The Westminster Assembly Project, best known for the edition of Assembly minutes and papers to be published by Oxford University Press, has now entered an extensive publishing agreement with Reformation Heritage Books.

John Bower has joined historian Chad Van Dixhoorn in launching three new series of books by the Westminster Assembly, and one series of new and classic studies on the Assembly, all being published by Reformation Heritage Books. It is hoped that both texts and studies will stimulate further research in the Assembly and the religious dimension of English civil war politics. Certainly future publications on British post-Reformation theology and Puritanism will be enriched by these publications, briefly described here.

Principal Documents of the Westminster Assembly. This series will produce the six chief works authored by the Assembly for covenanted uniformity of religion in England: the Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, Shorter Catechism, Directory for Public Worship, Directory for Church Government, and The Psalter. Each volume will contain a historical introduction, a critical text, and multi-column comparisons of original manuscripts and early editions. The inaugural volume, The Larger Catechism, has been prepared by John Bower and scheduled for a launch in March 2010.

Writings of the Westminster Divines. The aim of this series is to provide scholarly editions of texts by Westminster Assembly members and commissioners. Volumes will include previously unpublished manuscripts as well as republications of rare editions. Carefully determined editorial standards will be used to ensure an authoritative product that is accessible to modern readers, while remaining reliable for students and scholars.

Westminster Assembly Facsimiles. With this new series, Reformation Heritage Books and the Westminster Assembly Project are providing electronic and print access to publications by Assembly members in their original form. Free PDF downloads will be made available through the Westminster Assembly Project website. The same text can be purchased for your collection in paperback and hard cover from Reformation Heritage Books.

Studies of the Westminster Assembly. Complementing the primary source material in the other series, the Assembly studies will provide access to classic studies that have not been reprinted and to new studies, providing some of the best existing research on the Assembly and its members.

For more information visit the Westminster Assembly Project. Be sure to check for more information on and about this project at our RHB website and blog.

A few years ago I was sitting with an old Pastor who had labored faithfully in one congregation for decades and yet had seen little or no "growth" in his flock. I asked him if he ever got jealous when he saw other congregations growing and other ministers being used in the salvation of souls. "I used to," he replied, "and I still long to be a blessing to precious souls. However I came to realize that while God's work through me was important, God's work in me was even more important." I was puzzled and asked him to expand a bit. "Well, I have come to realize that God may have put me into the ministry primarily for my own sanctification." This startling thought has often encouraged me in my low times. And it has kept a check on me in times of blessing too. The Christian Church has all too many examples of men who have focused on God's working through them, to the neglect of God's work in them. Fellow pastors and preachers, God has called you into the ministry not only to work through you but also (primarily?) to work in you. As you face another Sunday pastoring your flock, with all its challenges, frustrations, and disappointments, remember this memorable image painted by Dave Evans: "Work is God's sandbox. He invites His children to play together in ways that help to grow them into who they are to become."

You can read Dave Evans excellent article on work here.

Read more like this at Dr. Murray's own personal blog, Head Heart Hand.

Taken from the Reformed Forum,

"Christ the Center is pleased to welcome Dr. Joel Beeke to discuss Meet the Puritans, which he wrote with Randall J. Pederson.  This volume is a wonderful collection of short biographies as well as a guide to modern reprints of many Puritan theologians.  Dr. Beeke serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology, Church History, and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and brings a wealth of knowledge to this episode."

Listen here: Dr. Joel Beeke's interview on Christ the Center

Purchase here: Meet The Puritans

Use the coupon code "Puritan" when checking out at Reformation Heritage Books and receive $5.00 off.

51% of the Fortune 500 companies began in a recession (according to the Kaufmann Foundation). This partly explains why Clayton Christsensen, a Harvard business school professor, has claimed that the recession "would have an unmitigated positive impact on innovation...The breakthrough innovations come when the tension is greatest and the resources are most limited. That's when people are actually a lot more open to rethinking the fundamental way they do business." In other words, scarcity can be an opportunity, a boon rather than a bane.

That's a truth in the spiritual realm as well, and provides the flip side to the previous post about the risk of catastrophic victory. There is the possibility of a blessed "defeat" for the Church or the Christian. We would not have Psalm 51 without David's spiritual recession. We would not have Paul's letters to the New Testament churches without their divisions and disasters.

I've seen churches lose half their members and prayer meetings come alive. I've seen pastors leave churches "in the lurch" but "coasting" elders transformed into leaders. I've seen Christians lose their income and grow in grace. I've seen Christians lose loved ones in tragic circumstances and grow in love to God. I've seen a murderer sentenced to life imprisonment find true freedom in Christ. Spiritual recession, scarcity and loss provide us with opportunity for spiritual breakthroughs and for fundamental re-thinking of our spiritual lives. How can you turn your defeat into a victory, your bane into a boon, your recession into prosperity?

Read more like this at Dr. Murray's own personal blog, Head Heart Hand.