian means "Christ followers" or "those of the household of Christ". It is used three times in the New Testament. In Acts 26:28 ‘Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”‘ Peter observes “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” (1Peter 4:16) For the early believers, being known as a Christian was not easy.

The Jewish religion was legally protected by Rome. Being known as Christians meant that they risked losing that protection. They were not just a sect within Judaism. They had much in common with the Jews but they appealed to non Jews as well.

It is quite possible that the name “Christian” was a term of derision when first used, but in the providence of God it was the name that stuck.




The Primitive Methodists chose their own name on Feb 13, 1812. They decided on “The Society of the Primitive Methodists”. But like the early Christians they had another name not of their own choosing.

For the pioneer Primitive Methodists their “Antioch” was the village of Belper in Derbyshire in 1814. It was there that they were first called “Ranters”. It was definitely not a name they would have chosen for themselves.

In fact the name Ranter was most often used as a term of derision, scorn and abuse. Many a young convert experienced verbal assault as their persecutors and opponents mockingly called them a Ranter.

However, there was an upside to the name. When word got round that a Ranter preacher was coming to town, a curious and sometimes hostile crowd would gather. It meant that you could not ignore the Ranters. You were either for them or against them.

Ranter preachers often faced a barrage of eggs, rotting vegetables, mud and worse as they preached in the open air. Violence and opposition was part of the package for the early pioneers.

The name Ranter was providentially used of God.

So … what’s in a name? A great deal, but it may not be the one we would choose!

Related posts

1. Why 'Primitive' Methodism?

2. How the Primitive Methodists got their name

3. What's in a name?

4. The Ranters are coming

5. Opposing the work of God is a risky business