When Jimmy Carter was President, the press often described him as a "born-again Southern Baptist." Everybody knew what a Southern Baptist was (just a Methodist unafraid of water and willing to tithe). But the term "born again" was a mystery to many.

There was and is something different about Jimmy Carter. Even his political enemies detected in him an inner peace, a spiritual depth, and a transcendent commitment. Perhaps Jimmy Carter's difference had to do with this business of being born again.

Let's explore it. We would have no Methodist church were it not for the doctrine of being born again. John Wesley's personal experience of new birth launched the Methodist movement.

In January, 1738, John Wesley was returning to England from a less than successful missionary journey to Georgia. Liste…