A Wave of Electricity
Charles Finney was a successful lawyer in New York when God interrupted his career. In 1821, alone in the woods near his office, Finney had an encounter that changed everything.
"I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me," he later wrote. "I wept aloud with joy and love."
A Retainer from the Lord
He returned to his law office a different man. The next morning, a client came to discuss a case. Finney looked at him and said, "I have a retainer from the Lord Jesus Christ to plead His cause, and I cannot plead yours."
He abandoned his law practice immediately. Within weeks, he was preaching his first sermon. His legal training shaped his ministry - he presented the gospel as a lawyer presenting a case, appealing to reason and conscience.
Rochester Transformed
Finney's revivals transformed American Christianity. He preached to thousands across the Northeast. Estimates suggest 500,000 people converted under his ministry. His "New Measures" - the anxious bench, protracted meetings, women praying in public - became standard evangelical practices.
Towns he visited were transformed. Rochester, New York, saw crime rates drop dramatically after his 1830 revival. Taverns closed. Lawyers and judges converted.
The lawyer who left his practice to plead Christ's cause became the most influential American evangelist of the 19th century. His legal mind, surrendered to God, presented the gospel with compelling logic that convicted thousands.
