num_pages: 240
description: The Westminster Assembly is celebrated for its doctrinal standards and debates on church polity. But how often is the assembly noted for its extraordinary intervention in the pulpit ministry of the Church of England? In Gods Ambassadors Chad Van Dixhoorn recounts the Puritan quest for a reformation in preachers and preaching and how the Westminster Assembly fit into that movement. He examines the assemblys reform efforts tracing debates and exploring key documents about preaching in a way that both highlights disagreements within the assemblys ranks and showcases their collective plan for the church going forward.Moreover Van Dixhoorn reveals the rationale behind the assemblys writings and reforms both in terms of biblical exegesis and practical theology. Unlike any other book Gods Ambassadors draws attention to the lengths to which the Westminster Assembly would go in promoting godly preachers and improved preaching.Table of Preface and AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsNote on SourcesPart Blind Guides and Scandalous Ministers1. The Call to Reform2. The Road to Reform3. Democratick AnnarchiePart A Reforming Assembly4. Purifying Assembly Examinations5. The Pastor's Assembly Debates6. Ordaining The Directory for Ordination7. Directions for The Directory for Public WorshipPart In Theory8. On Godly Trained and Ordained9. On The Word of God as the Ordinary Means of Grace10. On Audible and Visible Words11. On Christ-Centered Sermons12. On Christ-Centered Exegesis13. On Study and The Spirit's WorkingConclusionsEpilogueAppendix The Duties of a MinisterAppendix The Directory for OrdinationAppendix The Subdirectory for Preaching
language: English
title: God's Ambassadors: The Westminster Assembly and the Reformation of the English Pulpit, 1643-1653
publisher: Reformation Heritage Books