pastoral predicament of Vavasor Powell (1617-1670): Eschatological fervor and its relationship to the pastoral ministry, The

The dawn of a new millennium, the almost staggering proliferation of popular "Christian novels" about end-time events, some Christian magazine publisher's willingness to accept commodities brokers' advertisements that seek to sell gold and other precious metals to tremulous Christians (as a hedge in the possibility of an economic meltdown or some other possible catastrophe), as well as the millennial madness that invariably accompanies such epochal moments in history, have all led, it seems, to a heightened interest in matters eschatological. Moreover, the widely heralded collapse of a moral and ethical center in Western society has combined with the end-time speculation to produce an era of great fascination in the end of the world.

It is also a fitting time for pastoral practitioners, pedagogues, and seminarians to ask questions about the relationship of eschatological fervor and the pastoral ministry. This is, in fact, the theme of this essay. The present paper is not about the preference of one eschatological scheme over another, not is it about exegetical controversies surrounding the study of last things. This article rather will seek to expose, through historical case study and theological reflection, excesses and subsequent problems that arise from an unbalanced approach to eschatology in the pastoral ministry and then aim to encourage a Biblical balance between "Blessed hope" teaching and the contemporary pastoral task. The setting for the study will be a very ripe time for both Reformed confessional orthodoxy and sectarian heterodoxy: mid-17th century England and Wales. Moreover, I want to lift certain events from the ministry and life and times of one, Vavasor Powell (1617-1670), a 17th century Welsh Puritan pastor and evangelist, and apply them to my subject in this paper.

1. THE LIFE AND MINISTRY OF VAVASOR POWELL

Sadly, there are no portraits or drawings of any kind of Vavasor Powell. From his remains and from the writings of his peers, however, we can gather that Vavasor Powell was a non-conformist minister born in Kuncklas in the parish of Heyop, Radnorshire, in Wales in the year 1617. Educated by his Uncle Erasmus Howell, vicar of Clun, Shropshire and, by at least one account, at Jesus College, Oxford, Powell returned to Clun in 1637 to become a schoolmaster.

In the years 1638-39 he was deeply influenced by the evangelistic preaching of the great Welsh minister Walter Cradock (c. 1606-1659) and the writings of the celebrated English Puritans Richard Sibbs (1577-1635) and William Perkins (1558-1602) and showed all of the signs of a genuine conversion.

In the same year as his conversion, he was apparently called to preach and began a fruitful itinerant ministry in his home country in 1639. His early public preaching led him to what would become a mark of his ministry: forceful opposition by many to his inflammatory presentation of the gospel.

Powell's early preaching, for instance, led him to be attacked by numerous spiritually convicted if not downright agitated auditors. Once, in a preaching campaign in Radnorshire, four men ambushed Powell while he was leaving church. On another occasion, a man heard Vavasor Powell's sermon and then immediately vowed to kill him. Still again, the fiery Welshman was once attacked by a butcher yielding-we are left to imply-the instrument of his trade.

Powell once wrote in "Upon the Saints Suffering":

This is the Fire through which thou

dost, purge away Dross and Tin:

This is the Water that doth wash,

in part the filth of sin.

This is the Wind that blows away our Chaff, and which light is,

This is the School wherein we learn the best

experiences,

This is the way wherein we do follow the Son

and saints:

This is the way to Liberty, with thee by our

restraints1

And in his work the "Apostate's Conscience awakened" Vavasor Powell refers to the struggle with outside forces, which began in this period:

Cheere vp yee faithfull soules be not afraide let not your hearts grow faint or be dismaid when troubles great arise Christ doth fulfill his word of truth [and] turn it unto his will.4

In 1640 Powell narrowly escaped yet another attempt on his life only to subsequently be arrested for his Puritan preaching in Breconshire. Upon the outbreak of the civil war, Powell left Wales for London. Vavasor Powell-by then a celebrated nonconformist minister-preached in London and was then appointed as Puritan vicar at Dartford Parish Church (1644-1646).5 It was an especially difficult time for the new pastor of Dartford, since he assumed his charge during an outbreak of the plague. During his first year of ministry, Vivasor Powell conducted 62 burials-many of these being entire families.s Furthermore, his parish had only recently undergone the divisive transition from a prayer-book congregation to one with limited form in the public worship services. Needless to say, there was plenty of gospel work to be done by an industrious pastor. But Powell's pastoral charge was constantly being interrupted by his dangerous zeal and commitment to the political intrigue that was sweeping all of England. For instance, the church records show that on several occasions the local church leaders had to summon a replacement preacher from London because their pastor was engaged in a military skirmish.? Despite the pressing need for a committed pastor to minister to the many spiritual needs at Dartford, their man, Powell, was undeniably preoccupied with what he perceived to be more important matters.