This is an excellent biography of the life and ministry of a very important figure in American history. I guess it is the nature of celebrity to be forgotten, but what a shame that even those in the church don't know much about George Whitefield (pronounced WHIT-field), the man whom Thomas Kidd calls "the greatest evangelical preacher the world has ever seen.” Yes, even greater than Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Charles Stanley and John Piper.
Whitefield was basically a household name in America and Britain in the mid 18th century, and even in his later years, when he arrived at a church where he was to preach, he had to enter through the window since the place was too packed to get in the door. Reports say he preached to as many as 40,000 people outdoors — without amplification. It seems Whitefield was a preacher of unparalleled balance -- a solidly doctrinal Calvinist who nonetheless called people to repentance with thunderous appeal, pleading with such fervent passion that he "routinely" vomited blood after preaching (p.241).
Given the providential timing of Whitefield's ministry (shortly before the Revolutionary War), one wonders what influence this dear friend of Benjamin Franklin had on the founding of our nation. Like any man, Whitefield had his flaws (he was pro-slavery and in his younger years was way too quick to judge others as unconverted), and Kidd is not afraid to point them out. Yet there is so much for us to learn here about a truly great Christian man.