The responsibility to bear witness to the gracious presence of God in Jesus Christ "in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" has been the perennial task of the Christian community from the beginning. But the style and form of evangelism has varied according to time and place. There is no one way of evangelism, as the history of Christians witnessing and confessing their faith makes very clear. The life of the Christian community has been and is enriched by a variety of evangelistic styles and by multiple theological confessions.

There is, however, a limit to possible Christian theologies, and the preeminent theological task of the church is to test its proclamation by the word of God in Jesus Christ, as attested in scripture, to see that it is within the boundary. There is also a limit to the legitimate styles of evangelism. Some styles of evangelism corrupt and others strengthen the witness, but more significantly, style always betrays the real content. "There is an intimate but seldom seen connection between a person's thought and his style, which Alfred North Whitehead defined precisely as the 'ultimate morality of mind.'"

The purpose of this paper is to relate Reformed theology to the form and style of evangelism. The paper presupposes that evangelism as shaped by Reformed theology is a valid and effective form of evangelism, but it does not presuppose that such form of evangelism is the only form that has validity or effectiveness. It is hoped that the proposal will be the occasion for self-criticism in the work of evangelism and for renewal of theological and ecclesiastical life in the Reformed tradition.

For more information: http://wipfandstock.com/store/Reformed_Theology_and_the_Style_of_Evangelism

May You Have a Merry Christmas and the Best New Year Ever!
by John H. Leith

Dr. John H. Leith (1919-2002) enjoyed Christmas. He appreciated it especially as a celebration of the goodness of this world that God not only created but also, in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, entered, blessed with his presence, and redeemed. And at Christmas he especially wanted to be in contact with, and to minister to, those whom he loved, those whom he had taught, and those whom he cherished as colleagues in the Christian and Reformed ministry of preaching, teaching, and pastoral care.

This little book comprises a collection of Leith's Christmas letters to his former ministerial students at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. The letters grew lengthier and richer through the years. We have gathered them here so that others may enjoy reading them also.

For more information: http://wipfandstock.com/store/May_You_Have_a_Merry_Christmas_and_the_Best_New_Year_Ever

John Calvin's Doctrine of the Christian Life
by John H. Leith

In this thorough investigation of Calvinist doctrine, John Leith defines the Reformer's teaching on Christian life in the context of his theology. He begins with a discussion of what it means to say that the purpose of Christian life is the glory of God. He then discusses Christian life in relation to four aspects of Calvinist thought: justification by faith alone; providence and predestination; history and the transhistorical; church and society.

Leith's concluding statement summarizes the importance of this book. "Calvin's doctrine of the Christian life represents a magnificent effort to give expression to what it means to have to do with the living God every moment of one's life. No interpretation of the sola gloria Dei ["only God's glory"] has been more vivid and dynamic than Calvin's. For this reason he speaks to the needs of this generation, which, at least until recently, has been more frequently concerned about the glory of humankind than that of God and which has fallen victim to many false gods and vicious ideologies. Yet if Calvinism is to render its full service to our day, it must be interpreted in the context of the shared faith of the total Christian community. On the basis of Calvin's own principles, no human statement of Christian faith can ever be final and must be continually reformed by the Christian community's apprehension of the word of God as revealed in Jesus Christ."

For more information: http://wipfandstock.com/store/John_Calvins_Doctrine_of_the_Christian_Life

The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, volume 7, Our Own Time
by Hughes Oliphant Old

This volume is the seventh and last installment of Hughes Oliphant Old's magisterial history of preaching. Here Old takes up the story with the 1960s and the Second Vatican Council and follows it all the way through to the house churches of China and the preaching of Anglican Archbishop Kivengere in Uganda, known as the "Billy Graham of Africa." Along the way he looks at the engaging preaching found in Latin America, the rise of the modern megachurch, the role of Joan Alexandru's preaching in bringing down the house of Ceausescu, and other historically significant moments in preaching.

Full of surprising details and inspiring stories of ministry throughout the world, this volume beautifully rounds out Old's monumental, comprehensive series on the history of preaching in the Christian church.

For more information: http://www.eerdmans.com/shop/product.asp?p_key=9780802817716

The Christian Hope
by John H. Leith

John Leith wrote Basic Christian Doctrine to be accessible to members of the church. The last chapter, on the Christian hope, particularly hope for eternal life, has proven especially helpful and meaningful. The Foundation is grateful to have received permission from Westminster John Knox Press to reprint this chapter as a booklet.

These would be good for every member of a church staff. These would be good for every elder. These would be good for every deacon. These would be good for each church member who has ever suffered the loss of a loved one to death.

These booklets, John H. Leith, The Christian Hope, are available in packets of twenty copies for $45. To order them, please contact:

Mr. Tyler Stewart, Custom Reprinting Coordinator
Wipf & Stock Publishers
199 West 8th Avenue, Suite 3
Eugene, Oregon 97401-2960 USA
541.344.1528 (phone)
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The Christian Life
By John Calvin
Edited by John H. Leith

A leading expert on John Calvin brings together the reformer's most profound reflections on what it means to live a fully Christian life. The Christian Life includes excerpts from Calvin's impressive theological writings and illuminating sermons, as well as a selection of his stately prayers. Editor John H. Leith focuses on Calvin's spirituality, which arose out of the reformer's conviction that theology's primary importance is to encourage piety, to edify, and to transform human life and society.

Calvin's writings have much to tell about the manner and style of Christian living. The writings gathered in The Christian Life draw upon Calvin's own heartfelt commitment to the ideals of life in Christ and to the responsibility to the community he served as pastor, preacher, teacher, and counselor. Here, then, is Calvin's own pattern for the conduct of the fully Christian life, which stresses that it is in Christian people living in Christian community and in society that we see most clearly the reality of faith.

For more information: http://wipfandstock.com/store/The_Christian_Life_9781606087435

Institutes of the Christian Religion
By John Calvin

The first English translation of a classic text of pastoral theology.

John Calvin (1509–1564) originally wrote his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion in Latin. Beginning with the second edition of his work published in 1541, Calvin translated each new version into French, simultaneously adapting the text to suit lay audiences, shaping it subtly but clearly to teach, exhort, and encourage them. Besides reflecting a more pastoral bent on Calvin's part, this 1541 Institutes is also notable as one of the founding documents of the modern French language.

Elsie Anne McKee's masterful translation of the 1541 French Edition — the first-ever English version — offers full access to the brilliant mind of John Calvin as he considered what common Christian people should all know and practice.

For more information: http://www.eerdmans.com/shop/product.asp?p_key=9780802807748.

Assembly at Westminster
Reformed Theology in the Making
By John H. Leith

In the story of the church's continuing theological dialogue, the Westminster Confession stands as a towering accomplishment. Persons in the Reformed tradition, especially English-speaking Calvinists, have been shaped by the Westminster Confession as by no other Christian creed. Even in rebellion against it, men and women continue to be formed by it.

John Leith focuses on the background and character of the assembly that wrote this document. After placing the Confession in its historical, political, cultural, and theological contexts, Dr. Leith examines its major themes—the Bible, the lordship and sovereignty of God, the covenant, and the Christian life. Finally, he looks at the question of the Westminster Confession as normative, authoritative theology.

The Westminster Confession should be neither idolized nor rejected, says Dr. Leith. "It should be accepted for what it is, a remarkable theological achievement of the Reformed community in the seventh century, and received with gratitude for the guidance that it may give for the theological task today."