Equipping Center

The nature and life of the church is one of the most crucial issues facing Christians in the closing years of the twentieth century. Questions of ministry and liturgy, authority and freedom, appear in a wide variety of guises throughout the world-wide church. Relativism and uncertainty seem to be as common in the church as in the world. Many Christians wonder whether there is any way forward. In this context, The Reformation of the Church is an invaluable aid. An anthology of documents, drawn largely but not exclusively from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it presents in a readily accessible form the finest thinking of the reformed fathers on authority and freedom, the need for reformation, the nature of the government, unity and membership of the church of Jesus Christ. Warmly welcomed when first published in 1965, and widely use since then, these documents provide invaluable material for ministers, elders, leaders, students and all Christians who are concerned to see Christ's church fulfill her God-given role at a critical juncture in her history.

Thomas Cranmer, one of the Reformations most famous martyrs, can accurately be described as the architect of the Church of England, and consequently, of the worldwide Anglican communion. Despite this, compared with other key figures of the Reformation, little has been written about him in recent years. This omission is both remarkable and understandable: remarkable, because undoubtedly Crammers involvement in Englands break with the historic Roman Church was crucial a break which formed the foundation for the freedom of the gospel in England for the next 450 years; understandable, because his was no dramatic conversion loved by story tellers - rather he undertook a life-time journey away from the Roman sacramental system to an understanding that heaven was the gift of God to all those whom he loves. And, despite the fact that we are all fallen men and women, we so often want to see our heroes as giants, able to cope with every situation life throws at them without faltering - Cranmer was not such a man. This book looks to assess his life from the perspective of a 21st century evangelical Christian that is someone who accepts the Bible as the final authority on what God requires of men and women in this life. It is a term that Cranmer, as he neared his famous, dreadful, and glorious end, would have been happy to have applied to himself.

This is a new collection of Reformed thinkers writings, from the Reformation to today, on the inerrancy of Scripture. To these texts contemporary scholars add commentary reflecting the stance of Westminster Theological Seminary.

William Tyndale brought the English scripture to the common citizen. His efforts ultimately cost him his life, but his contribution to English spirituality is measureless. Five centuries after his death at the stake, Tyndale's presence still looms wherever English is spoken. The author tells the story of the man known as the "architect of the English language," the English Paul who defied a kingdom and a tyrannical church to introduce God to the plowboy.

The story of the inspirational reformer They can kill the body but not the soul! Part of the Trailblazers biography Series