Light the Fire Again
Eighteenth-Century Light for the Twenty-First-Century Darkness
by
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Discovered Letter of William Robinson:
The Man and His Ministry, 1740-1741
The following reportage is autobiographical and comes exclusively from the letter William Robinson wrote in his discovered letter to his cousin in England in June of 1741. He marks his ministry in the Fall, 1740 extending into late May or June, 1741… “About two days ago I received yours…bearing the date April the 10th 1740. It had been received by the Postmaster in Trenton about six months before I returned from where I had been sent to preach last fall (New York).”
From William Robinson’s letter he says: “…many are the thousands Brot to Christ and on the way Children, youth & aged persons, rich and poor, Black and White, tis no Great Matter here to preach unto FIVE Thousand People, for my brethren (Tennents and Principals of Log College) to preach 3-4 or 5 times a day. My constitution is weak yet I’ve preached 10 times a week some others twenty, the Power of God is wonderful, Hundreds sometimes cry out in Congregations under a deep sense of their Miserable Lost and Christless Estate, whole assemblies are turned into Bochims (Weepers). Floods of tears appears over Congregations, Hundreds again are Melted with the Love of Christ, faint away and die almost in Pangs of Divine Love.”13
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About the Book
What makes William Robinson’s letter of 1741 so significant is that it checks three important boxes:
• It highlights historical figures who have played a critical role on the world stage—namely George Whitfield, an Anglican cleric and evangelist.
• It describes a significant event: The Great Awakening, a series of Christian revivals that swept through the American colonies.
• It was written during an extraordinary time: the smallpox epidemic was raging, and severe weather had pummeled the land.
As an itinerant evangelist in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina—seven of the colonies, and perhaps eight with Georgia, Robinson had a great vantage point of historical events. While he may not have been as well-known as Whitfield, he was just as fervent in his belief.
Revelatory and down-to-earth, Light the Fire Again offers a look at the life and work of an important man of God–—and will inspire you to rekindle your faith and walk with the Lord.
About the Author
James P. Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Oklahoma Baptist University and a Masters of Divinity Degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has also attended numerous management seminars. He spent decades in ministry and was the founder, senior pastor, and pastor emeritus of SonRise Community Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, and spent thirty-four years in the grocery business, serving in various roles.