On the 3-4 December at Regent Hall, London, the Westminster Conference took place with the focus being on the learning from the rich heritage of the Puritan era.
Papers were given on the life and ministry of William Perkins (by Joseph Pipa) and Thomas Manton (by Douglas McCallum). Perkins was strategic in his writing projects and Manton had such warm-hearted wisdom.
Jeremy Walker and Robert Strivens gave connected papers on the principles and practice of Puritan worship. The Puritans placed a priority on gathered worship on the Lord’s Day. The Westminster Directory of Public Worship was intentional in describing regulative principles rather than every detail. How ironic that some Free Churches today find even minor changes painful!
Matthew Bingham showed how several cumulative factors sparked the emergence of Independency. Most striking was the idea that New England acted rather like a skunkworks to develop Independency before being introduced to England. Paul Smith finished the conference with a careful analysis of the successive factors that led a church congregation in Scrooby to eventually leave Europe for the New World.
Next year papers are planned on, among other subjects, Luther, Bellarmine, and the Marrow Controversy.
