Queen Of Hearts - Barbara Heck

1734–1804

Sometimes we Christians need a little nudge to get serious about our faith. Sometimes we need a scolding. Barbara Heck delivered a scolding that started a church.

This story starts in County Limerick in mid-1700s Ireland, when John Wesley came to preach. His “Methodist” movement was known for its outreach to common folk who were ignored by the established church. Often preaching outside, drawing huge crowds, the Methodists at this point weren’t starting their own churches; they were merely organizing small groups for prayer, instruction, and discipleship. Barbara was part of a German-Irish community that responded well to Wesley’s message.

In 1760, many of these German-Irish Methodists sailed to America, settling in New York City. They had no preacher until 1765, when Philip Embury arrived with another group of immigrants. By then their Methodist passion was fizzling out.

As the story goes, one day in 1766, Barbara Heck was shocked to find a group of these friends playing cards. This was exactly the sort of worldly activity that Christians—and especially devout Methodists—were supposed to abstain from. Heck threw the cards into the fireplace, saying, “Now look at your idols; there are your gods!” Then she challenged Embury to start preaching the gospel to these people before they all went to hell. When he protested that there was no place to preach, she responded, “Preach in your own house to your own company!”

He did so, and the Methodist movement now had a foothold in the colonies. In a couple of years, the group put up its own chapel, and Barbara was a leader of the building project. The following decades saw several moves for Barbara, her husband, and their friends—largely due to the Revolutionary War. They ended up in Canadian territory, where Barbara is still hailed as a pioneer of Canadian Methodism.

But let’s get back to that card table. Put aside the cultural differences. Maybe our modern distractions are sports or fashion or celebrity gossip or, yes, computer solitaire. The question is, How can we get serious about our faith and encourage others to do the same? Maybe scolding isn’t the way to do it, but can we use conversation, example, and Spirit-guided nudging to re-instill passion in those who have fizzled out?

Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

1 Timothy 4:12