Neo-Calvinist Consultation

Fuller hosted the first "Neo-Calvinist Consultation" with Dr Richard Mouw July 25-27, 2013.  Dr Mouw retired from the Fuller presidency on June 30, after 20 years at the helm.  After a sabbatical year, he will take on a new role at Fuller as a faculty member and head of the new Fuller Institute for Faith and Public Life.  Dr Mouw has had a legacy at Fuller for fostering an atmosphere of civil dialogue and engagement with the broader issues of faith, politics, and society.  Much of his conviction for robust civility comes from his philosophical and theological work in the historical Dutch Neo-Calvinist tradition of Abraham Kuyper.  This "consultation" was an opportunity for about twenty Neo-Calvinist doctoral students, scholars, and practitioners from across the U.S. and as far away as China to gather together and share ideas about the future of the Neo-Calvinist movement.  I was both excited and honored to have a seat at the table.

This wasn't a typical academic conference, in the sense that we didn't sit around all day listening to 45-minute papers being read.  Instead, we were each tasked with submitting a one-page paper outlining our current research or practice questions.  In turn, we were each assigned a paper or two to prepare a short response in order to open up a dialogue around the table.  The result was that each paper or set of questions received 45 minutes of focused and intense conversation, with input from an impressive variety of scholars and practitioners.  I received some helpful feedback on my dissertation ideas, and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to respond to others both formally and in the course of our fascinating conversations.

The Neo-Calvinist tradition is infusing some of the most creative and dynamic scholarship and ministry around the country and globe.  This is a small but important subset of philosophical and theological ethics, and it is worth further exploration and application.  There are so many tools available in this tradition for focused and intellectually strong engagement with the pressing issues of contemporary society.  Over these few short days, I was reminded of the strength, diversity, integrity, and passion of God's workers in the world today - from The Center for Faith at Work at Redeemer Church in New York City to The Center for Public Justice in Washington, D.C. to the Chesterton House at Cornell to Guandong Union Theological Seminary in China to Calvin College in Grand Rapids to The Institute for Northwest Theology and Culture at Fuller NW and back to Dr Mouw's new Institute for Faith and Public Life in Pasadena - God is certainly at work.