John Calvin spent most of his ministerial life in Geneva. He believed the church should faithfully mirror the principles laid down in the Holy Scriptures. In his ECCLESIASTICAL ORDINANCES, he argued that the New Testament taught four orders of ministry: pastors,teachers(doctors),elders, and deacons. He believed and taught that every city desiring societal transformation must be organized around these people. The pastors conducted the services,preached, administered the sacraments and cared for the spiritual welfare of the parishioners. The doctors or teachers lectured on the Old and New Testaments usually on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The elders were used as task force, overseeing the spiritual affairs of the people. If anybody misbehaves, they report the person to the Consistory, the churchs governing body, which would summon the offender. Excommunication was a last resort and would remain in force until the offender repented. The deacons were in charge of social welfare and they were the hospital management board, social security executives and alms-house supervisors. The deacons were so effective in their job that Geneva had no beggars. In fact, the system worked so well that when John Knox visited Geneva in 1554 that he wrote a friend and said, Geneva is the most perfect school of Christ that ever was in the earth since the days of the apostles. No wonder today, it remains the safest city in the world. All peace treaties are enacted in Geneva. May God give us understanding and revelation to pragmatically enunciate societal transformation in our own cities in Jesus name. Amen!
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 10:28:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015