One of the reasons Chalmers advocated territorial city missions was to reunite the classes, particularly by the clergy’s concentrated evangelistic efforts in the slums. It was ultimately a missionary policy, yet it had distinct advantages for the social fabric. Here’s an interesting quote that helps illumine Chalmers’ rationale for the parish plan in urban context:
In a provincial [...]
Archive for the ‘Thomas Chalmers’ Category
Parish city missions & class reconciliation
Posted in Parish Theory & Practice, Thomas Chalmers on August 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Baxter, qualifying his establishmentarianism
Posted in Establishments, Richard Baxter, Thomas Chalmers on July 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Baxter was an establishmentarian. It is good that kings and queens should be nursing fathers and mothers to the Church. He lamented in his Reformed Pastor that magistrates did not make adequate provision of Reformed pastors throughout the England of his day.
Yet, he did not lay the main blame at the feet of civic leaders. [...]
Baxter on gathered churches
Posted in Gathered church ecclesiology, Richard Baxter, Thomas Chalmers on July 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“It is easy to separate from the multitude, and to gather distinct churches, and to let the rest sink or swim; and if they will not be saved by public preaching, to let them be damned: but whether this be the most charitable and Christian course, one would think should be no hard question” (Reformed Pastor, p. [...]
The influence of locality on the Gospel laborer
Posted in Parish Theory & Practice, Thomas Chalmers on July 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The following is an excellent quote from Thomas Chalmers in his Christian and Economic Polity of a Nation (1821). In it, he demonstrates one particular viture of the locality principle, on which the parish system is built – it facilitates the zeal and perseverance of the Christian missionary:
” He, with a select and appropriate vineyard [...]
Chalmers’ praise for Bridges as parish minister
Posted in Charles Bridges, Thomas Chalmers on May 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When recently reading Iain Murray’s Scottish Christian Heritage, I caught an interesting aside about Chalmers’ regard for Charles Bridges, the author of the classic The Christian Ministry (1829). It should not be surprising, I suppose, not only because they were contemporaries, but also because they were establishmentarians who both believed in and practiced the territorial [...]
Laidlaw’s Plea and Plan
Posted in Benevolence & the Diaconate, Parish Theory & Practice, Parish in American Context, Thomas Chalmers on March 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“A Plea and Plan for a Coöperative Church Parish System in Cities,” by Walter Laidlaw
In this essay, published in the American Journal of Sociology (1898), Walter Laidlaw advocates among the Protestant church a voluntary ‘cooperative parish system’ in the large cities of the United States for the spiritual, moral, and socio-economic benefit of the people. [...]
Special offer
Posted in Thomas Chalmers on January 7, 2009 | 5 Comments »
One main purpose of this blog is to facilitate renewed interest in Thomas Chalmers, the great 19th century Scottish preacher, churchman, and social reformer. I am convinced that he needs to be rediscovered again, especially in the place of his spiritual birth - the Reformed community.
As a small contribution to getting the word out, I’ve decided [...]
Balancing the now & not yet
Posted in Eschatology, Parish in Perspective (Qualifications), Thomas Chalmers on January 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Being a huge Chalmers fan, one of the things I love the most about him is his vision, his idealism. He longed for the Christianization of Scotland. He wanted the Lord’s will done on earth as it is in heaven. And he worked for it, being a wise and faithful steward.
He had reason to be hopeful. [...]
A Practical Pietist (3)
Posted in Benevolence & the Diaconate, Establishments, Parish Theory & Practice, Thomas Chalmers on November 25, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Thomas Chalmers has been widely acclaimed for his views and particularly his applications of social concern. And within the current Reformed world, he is pointed to as an example for modern day ‘mercy ministries.’ Consequently, I’d like in this final commentary on Cheyne’s The Practical and the Pious to turn to the principles [...]
A Practical Pietist (2)
Posted in Establishments, Parish Theory & Practice, Thomas Chalmers on November 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Practical and the Pious – 2
Chalmers the Manager: Lessons in Christian Leadership
In the first part of my review of A. C. Cheyne’s collected essays, The Practical and the Pious: Essays on Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), we observed the way in which Thomas Chalmers was great Christian bridge builder in his day. He sought to [...]
