“Calvin and Chandieu both saw the Reformed consistory as the continuation of the Jewish religious council at the time of Christ, namely, the Sanhedrin. Both exegeted Jesus’ saying in Matthew 18:16, “Tell it to the church,” according to what would have worked in the Jewish context of Jesus’ day: “Tell it to the church” had to mean, “Tell it to the governing body of the church, that is, the Sanhedrin/Consistory.”
— Martin I. Klauber, The Theology of the French Reformed Churches: From Henry IV to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes🔗
“In their system the autonomy of the local churches came first, but the need for all the churches to express their unity and to assist each other in doctrine, worship, ethics, and judicial appeals warranted self-imposed restrictions that prevented every church from “doing what was right in its own eyes.”
— Martin I. Klauber, The Theology of the French Reformed Churches: From Henry IV to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes🔗
“If we shift our gaze to the more doctrinally selective churches, particularly of the Reformed variety, we will hear strong affirmations of 'the ministry of the Word' and 'building the church on the word'. And typically these phrases refer to the teaching ministry of the Sunday morning pulpit. The problem here, however, is the God's Word is not always massaged throughout the life of the congregation, like yeast through dought. People show up on Sunday for the sermon, and often do little more. The ministry of the Word stops at noon...the 'ministry of the Word' indeed begins in the pulpit, but then it must continue through the life of the church as members echo God's Word back and forth to one another. The word reverberates as in an echo chamber”
— Jonathan Leeman, reverberation: How God's word brings to light, freedom, and action to His people🔗
“You cannot protect or change your philosophy of ministry unless you understand the budget’s role in shaping it.”