Two Calvin quotes from the latter article: "Hence it is evident what is the desire which ought to be cherished among all the godly. It is, that the goodness of God may be made known to all, that all may join in the same worship of God. We ought especially to be inflamed with this desire, after having been delivered from some alarming danger, and most of all after having been delivered from the tyranny of the devil and from everlasting death." and "we must daily desire that God gather churches unto himself from all parts of the earth."
I am so grateful for this post; it helps give language to understand the DNA in the roots of the Protestant movement that are still impeding the growth of the mission's fruit on our tree. I would recommend the book "Apostolic Imagination" by J. D. Payne as an excellent remedy to "the pastor-centric influence of the Reformers." Payne has a great list of beneficial best practices to stir up apostolic imagination and avoid drift toward what he calls “pastoral hegemony,” or the dominant influence of pastoral perspectives and methods in the church’s approach to mission and evangelism.
Helpfully informative! As for "It is also true that the primary Great Commission verses (Matt 28:18-20, Mar 16:15, Luke 24:44-49, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8) are all spoken to the apostles, not the broader church." - an argument can be made that the Matthean commission was given to "more than 500 followers" (1 Cor 15:6).
Thanks Ted...I'm going to pass this on!
A bit late to this, having been forwarded your article, Ted. But I don't see any issue with the Calvin quote per-se. It just seems to just be contrasting the work of an apostle (very broad - ambassador) with the work of a pastor (looking after those in his flock). It's not clearly anti-missionary (Luther's does seem more that way, although it would be good to know the broader context of the quote). I'm not sure if an anti-mission position is more clear in other of Calvin's writings, although a quick search turns up some articles that seem to say he did have a pro-missions focus: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/calvin-and-missions/#:~:text=In%25201556%252C%2520Geneva%E2%80%99s%2520Venerable%2520Company%2520of%2520Pastors%2520sent,and%2520missionaries%2520to%2520the%2520Indians%2520of%2520South%2520America and https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/article/john-calvin-and-missionary-mandate.
Two Calvin quotes from the latter article: "Hence it is evident what is the desire which ought to be cherished among all the godly. It is, that the goodness of God may be made known to all, that all may join in the same worship of God. We ought especially to be inflamed with this desire, after having been delivered from some alarming danger, and most of all after having been delivered from the tyranny of the devil and from everlasting death." and "we must daily desire that God gather churches unto himself from all parts of the earth."
I am so grateful for this post; it helps give language to understand the DNA in the roots of the Protestant movement that are still impeding the growth of the mission's fruit on our tree. I would recommend the book "Apostolic Imagination" by J. D. Payne as an excellent remedy to "the pastor-centric influence of the Reformers." Payne has a great list of beneficial best practices to stir up apostolic imagination and avoid drift toward what he calls “pastoral hegemony,” or the dominant influence of pastoral perspectives and methods in the church’s approach to mission and evangelism.
Helpfully informative! As for "It is also true that the primary Great Commission verses (Matt 28:18-20, Mar 16:15, Luke 24:44-49, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8) are all spoken to the apostles, not the broader church." - an argument can be made that the Matthean commission was given to "more than 500 followers" (1 Cor 15:6).