Concerning The True Care Of Souls And Genuine Pastoral Ministry And How The Latter Is To Be Ordered And Carried Out In The Church Of Christ

A holistic, eye-opening history of one of the most significant turning points in Christianity, The Reformation as Renewal demonstrates that the Reformation was at its core a renewal of evangelical catholicity. In the sixteenth century Rome charged the Reformers with novelty, as if they were heretics departing from the catholic (universal) church. But the Reformers believed they were more catholic than Rome. Distinguishing themselves from Radicals, the Reformers were convinced they were retrieving the faith of the church fathers and the best of the medieval Scholastics. The Reformers saw themselves as faithful stewards of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church preserved across history, and they insisted on a restoration of true worship in their own day. By listening to the Reformers' own voices, The Reformation as Renewal helps readers explore: The Reformation's roots in patristic and medieval thought and its response to late medieval innovations. Key philosophical and theological differences between Scholasticism in the High Middle Ages and deviations in the Late Middle Ages. The many ways sixteenth and seventeenth century Protestant Scholastics critically appropriated Thomas Aquinas. The Reformation's response to the charge of novelty by an appeal to the Augustinian tradition. Common caricatures that charge the Reformation with schism or assume the Reformation was the gateway to secularism. The spread of Reformation catholicity across Europe, as seen in first and second-generation leaders from Luther and Melanchthon in Wittenberg to Zwingli and Bullinger in Zurich to Bucer and Calvin in Strasbourg and Geneva to Tyndale, Cranmer, and Jewel in England, and many others. The theology of the Reformers, with special attention on their writings defending the catholicity of the Reformation. This balanced, insightful, and accessible treatment of the Reformation will help readers see this watershed moment in the history of Christianity with fresh eyes and appreciate the unity they have with the church across time. Readers will discover that the Reformation was not a new invention, but the renewal of something very old.

This work examines Richard Baxter's understanding and practice of pastoral ministry from the perspective of his own stated concern for reformation and in the broader context of Edwardian, Elizabethan, and early Stuart pastoral ideals and practice. It investigates Baxter's major treatise on pastoral ministry, 'Gildas Salvianus, the Reformed Pastor' (1656), and explores the background of each aspect of his pastoral strategy. Far from being novel, Baxter's practice of pastoral ministry certainly reflects aspects of his puritan predecessors' practice, if not their rhetoric. Black argues, however, that the primary contours of Baxter's ministry look back, not to the puritan pastoral ideals and strategies dominant after the Elizabethan Settlement, but to the Edwardian reformation emphases of the exiled Strasbourg reformer Martin Bucer. The book concludes by considering the impact of Baxter's pastoral legacy, both on the lives of individual pastors and on the subsequent discussion of puritan ministry.

Enjoy these SAMPLE pages from Pastoral Graces- Grace is the credential that lets us park close to people's hearts.When Jesus Christ, the Lord of the church, calls a pastor He instills a kind of heightened instinct for grace; what we call a shepherd's heart. However, pastors often become disoriented by leadership demands, congregational expectation, and the wounds of ministry. They forget how to use the grace of Christ in the everyday work of pastoring. Through striking word pictures and stories that resonate with every pastor, this book will reinvigorate pastors' instincts for doing grace in the churches they shepherd. Author and pastor, Lee Eclov equips the reader to understand their calling, their equipping, ministering in difficult circumstances and relationships, the mutual benefits for the congregation and the pastor, and how to finish well. If you are training to be a pastor and wondering if you are called, a seasoned shepherd needing encouragement and affirmation, or simply someone who wants to encourage your pastor, you will appreciate the sage wisdom and confirmation poured out in the pages of Pastoral Graces.

Grace is the credential that lets us park close to people's hearts.When Christ calls a pastor He instills a kind of heightened instinct for grace; what we call a shepherd's heart. However, pastors often become disoriented by leadership demands, congregational expectation, and the wounds of ministry. They forget how to use the grace of Christ in the everyday work of pastoring. Through striking word pictures and stories that resonate with every pastor, this book will reinvigorate pastors' instincts for practicing grace in the churches they shepherd. Whether you are training to be a pastor and wondering if you are called, a seasoned shepherd needing encouragement and affirmation, or simply someone who wants to encourage your pastor, you will appreciate the sage wisdom and confirmation poured out in the pages of Pastoral Graces.