Written for: History & Literature of Methodism I
Date Written: 10/07/2009
A Brief
Account of the Life of John Fletcher
Ryan Watters
God’s Bible School and College
A Brief Account of the Life of John Fletcher
It was a
day when the core doctrines of the Methodist movement
were gravely under attack. Methodists were looked upon
as flighty enthusiasts who relied more upon subjective
impressions and feelings than core doctrines.
Calvinists especially browbeat the fledgling movement,
calling it heretical, and accused Methodists of
blatantly disrespecting the sovereignty of God.
In a time
of heated debate, and often persecution, one man rises
from the obscure and lonely pages of history to take
his place of stature next to the Wesley brothers.
Perhaps he more than any other, save John Wesley
himself, did more to defend the honor and theological
veracity of the Methodist movement through a period in
which excesses were the norm. This man was John
Fletcher.
John William De la Flechere (which was his proper
name), was born in Nyon, Switzerland in 1729. His
father was a colonel in the Swiss army, and his family
was well respected within the community. Even from his
childhood Fletcher had an insatiable love for learning,
and became known as a scholar, learning several
languages. He was an excellent student, and extremely
driven. He was also very sensitive, and very
submissive, both to the will of God and to his parents
Like Wesley, Fletcher also had a number of near death
experiences that affected his understanding of God’s
call on his life in later years. He tells of a swimming
accident in which he was knocked unconscious and held
underwater for twenty minutes, but awoke later on shore
with no ill effects.
Upon entering university, in Wesley’s words, “his piety
declined.” This is not to say that he utterly turned
his back on the Christian faith, but he slowly allowed
small lapses in judgment to take hold in his life. One
of these was his great desire to be an officer in the
army. He made several attempts to join, but all were
thwarted, probably by Divine providence.
Fletcher first came into contact with the Methodists
through a providential encounter with a woman on the
streets of St. Albans. She “talked to him sweetly of
Jesus Christ,” and he was so impressed with the
encounter that he enquired more into these people
called Methodists. He joined the Methodist Society soon
afterwards.
Fletcher was often plagued by a besetting sin. In his
own words, “I went on sinning and repenting and sinning
again: but still calling on God’s mercy through
Christ.” But on January 26th,
1755, Fletcher finally found the solace and freedom for
which he so fervently sought. He truly experienced
real, heart felt conversion that freed him from the
bonds of sin, and, as Wesley states, “From this time he
walked cheerfully, as well as valiantly in the ways of
God!”
Much of Fletcher’s life was spent as the rector of a
church in Madeley. He was a zealous, and sincere
shepherd to his congregation, though some were
steadfastly set against him. He once wrote in a letter
to John Wesley, “My church begins not to be so well
filled as it has been....” Some hated him to the point
of even plotting his death. He was so discouraged that
at one point he wrote, “This last year has been the
worst I have had here—barren in convictions, fruitful
in backslidings.”
During all of this time he communicated regularly with
John Wesley, and the two became close friends. As was
already mentioned, Fletcher was an ardent scholar, and
endeared himself to Wesley as such. Fletcher became
Wesley’s primary theologian. It has been said that
Fletcher was to Wesley what Melanchthon was to Luther.
Fletcher is best remembered for his numerous
theological writings on a broad array of issues. As
Luccock and Hutchison state, “The great service which
Fletcher rendered Methodism was in his writing.” His
famous works include his analysis regarding
predestination, election, and anti-nomianism. He dealt
keenly with the Calvinistic accusations regarding
improper interpretations of predestination and
election. In fact Luccock and Hutchison go so far as to
say, “after Fletcher had finished writing his books
there was little left to be said on the subject.” Also
his work Checks
to Antinomianism is still
considered to be a classic and extremely valuable
resource today.
We will forever wonder what could have been
accomplished by this great man of God had not he been
stricken with a severe illness that brought him to
death’s door in the year 1785 at the age of 56. There,
with his wife by his side, he slipped the bonds of this
earth into the arms of the Savior he loved so dearly.
Wesley stated it best when he said, “As it is possible
we all may be such as he was, let us endeavour to
follow him as he followed Christ!”
Resource
Allen,
Margaret, (1974), Fletcher
of Madeley, The
Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, Titusville:
PA.
Benson, Joseph, (1855), The
life of John Fletcher, Carlton
& Phillips, New York.
Brown, Allan, (2008), Personal communication.
Luccock, Halford & Paul Hutchinson, (1926),
The
story of Methodism, The
Methodist Book Concern, Cincinnati: OH.
Wesley, John, (1785), On the
death of John Fletcher; The Works
of John Wesley, Vol. 3, Abingdon Press, Nashville: TN.
Wesley, John, (1786), A short
account of the life and death of the Rev. John
Fletcher, J.
Paramore, London.