Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman (SRSC 12)

Introduction

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to the Bible, with a sense of God’s work bringing a new kingdom to earth (the evangelical stream). 2 Furthermore, I saw that John Woolman practiced what he preached. His life was given over to the integrity of the gospel. He refused to sell rum or sugar because they were produced in the context of slavery—“fair trade” long before we ever caught on. He welcomed criticism of his public speaking, sincerely eager to root out any wrong motive in his public ministry. He simplified his lifestyle so as to free up his time and possessions for ministry and justice—an early “minimalist.” His personal life, his interactions with others, his keen awareness of the systems of injustice, his devotion to God, even his love for the creatures of the earth all inspired and modeled for me a life and mission of prophetic power. That is why I want to introduce you to Woolman and his Journal . John Woolman’s Journal John Woolman’s Journal is just that, a record of his life. But as with all autobiographical literature, it focuses on some things and does not speak about others. Woolman himself declares that the Journal is a record of his experience of the goodness of God, the “operations of divine love.” The first two chapters are his own memory of the past. The remainder of the Journal is penned as the events happen. He highlights themes found throughout the Journal : economics and simplicity, war and peace, slavery, the inner life, nature and creatures. At the same time his Journal is chronological, and in this edition of the Journal we will follow the

2 Woolman’s sense of “the end times” was probably closer to that of the Great Awakening preacher Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) than the evangelicals of my high school days.