The Schedule

Saturday, October 10, 2009
8:00-9:00am - Breakfast in the Fellowship Hall
9:00-10:00am - "The Life and Leadership of John Calvin" 2 Tim. 2:1-13
10:00-10:15am - Break
10:15-11:00am - "Calvin and the Word" 2 Tim, 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 1:20

Sunday, October 11, 2009
9:30-10:30am - "Calvin and Wickedness: Why Depravity is so Prevalent and its Only Cure" Gen. 6:5; 2 Tim. 3:1-9
11:00-12:00 noon - "Why a Reformation: Nehemiah's, Calvin's, Ours"
Neh. 8:1-4a, 9:1-3, 16-21
5:30-6:10pm - "Calvin and Welfare: Diaconal Ministry in Geneva and Beyond"
1 Tim. 5:1-16
6:15-7:00pm - "The Practical Calvin" Acts 1-6

Who Was John Calvin?

At the age of 27 John Calvin published the Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536, 1559), a work which in its expanded editions became one of the most influential in the history of the world. Though scorned by historians and theologians, and burdened by popular misrepresentation, the breadth of Calvin’s work is astonishing. As a biblical scholar, he wrote commentaries on 23 Old Testament books and 26 of 27 New Testament books, and is widely regarded as an exegetical genius. As a theologian he gave to the church the Institutes, and in them the three-fold offices of Christ (prophet, priest, and king), and three-fold use of the law (civil, tutorial, and rule of the Christian life), the “true” not “real” promise of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, a restored emphasis on the sovereignty of God, and is regarded as the “theologian of the Holy Spirit.” As a liturgist, he gave to the church the most important and influential Protestant order of worship in the Genevan Psalter (1542) and its “Form of Church Prayers According to the Custom of the Ancient Church,” featuring lectio continua reading and preaching of Scripture, metrical psalm-singing, a full diet of prayer, and frequent administration of the sacraments. His liturgical work was revolutionary, the culmination of several decades of Protestant reforms which restored the practices of the early church. As a churchman Calvin established a representative form of church government, known as presbyterian, which, in turn, has been credited with advancing the cause of political and economic freedom: representative democracies and free markets. His followers and their descendants, the French Huguenots, the Dutch, German, and Swiss Reformed, the Scottish Presbyterians, and the English and American Puritans, have made a profound impact on their homelands and, as they have scattered around the globe, on the world as a whole. Who was this man John Calvin? Come be introduced to the true Calvin, not the Calvin of the caricatures and critics. Learn of Calvin the prophet of liberty: spiritual, ecclesiastical, and political.

Introducing Dr. David Hall

Dr. David W. Hall is Senior Pastor of Midway Presbyterian Church outside of Atlanta, GA, the general editor of the Calvin 500 series (P&R), and the executive director of Calvin 500, the Quincentenary Conference and Commemorative Tour that celebrates the life and work of John Calvin (www.calvin500.org). He has served churches in Tennessee and Georgia. He received his Ph.D. in Christian intellectual thought from Whitefield Theological Seminary. In the past, he has served on the Membership Committee for the Evangelical Theological Society and on the NAPARC Committee to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Westminster Assembly. He has three grown children.