Wesley at Whitefield's Grave

In 1770, George Whitefield died in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and thousands mourned the greatest evangelist of the age. Back in London, someone asked John Wesley — Whitefield's longtime theological rival — to preach the memorial sermon. The two men had clashed publicly and painfully over predestination and free will. Their followers had taken sides, some declaring, "I follow Wesley," others, "I follow Whitefield," splitting the Methodist revival down the middle.…