Ordained ministry in Free Church perspective : : retrieving Robert Browne (c. 1550-1633) for contemporary ecclesiology / / by Jan Martijn Abrahamse.

• Superior document: Studies in Reformed theology ; Volume 41
• VerfasserIn: Abrahamse, Jan Martijn,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands ;, Boston : : Brill,, [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in Reformed theology ; Volume 41.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

In Ordained Ministry in Free Church Perspective Jan Martijn Abrahamse presents a constructive theology of ordained ministry by returning to the life and thought of the English Separatist Robert Browne (c. 1550-1633). This study makes a substantial contribution not only by solving one of the most thorny problems in congregational ecclesiology, but also by recovering the legacy of this ecclesial pioneer. Through an in-depth analysis of Browne's literature, the author provides a covenantal theology of ordained ministry in conversation with present-day authors Stanley Hauerwas and Kevin Vanhoozer. Inspired by the emerging trend of 'theology of retrieval' Abrahamse offers a methodologically innovative way of doing systematic theology in a manner in which voices from the past can be made fruitful for today.

Table of Contents

Preface -- Abbreviations -- 1 Introduction: Challenges and Controversies -- 1.1 Ministering a Gathering -- 1.2 Restoring Our Story -- 1.3 Doing Systematic Theology by Retrieval -- 1.4 Historical Challenges -- 1.5 Systematic Challenges -- 1.6 Ordained Ministry in Browne's Historiography -- 1.7 Ordained Ministry: Areas of Controversy -- 1.8 Outline and Prospect -- Part 1: A Reconstruction of Robert Browne's Theology of Ordained Ministry -- 2 Ordained Ministry in the Context of Sixteenth-Century Cambridge: A History of Controversy -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 The Story of Robert Browne -- 2.3 Reformation and Nonconformity at Cambridge University -- 2.4 Ordained Ministry in the Context of Cambridge -- 2.5 Conclusions -- 3 Ordained Ministry in Browne's Separatist Literature (1582-1585): A Theology of Covenant -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 A Treatise of Reformation without Tarying for Anie (1582) -- 3.3 A Treatise vpon the 23. of Matthewe (1582) -- 3.4 A Booke Which Sheweth the Life and Manners (1582) -- 3.5 A True and Short Declaration (1583) -- 3.6 An Answere to Master Cartwright (1585) -- 3.7 Ordained Ministry in Robert Browne's Ecclesiology: An Assessment -- 3.8 Conclusions -- part 2: A Retrieval of Robert Browne's Theology of Ordained Ministry -- 4 Controversy After Christendom: Ordained Ministry in the Ecclesiologies of Stanley Hauerwas and Kevin Vanhoozer -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 The Problem of a Distinctive Ministry -- 4.3 The Suspicion Toward Authority -- 4.4 Ordination and the Fear of Clericalism -- 4.5 Systematic Directions and Browne's Contributions -- 4.6 Conclusions -- 5 Reforming Controversy into Covenant: A Retrieval of Robert Browne's Theology of Ordained Ministry -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Criterion 1: Communal Priesthood -- 5.3 Criterion 2: Permanent Accountability -- 5.4 Criterion 3: Interdependence -- 5.5 Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index.