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18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)
In June 1742, The Reverend John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, returned to his hometown of Epworth, and offered to assist the curate of the church there, the same church where his ather, The Rev. Samuel Wesley, had been the rector for many years. The then curate refused to allow Wesley to preach or offer prayers and then preached a sermon agains the "enthusiasm" found in some corners of the Anglican Church, which Welsey knew was directed to him and his followers who showed more enthusiasm than the regular Anglicans. A number of out-of-town guests really wanted to hear Wesley preach, so he went outside and on his father's tomb, which was private property owned by the Wesleys and thus could not prevent him from preaching there, he proceeded to preach there. John Wesley preached more than once on that tombstone and it is believed he preached there at least three additional nights there.
John Wesley underwent a transformation called his Aldersgate Experience. He had struggled with doubt and felt he was without faith. One of his friends, Moravian leader Peter Bohler told him, "Preach fiath till you have it; and then, because you have it, you will preach faith." That event, that many have called a maturity into faith, occurred in London at a place called Aldersgate on May 24, 1738, as he wrote, ""In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." It was from this point on that many considered his preaching and leadership too enthusiatic. For those of us who consider the Wesleyan heriage our own and the Methodist way our way; ours is a global view of winning the world for Jesus.
When church doors closed to Wesley, he found his pulpit in the open air. When proper religion rejected his passion, he took the gospel to coal miners, factory workers, and common people who had never darkened a church door. Critics called it unseemly. Wesley called it obedience.
In 1739, when accused of irregularity for preaching outside his assigned parish boundaries, Wesley wrote in his journal words that would define his ministry: "I look upon all the world as my parish." He explained that wherever he was, he considered it both his right and duty to declare the glad tidings of salvation to all who would hear.
This wasn't arrogance. It was the heartbeat of the Great Commission lived out. Jesus had commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations, not just the respectable ones, not just those who fit comfortably within established church walls. Wesley understood that a heart strangely warmed by grace cannot be contained by convention or geography.
Wesley traveled an estimated 250,000 miles on horseback, preaching over 40,000 sermons in his lifetime. He rose at 4 a.m. for prayer and study, organized his followers into small accountability groups called "classes" and "bands," established schools, orphanages, and medical dispensaries. He trained lay preachers when ordained clergy wouldn't go where the people were. He published books and pamphlets to spread scriptural holiness across the land.
The world became his parish because God's love knows no boundaries. The Great Commission doesn't respect our comfort zones, our preferences for propriety, or our carefully drawn parish lines. It sends us out—to the margins, to the overlooked, to those the religious establishment has written off as too poor, too sinful, too common to matter.
Today, the United Methodist Church and other Wesleyan traditions span the globe, with millions of members across every continent. What began with one man's strangely warmed heart and his willingness to preach on his father's tombstone has become a worldwide movement. But the work isn't finished.
The world is still our parish. There are still people outside the walls who need to hear that they matter to God, that grace is available to them, that transformation is possible. There are still coal miners and factory workers, still marginalized and overlooked souls, still hearts waiting to be strangely warmed.
The question isn't whether we have permission from every religious authority. The question is whether we have received our commission from the ultimate Authority—the One who said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me... therefore go."
Wesley didn't wait for ideal circumstances. He preached faith until he had it, and then because he had it, he preached faith everywhere. He was called enthusiastic as an insult but wore it as a badge of honor. The word "enthusiast" comes from Greek roots meaning "God within"—and what could be more appropriate for those whose hearts have been strangely warmed?
The world is still our parish. The fields are still white unto harvest. And Jesus is still with us, to the very end of the age.
PRAYER: Lord, warm our hearts as You warmed Wesley's. Give us his passion, his boldness, his willingness to go where You send us regardless of opposition or inconvenience. Help us see the world as our parish and every person as someone precious to You. Send us out with the authority of Christ and the assurance of Your presence, now and to the end of the age. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, step outside your comfortable parish boundaries. Identify one person or place where God is calling you to share His love—perhaps a coworker who seems isolated, a neighbor you've never spoken to, a part of town you typically avoid, or an online community that needs grace and truth. Then take one concrete step: have that conversation, offer that help, show up in that place. Don't wait for permission or perfect conditions.
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me. The world is your parish—go and make it count.
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
