I have attended church my entire life (except during my “know it all” years from age 20-27). The majority of that time has been spent in choirs, from cherub to adult. Now you can probably guess what genre of music I like (yep … hymns and Southern gospel). Take it a step further, and my all-time favorite hymn is “Amazing Grace.” It just so happens that it’s a favorite to most of the world.
I find it fascinating to read the story surrounding hymns. I’ve known for decades that John Newton (1725-1807) was a British slave trader who invested heavily in slave trading and being captain of several slave ships. Newton proved to be quite the infidel. In May 1748, however, Newton had a conversion experience to Christianity during a horrific storm at sea. Newton’s experience led him to become an Anglican priest which later resulted in his writing “Amazing Grace.” Now if that were to be the last of this story about “Amazing Grace,” then most would say that’s good enough. But it wasn’t … the rest of the story is pretty amazing (no pun intended).
After Newton’s conversion experience at sea, he later renounced the trade and became a prominent supporter of abolitionism. Now an evangelical, he was ordained as a Church of England cleric and served as parish priest at Olney, Buckinghamshire, for two decades and wrote hymns.
Young people struggling with faith often sought Newton’s advice. One young man who sought counsel was William Wilberforce (1780-1825), a member of parliament who had recently suffered a crisis of conscience and religious conversion while contemplating leaving politics. The younger man consulted with Newton many times. Newton always encouraged Wilberforce to stay in Parliament and “serve God where he was.”
In 1788, 34 years after he had retired from the slave trade, Newton broke his long silence on the subject of slavery with the publication of “Thoughts Upon the Slave Trade,” which described the horrific conditions of slave ships. Newton apologized for “a confession, which … comes too late … It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me, that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.”
Newton’s friendship and alliance with William Wilberforce over many years served to help abolish the African slave trade after the passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807. In later years, Wilberforce supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery and continued his involvement after he left Parliament in 1826. The campaign Wilberforce started led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire.
In closing, don’t ever think that you are “one and done.” The impact one life has on another can be pretty amazing! Newton-Wilberforce’s connection changed the world!
Debby Efurd is co-founder of Cary John Efurd Ministries of Pittsburg, TX. She has been a contributor to Bound for Life and written numerous articles published in LifeNews, Christian Post and the Baptist Standard, and is the author of Go Tell It! Debby can be contacted at caryjohnefurdministries@gmail.com.
Tagged: American history, hymns and music
