Calvin's Company of Pastors: Pastoral Care and the Emerging Reformed Church, 1536-1609 (Oxford Studies in Historical Theology) (Paperback)

“Calvins Company of Pastors gives us a rich precedent for how persuasive public ministry and penetrating personal ministry co-labor in ministry of the Word. Though this book is an academic work, its value extends to the practice of ministry and counseling. Here is much wisdom to be gleaned from these pastors, their lives together, and their pastoral work.”

“Scott Manetsch joins an innovative group in broadening our perspective on the Swiss Reformation, looking beyond Calvin to see how the Reformer's spiritual heirs and followers sustained and modified his legacy in Geneva and surrounding villages. All who are interested in Calvin and Reformed studies will want to absorb the riveting information gathered here concerning the Genevan ministers' class background, education, economic status, marital choices, weekly work assignments, living conditions, hardships, disciplinary fervor, and vulnerability.”

“Calvin's Company of Pastors is an engaging and exhilarating synthesis of the prodigious research conducted in the Genevan archives for the past fifty years. Manetsch artfully describes everyday church life in the wake of the Reformation but does so through the eyes of three generations of pastors. We thereby learn through details both amusing and poignant just what it was like to accept a call to the pastorate, even as we discover ways in which Calvin did and did not shape the later course of the Genevan church. The book is a compelling introduction to Calvin and his memorable successors as well as a significant contribution to the history of pastoral theology.”

“In this rich and illuminating book, Scott Manetsch introduces readers to the fascinating cast of characters who served as Geneva's ministers from 1536-1609. By carefully combining social history with historical theology, Manetsch probes the connection between pastoral theology and concrete practice among these ministers, presenting a marvelous portrait of Genevan pastoral life in Calvin's day and afterward. Lucidly written, this book is a treasure for exploring pastoral identity in the Reformation context.”

“This is one of the finest examples Ive come across of first class, well written scholarship which also serves the church. Calvin scholars, Reformation scholars, and social historians will not be able to ignore Manetschs excellent contribution to the field. At the same time, I cant imagine pastors not being edified as they read about the Venerable Companys hard work, pastoral faithfulness, endurance, and normal human failings.”