Ordained Ministry in Free Church Perspective: Retrieving Robert Browne (C. 1550-1633) for Contemporary Ecclesiology

In Ordained Ministry in Free Church Perspective Jan Martijn Abrahamse presents a constructive theology of ordained ministry by returning to the life and thought of the English Separatist Robert Browne (c. 1550-1633).

This study makes a substantial contribution not only by solving one of the most thorny problems in congregational ecclesiology, but also by recovering the legacy of this ecclesial pioneer. Through an in-depth analysis of Browne’s literature, the author provides a covenantal theology of ordained ministry in conversation with present-day authors Stanley Hauerwas and Kevin Vanhoozer.

Inspired by the emerging trend of ’theology of retrieval’ Abrahamse offers a methodologically innovative way of doing systematic theology in a manner in which voices from the past can be made fruitful for today.

Jan Martijn Abrahamse, Ph.D. (1985), VU University Amsterdam, is Tutor in Systematic Theology and Ethics at Ede Christian University of Applied Sciences (CHE) and the Baptist Seminary (VU University) in the Netherlands.