The Fullness of Christ: J.H. Yoder – Part V
Posted by Radical Resurgence | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 23-01-2012
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7. The Centrality of Preaching.
Especially since the Reformation, the “proper preaching of the Word” has been central in definitions of both the church and her ministry. Just what the “Word” means and what the “proper” means have varied immensely from Luther to Calvin, and from Wesley to Barth, but formally the criterion has remained stable.
What we need to test here is not primarily whether the term “proclamation” is biblically derived, nor whether there should be “proclamation” in the church, but a much narrower question. Is the word’s definition sufficiently objective and clear that anyone can use it and get the same “measurement”?….
To move from the preachers of Acts to the teacher of James 3, or the teaching elder of the Pastorals, from Calvin to Finney to Billy Graham, and think one word covers that all, is simply to render that word useless.