Este tratado de Thomas Doolittle, escrito por el pastor de la infancia del gran comentarista de la Biblia Matthew Henry, es una obra maestra muy olvidada sobre el tema de la naturaleza, la justificación y los métodos de la catequesis. Es una lectura obligada para cualquier pastor reformado.
Archive for the ‘Ordinary Means Ministry’ Category
Un Método Sencillo de Catequizar, por Thomas Doolittle
Posted in Antigua Kirk, Care for the Youth, Catechesis, Church Order & Discipline, Diets of Catechizing, Español, Evangelistic Catechesis, Family Religion, Ordinary Means Ministry, Pastoral Theology, The Sacred Ministry on June 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“The Christian Ministry” for the time-strapped pastor [recordings updated 2/18/26]
Posted in Audio Resources, Church of England, Experimental Religion & the Cure of Souls, Light of Eternity, Ministerial Fidelity, Ordinary Means Ministry, Pastoral Theology, Preaching, The Sacred Ministry, Visiting the Sick & Dying, Vital Godliness on November 28, 2022| 1 Comment »
Ever read this classic of pastoral theology? Perhaps you should. But if you could use it in audio format, I’m making progress in recording it into mp3. Access it here (and more to follow).
Consider these contemporary endorsements from the Banner edition, then I challenge you not to ‘take up and read.’ Or, now listen, if you prefer!
“This book has been my companion for almost fifty years. First published in 1830, it is arguably more needed now than then. It is a classic, serving as a guide to all who are aware of the perils and privileges of pastoral ministry.” — Alistair Begg
“People ask me, “What’s the very best book for Ministers?” Overall for the ministry, and for passionate preaching, and how to preach to different kinds of people – there’s nothing like The Christian Ministry.” — Joel Beeke
For more titles, see my growing amateur audio library. [And if any links fail, kindly drop me a note: mjves dot refparish at gmail dot com. Thanks!]
Reformed parish missions: “To the Greek and to the barbarian”
Posted in Articles, Contemporary Parochialism, Covenant Theology, Family Religion, Gospel Proclamation, Gospel Tactics, Locality & the Law of Residence, Ministerial Fidelity, Missiology, Ordinary Means Ministry, Parish in American Context, Parochial Strategy, Reformed Parish Mission (RPM) Posts, Social Byproduct, The Church in America, The Gospel & the Poor, The Visible Church, Theology of Community, Thomas Chalmers, Transgenerational Faith, WPE Editor on May 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Years back, my heart got large for missions — especially urban missions to those on the ‘other side of the tracks.’ At about the same time, I became Reformed (a high octane, old school Presbyterian no less!), putting me in a a sub-subset of a subset. My life and ministry has ever since lived somewhat in the frontiers the unlikely and the implausible. A straightlaced, tall gringo Presbyterian goes out among immigrants, trying to evangelize in broken Spanish and recruit sinners to the “outward and ordinary means” in a humble, little Reformed church 15 minutes to the south. And to sing Psalms. Without musical accompaniment. In English.
I admit that there are all kinds of problems with this model, from a human perspective. But it is actually more plausible than one might think. Yet before I deal with the plausibles, let me first set forth some principles.
The first principle is principle! Principle precedes the practical. We must first determine whether something should be done before we decide whether or not we think it is practical. We ought to go out and bring the Gospel to all. None excluded. Politics quite aside, we may and must not discriminate based on sex, ethnicity, gender, or for that matter even sexual ‘preference.’ By the mandate of our King, we must go and tell them. Yes, as Calvinists, we know that not every “all” means “all.” But “every creature” does in fact mean “every creature.” Even if they don’t look like us, eat like us, or even use our language. It doesn’t matter whether they ‘have papers’ or not, vote Democrat or not. How they got here and whether they should by law be here, is a separate issue for a different discussion (and full disclosure: I lean quite “red” when it comes to immigration policy!). But that they are here means they are here for us to evangelize. And not just gripe about and avoid them as much as possible.
(more…)The efficacy of the sacraments
Posted in Catechesis, Ordinary Means Ministry, Sacraments, The Lord's Supper, The Visible Church, Theological Diagrams on August 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Another theological diagram as a teaching aid for my next lesson on the Westminster Shorter Catechism this Sabbath. I designed this some time back and got some feedback on it from a couple of my ministerial colleagues.
Like any diagram, it doesn’t say it all. But I think it helps distinguish the Reformed position from extremes on either side. What think ye?
‘Sorting worship’ diagram
Posted in Ordinary Means Ministry, Psalmody, Sabbatarianism & the Church Calendar, Theological Diagrams, Worship, True & False on August 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Designed the diagram below as an aid in teaching catechism last Sabbath. Focusing on the 2nd Commandment at the moment.
![S Cat 049-052 Sorting Worship [CCat]](https://i0.wp.com/westportexperiment.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/s-cat-049-052-sorting-worship-ccat-2.jpg?resize=500%2C647&ssl=1)
The witness of these walls
Posted in Ordinary Means Ministry, The Visible Church, Thomas Chalmers on July 28, 2020| Leave a Comment »
We often say (and rightly so) that the church building is not the church. After the advent of Christ, true worship was untethered to a sacred site. And yet, while the structure of a Christian congregation possess no inherent sacredness, it is the theater where the drama of eternal things is played out. Chalmers put it this way:
“What is to be done here may tell on the everlasting destiny not of ourselves only, but of our children’s children throughout many generations. We are sometimes told of the mighty doings which go on within the walls of an exchange, where the bargains that are made from week to week, the commercial transactions which are there settled bear on the state and fortune of whole classes of society—or within the walls of a university, where the lessons daily given are deposited (more…)
Lost & found: pastor … and parish!
Posted in Articles, Church of Scotland, Gospel Tactics, Ordinary Means Ministry, Parish Theory & Practice, Parochial Strategy, Pastoral Theology, Thomas Chalmers, Vignettes from the Old Parish Way, Visitation Evangelism, Visitation Journaling on July 28, 2020| 2 Comments »
My recent journal article, “Pastor and Parish Redux: Thomas Chalmers’s Conversion & Kilmany Ministry, 1811-1815” (submitted copy), published in the July 2020 edition of the Puritan Reformed Journal. Images used by permission. To purchase a copy, click here.
Presbyterians during 1832 cholera outbreak
Posted in Ordinary Means Ministry, Public Health, Sabbatarianism & the Church Calendar, Sacred & Secular, Social Issues, Two Kingdoms Theology on April 1, 2020| 3 Comments »
A few striking observations from a favorite anecdote in John G. Paton’s autobiography, below. If I’m not mistaken, this would be referring to a cholera outbreak in 1832 in the U.K.
1. Healthy believers long for the courts of the Lord and don’t let lesser things get in their way. 2. However, it appears that godly Scottish Presbyterians in the early 19th century believed that public health crises could warrant church closures (or at least effectively cause them by population controls). 3. And apparently, the same believed that the state could mandate such closures (or at least effectively, etc.) in the interests of public health.
Not an argument that any of our churches must necessarily close under the present circumstances; just an observation to help put some strong opinions out there in context.
RPM: Urban Reformation
Posted in Ordinary Means Ministry, Parish in American Context, Parish Theory & Practice, Reformed Parish Mission (RPM) Posts on November 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »
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Music courtesy of Ernst Stolz, “Psalm 72 Genevan Psalter – setting by Claude Goudimel – viols & organ.” All images not my own are from the public domain (attributions here).
Puritan catechesis
Posted in Care for the Youth, Catechesis, Diets of Catechizing, Evangelistic Catechesis, Experimental Religion & the Cure of Souls, Ordinary Means Ministry, Puritans & Puritanism on September 13, 2019| 1 Comment »
The second installment of my recording of Doolittle’s treatise on catechizing. With each page, I am more and more convinced that this is truly a masterpiece of pastoral and pedagogical wisdom. In this most recent installment, I’m stuck once again with how truly evangelistic catechesis should be. Hardly a clinical exercise! And he pleads with ignorant adults to come under the yoke as well.