Seven Christian authors who gave us cheerful hobbits, wise old women, sharp-witted detectives, and one memorable lion gave us something more: a vision for all of life. Meet George MacDonald, G. K. Chesterton, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield in Christian History magazine 113: Seven Literary Sages.
Dynamic worship, energetic circuit-riding preachers, and a close-up, personal style of leadership made Methodism a movement perfectly suited to bring the word of God to the new nation of America. And Francis Asbury led the way, rising from unremarkable working-class metalworker to bishop of a denomination stretching over a continent.