Lately, I’ve been considering that the commitment to give oneself to the spiritual care of a particular locality and the zeal to do so are cooperative. Zeal for evangelism is a kindled sense of duty to one’s neighbor. It will impel a Christian to go after him, precisely because he will never come [...]
Archive for February, 2009
Locality & Zeal
Posted in Missiology, Parish Theory & Practice on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Alexander Somerville
Posted in Vignettes from the Old Parish Way, Visitation Evangelism on February 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s an intriguing biography of a 19th century Scottish missionary, Alexander Somerville. The following passage is illustrative of the visitation evangelism promoted in the Church of Scotland and also performed by his colleagues, the Bonar brothers and Robert Murray M’Cheyne:
The Students’ Missionary Society, founded by John Wilson of Bombay, continued to meet every Saturday [...]
The Flexibility of the Parish Principle
Posted in Parish Theory & Practice, Parish in Perspective (Qualifications) on February 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s a great quote from Thompson’s Parish and Parish Church (1948 ) concerning the flexibility of the old parish principle to the modern urban context. While it was written from within the milieu of the established Church of Scotland, I would suggest that the idea carries over:
“The problem which faces the Church, therefore, is mainly [...]
