B. The Republican Critique
2. James O’Kelly and the Presbyterian Critique
O’Kelly’s criticisms resonated deeply with many Methodists in the early national period.
O’Kelly’s influence and fame was particularly strong in the southern states. He was one of the older and more experienced preachers. O’Kelly
converted to Methodism sometime after the summer of 1774. His wife, Elizabeth, and son, William, converted to Methodism after Methodist preachers came into the Mecklenburg County area in the mid-1770s.232 He became a lay preacher in the Methodist Connection on January 2, 1775.233 So, at the time he entered
ministry, O’Kelly was thirty-eight or thirty-nine years of age; by the 1792 General Conference he was in his mid-fifties. Typically, lay preachers were young men in their early twenties. And, by the 1792, he had served Virginia and the bordering counties of North Carolina for over fifteen years.
Despite his advanced age, many of the southern preachers found
O’Kelly’s background to be one which they could relate comfortably. There is no authoritative record of the date and place of his birth. It is clear that he had little formal education and was from a lower-income family. By some accounts, he was born in Ireland around 1736. Other accounts place his birth in Tidewater Virginia around that same year.
232 W.E. MacClenny, The Life of Rev. James O’Kelly and the Early History of the Christian Church in the South (Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards and Broughton Printing Company, 1910), 16-20. MacClenny’s work paints a much more sympathetic portrait of O’Kelly than many of his contemporaries did. However, it remains the most authoritative biography on the iconoclast.
233 Ibid., 22. O’Kelly did not regularly keep a journal and, as a result, many of the dates in his life are somewhat questionable. However, according to MacClenny, this particular date is drawn from a prayer book he was given on the account of his ordination (at the Christmas Conference on January 2, 1785). In this prayer
O’Kelly’s appeal also stemmed from his staunch patriotism. Unlike many of the official leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church, O’Kelly never wavered his support of American independence. In fact, O’Kelly served as a private in two campaigns of American Revolutionary War; at some point, he claimed that he was taken as a prisoner and was forced to resist bribery to betray his country, as well. Furthermore, O’Kelly was one of a few Methodist preachers who
remained active in ministry throughout the entire Revolutionary War.234 O’Kelly was also a talented and charismatic preacher. He was generally considered to possess strong oratory gifts. One writer noted,
The people flocked to hear him, and great was the work of God under his powerful exhortations and earnest prayers. The parish minister was greatly enraged that an upstart Methodist preacher should have the temerity to preach in his chapel, and what was worse, that he should attract more people than the regular successor of the apostles.235
His preaching talents and restless spirit led to him traveling widely throughout the region, which, in turn, helped his reputation grow. He preached at private homes, churches, and any venue he was able. Supposedly, Thomas Jefferson struck up a friendship with O’Kelly in the years following his
separation from the Methodists. Jefferson was quite taken with O’Kelly’s oratory gifts. As such, he invited O’Kelly to Washington D.C. to preach before a
statesman. The story is, as follows,
234 Ibid., 42f.
235 Ibid., 22f.
On one occasion Mr. O’Kelly visited Mr. Jefferson in Washington. The great statesman, knowing of the preacher’s ability, obtained the use of the hall of the House of Representatives and invited Mr. O’Kelly to preach. …to the chagrin of the distinguished host, the preacher fell far below Mr. Jefferson’s expectation.
Believing this failure did his friend a great injustice, the great political leader insisted on a second effort. Mr. O’Kelly agreed. The appointment was again made, and the people urged to give him another hearing. They did hear him again, and were abundantly repaid, for Mr. O’Kelly preached one of the great sermons of his life, and the host was the most delighted man in the audience.
When he had finished Mr. Jefferson arose with tears in his eyes, and said, that while he was no preacher, in his opinion James O’Kelly was one the greatest preachers living.236
And, by all accounts, O’Kelly was a deeply passionate man with strong convictions. Supposedly, prior to his conversion O’Kelly was an avid fiddle player; after converting he chose to purge all negative influences from his life, so he “laid his fiddle on a huge fire and burned it.”237 He was prone to fiery
behavior. He was known for his “hot Irish blood” and for making disparaging comments in the heat of anger. Francis Asbury was a frequent target. For instance, at one point, he referred to the bishop as a “’long headed’
Englishman.”238
Partially because of his strong personality, preaching competence, and advanced age, O’Kelly quickly became a leader among the southern Methodists.
236 Ibid., 171.
237 Ibid., 20.
However, the single biggest factor that contributed to O’Kelly’s popularity among a contingency of the southern preachers was his staunch embrace of
“republicanism.”
O’Kelly was not in favor of the episcopal form of church government adopted by the American Methodists. Instead, he advocated a Presbyterian form of Church government. Ostensibly, O’Kelly was a supporter of a form of church government that operated based on the equal vote and voice of all the preachers.
O’Kelly adamantly believed that the episcopal form of church government adopted by the Methodists was not based upon a proper interpretation of
Christian Scripture. According to O’Kelly, “Christ is the only head of his church”
and, thus, “…his [Christ’s] ministers are on a perfect equality. Superiority is expressly forbidden.” Furthermore, O’Kelly pointed out that at the conference in Jerusalem recorded in the Book of Acts, “there were no ministers by the title of bishop.” 239 Likewise, O’Kelly contended that in the Apostolic Church, “The traveling and settled Ministers, were all workers together in the Church, and Churches;
on a perfect equality.”240
The criticisms O’Kelly levied against the developments in American Methodism predated the formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church. O’Kelly was one of the leaders of the Conference that met in Fluvanna. He was, thus, a fierce advocate for forming a presbytery for the purpose of ordaining elders to administer the sacraments. At the Conference held in 1782 at Ellis’s preaching house in Sussex County, Virginia, Asbury apparently provided a paper for the
239 O’Kelly, Author’s Apology, 97f.
240 Ibid., 99.
preachers to sign, which claimed loyalty to Wesley. O’Kelly was the lone person to not sign the paper.241
However, by the time of the General Conference of 1792, O’Kelly’s ire had reached new heights. His contemporaries accused him of having “ambition,”
unfairly attacking Bishop Asbury, and for divisiveness. Ezekiel Cooper was so concerned about O’Kelly that he wrote to Thomas Coke in August of 1791. In his letter, Cooper warned Coke that tensions were at a high. For that reason, Bishop Coke should “come with great care, with precaution…” when he came to “this Continent again.” Cooper was concerned that Asbury’s most ardent supporters would be angry at Coke for his opposition to the Council. More significantly, Cooper was concerned that Bishop Coke might be in danger if he favored O’Kelly’s “scheme.” Cooper wrote,
I fear our brother in the lower part of Virginia is too much prejudiced against Mr. A., and I candidly believe his ambition carries him to measures unbecoming a servant of Jesus, in filling other minds with his own prejudices to strengthen his party, and obtain a conquest for a conquest.242
This “republicanism” resonated with many of the preachers in the Methodist Connection. Many of the young Methodist preachers were more democratically minded and thus suspicious of the episcopal system. Thus, O’Kelly’s open criticism of the bishopric during the 1792 General Conference echoed the concerns of many in attendance.
241 MacClenny, 43.
242 Thomas Coke and Ezekiel Cooper, “Correspondence of Dr. Coke and Ezekiel