David Robertson, ‘Heading for Edinburgh 2010: Church Planting and Evangelism in Europe’s Cities in the 21st Century.’ (5 Nov 2008)
David Robertson, 'Heading for Edinburgh 2010'
Lecture given at the European Conference of the ICRC
Soest (NL) November 5, 2008
Rev. David Robertson
Church Planting and Evangelism in Europe’s Cities in the 21st Century
Erik de Boer, ‘Calvin Addressing Europe’ (6 Nov 2008)
Calvin Addressing Europe
Lecture given at the European Conference of the ICRC
Soest (NL) November 6, 2008
Prof. Erik de Boer
John Calvin’s vision was and remained, not to create a network of local Reformed Churches, but to see the national Catholic Church (of France) reformed. He thus looked at the nations in Europe with their specific gouvernment and called on the respective heads of state, addressing their responsability toward God as shepherds of their people. His exposition (sermons) of Scripture and the structure of prayers attest to this. The dedication of biblical commentaries and diplomatic engagement gave substance to this vision. How should Calvinists apply this vision to the (economical unity of) Europe of the 21th century and its diversity of peoples?
David McKay, ‘The Missionary Zeal of Calvin’ (4 Nov 2008)
The Missionary Zeal of Calvin
Lecture given at the European Conference of the ICRC
Soest (NL) November 4, 2008
Prof. David McKay
In the minds of many people the words ‘missionary’ and ‘Calvin’ have little or no association with each other. When they think of John Calvin, the last thing they think about is a man characterised by missionary zeal. Even scholars who ought to know better share this outlook. For some, the (supposed) problem is the character of Calvin himself. Others, whose evaluation of Calvin would be much more positive, nevertheless argue that in practice he, like many of the other Reformers, took little interest in mission. In this paper we argue that in fact Calvin was a man who manifested great missionary zeal, contrary to the views which we have just noted. Our response will consider two issues; the practical expression of Calvin’s missionary zeal, and the theological foundations of Calvin’s missionary zeal.