Welcome back to another episode of Five Minutes in Church history.

Last week we were talking about the 1827 New Lebanon Conference and I mentioned Asahal

Nettleton.

So let's take a look at this life of a somewhat forgotten figure of early 19th century.

Nettleton was born in 1783, and that was the same year that America was born as an independent

nation.

The treaty was signed between Great Britain

and her formerly rebellious colonies

and America emerged.

Nettleton was born in Connecticut into what 90% of the American population experienced at that time,

a farming family.

One biographer said of Nettleton's early years that he learned three things.

He learned morality and had a very upright moral character.

He learned the catacism, meaning the Westminster shorter catacism, and he learned farming.

At the turn of the century, he was reading the sermons of Jonathan Edwards and he attended

revival meetings in Killingsworth, Connecticut.

The result?

Well, he was converted in 1801 and a few years later he went to Yale.

He wanted to be a missionary. This is right at the beginnings of

what we call the Second Great Awakening and Nettleton is living it. When he gets to Yale, the president at that time is Jonathan Edwards

grandson Timothy Dwight, he was president from 1795 to 1817. And in the years of the 18-0's through the preaching of Dwight and even debates

he had with faculty, revival came to the campus there at Yale and again Nettleton was right in the middle of it all.

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