Description: The mid-nineteenth century is a gold mine for contemporary scholars interested in American Protestant ecclesiology. There one will find the extensive writings of John Nevin who came to the notice of the theological world with The Anxious Bench, a critique of the "quackery" of Protestant revivalism. Influenced by a critical appropriation of cutting-edge contemporary German theology, he came to believe that the church was not "invisible," but the visible manifestation of Jesus Christ's incarnate life. Christians were to pursue unity, not in external institutional arrangements, but as unity of spiritual life. This compilation presents his theology of the catholicity of the church prior to his masterwork, The Mystical Presence, and a multifaceted, sophisticated critique of American sectarianism. This edition carefully preserves the original texts while providing extensive introductions, annotations, and bibliography.
Brief description: Sam Hamstra Jr. is an Affiliate Professor of Worship and Church History at Northern Seminary (Lombard, Illinois), as well as founder and leader of ChapterNext, a Chicagoland-based pastor search firm and church consultancy dedicated to helping congregations open new chapters of dynamic and life-transforming ministry. A veteran pastor, worship leader, and musician, he is also author of Principled Worship (2006).