The Pastoral Priorities of 18th Century Baptists: An Examination of Andrew Fuller’s Ordination Sermons

by Nigel Wheeler

Publisher:

H&e Academic

, 2021

Overview

In one pithy remark, the famed Particular Baptist pastor John Gill summed up the importance that he placed on pastoral ministry: “as ministers be, churches are.” This high view of pastoral ministry was a given among his Particular Baptist contemporaries in the so-called Georgian era (1714-1830) as this new study of Andrew Fuller’s ordination sermons well reveals. It deals with a subject that, due to the high premium placed on pastoral ministry by the Particular Baptists, goes to the heart of Baptist ecclesiology and spirituality in the Georgian era, for not only pastors, but also congregations believed: the theology and piety of pastors had a profound impact, conscious and unconscious, upon the communities that they led. And ordination sermons are a fabulous doorway by which we might enter into the thinking of these eighteenth-century men and women about these matters. These sermons revealed the ideal that pastor and people strove to emulate and to experience. So they wonderfully unveil the pastoral piety of that era.

Key Features

• Reveals Fuller’s pastoral priorities as expressed in his ordination sermons
• Explores the key theological priorities that shaped Fuller’s understanding of pastoral ministry
• Examines Fuller’s sermons in relation to other available Particular Baptist ordination sermons of the era

Contents

• The Life & Influence of Andrew Fuller
• Origins of Particular Baptists
• Baptist Ordination Sermons
• Pastoral Theology of Particular Baptists Ordination Sermons
• The Pastoral Theology of Andrew Fuller

Praise for

For eighteenth-century Particular Baptists, ordination sermons were a key way to publicly communicate pastoral theology and identify spiritual priorities. Published ordination sermons constituted an important genre of applied theology that shaped younger ministers and reinforced the convictions of seasoned pastors. In this helpful book, Nigel Wheeler shows how Andrew Fuller’s ordination sermons summarized his own pastoral theology and, by virtue of his role as a leading pastortheologian in the movement, helped form a generation of Particular-Baptist pastors. Wheeler’s work is an important contribution to British Baptist history as well as a gift to contemporary ministers who will benefit from Fuller’s pastoral wisdom.

—Nathan A. Finn, Provost and Dean of the University Faculty, North Greenville University

When it comes to assessing candidates for the pastoral office, my church focuses on five ‘C’s’: calling (by the Holy Spirit), character (personal piety), competencies (teaching, leading), chemistry (unity), and confirmation (congregational ordination). What a pleasant surprise I encountered in reading this book, which addresses similar ideas from an eighteenth-century perspective. More than prompting surprise, however, this book provides a richness and depth in filling out the biblical standards for these areas and providing examples of pastors who live out their calling to church ministry. In our day in which things from the past are easily dismissed as irrelevant, this book refreshingly offers centuries-old wisdom for pastors and their office today.

—Gregg R. Allison, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

This lovely little book establishes the ordination sermons of Andrew Fuller in their historical, denominational and theological context. As a jewel nestled in this rich setting, Fuller’s sermons show both the continuity and the vitality of his conception of pastoral ministry. Just as he was engaging and interacting with his past, and contributing to his future, so the reader of Nigel Wheeler’s book will find his own sense of pastoral ministry, whether viewed from the pulpit or the pew, challenged, stimulated and enhanced. The biblically-framed, carefully-considered, prayerfully-communicated pastoral priorities identified and discussed here remain of enduring value for all who want to understand what it means to care for God’s flock and to preach God’s Word.

—Pastor at Maidenbower Baptist Church, Crawley, UK, and author of On the Side of God: The Life and Labors of Andrew Fuller

Product Details

• Title: The Pastoral Priorities of 18th Century Baptists: An Examination of Andrew Fuller’s Ordination Sermons
• Author: Nigel Wheeler
• Publisher: H&e Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Pages: 242
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• ISBNs: 9781989174968, 1989174965
• Resource ID: LLS:PSTRL18RDNSRMNS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-09-28T00:47:40Z

About Nigel Wheeler

Nigel Wheeler (Ph.D.) was born in Hailsham, England and emigrated to Canada at the age of six. He is married to his wife Janice and they have five children. He graduated as Valedictorian at Briercrest Bible College and was elected to membership in the American Association of Bible Colleges Honor Society (Delta Epsilon Chi) and received a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and Theology— Bible Major. He then graduated with high honours from Trinity Western University with a Masters Degree in Theology winning the “Governor General’s Gold Medal” for academic excellence at the graduate level, and earned his Ph.D in Theology at the University of Pretoria, S.A. Nigel has taught at both the college and graduate level and is currently Senior Pastor at Lakeview Bible Church in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada (2007). He is a visiting professor at Cameroon Baptist Seminary, West Africa; and is the former chaplain for the Toronto Blue Jays, MLB team.