The Baxter Institute

Please visit Richard Baxter's Church at Kidderminster
(Just click on the sanctuary below)

Perhaps you have heard of Richard Baxter, the Puritan evangelist of Kidderminster in the English midlands. …There was an amazing transformation of that town under his ministry. Family catechizing, family worship, a public worship pattern full of praise, church discipline, preaching, devotional reading, regular pastoral counseling, and small-group ministry under Baxter's oversight, were all part of it, and reformation was Baxter's name for it. He wrote a classic book on ministerial practice entitled The Reformed Pastor. By the word reformed Baxter meant spiritually alive and morally in shape, not merely maintaining what we would call Calvinistic doctrines, though he assumes that. His meaning becomes clear when he writes: 'If God would but reform the clergy, the people of England would soon be reformed.' (J.I. Packer, Hot Tub Religion, Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1988. p. 218)

…Richard Baxter convinced me long ago that regular discursive meditation, in which as he quaintly put it you 'imitate the most powerful preacher you ever heard' in applying spiritual truth to yourself, as well as turning that truth into praise, is a vital discipline for spiritual health. (J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness, Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1990. p. 13)
…Baxter also focused my vision of the ordained minister's pastoral office. [The words of Baxter's Reformed Pastor] have hands and feet. They climb all over you; they work their way into your heart and conscience, and will not be dislodged. My sense of being called to preach the gospel, teach the Bible, and shepherd souls could have been learned from the Anglican ordinal that was used to ordain me, but in fact it crystallized out through my study of Baxter's own ministry and his Reformed (we would say, Revived) Pastor. (J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness, Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1990. p. 13)
On the title page of the original edition of Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor, the word "reformed" was printed in much larger type than any other, and one does not have to read far before discovering that for Baxter a "reformed" pastor was not one who campaigned for Calvinism but one whose ministry to his people as preacher, teacher, catechist and role-model showed him to be, as we would say, "revived" or "renewed". The essence of this kind of "reformation" was enrichment of understanding of God's truth, arousal of affections Godward, increase ardor in one's devotions, and more love, joy, and firmness of Christian purpose in one's calling and personal life. (J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness, Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1990. pp. 26-27)
When …in 1656 Richard Baxter published his classic on the ministry, The Reformed Pastor, what he meant by "reformed" was not Calvinistic in doctrine (he assumed that, at least in a broad sense); what he meant was renewed in vigor, zeal, and purpose, in other words revived, as the book itself makes plain. And when he wrote elsewhere, 'If God would but reform the ministry, and set them on their duties zealously and faithfully, the people would certainly be reformed', what he meant by "reformed" was once again what we would express by saying "revived." (J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness, Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1990. p. 38)

Welcome to The Richard Baxter Homepage. I have been blessed in my life by reading the inspiring thoughts of godly men. Richard Baxter is one such man. I can't help but relate to the words above by J.I. Packer. Baxter cuts through so many of the distractions that bog me down as a pastor. He, as he exposits God's Word, helps me to better understand my marching orders as one called by God. I am an ordained pastor, but Baxter's words speak to all Christians. He has a keen mind and a passionate heart -- both of which have God as their focus and chief concern. Baxter's adoration and zeal for Christ shine upon each page of his writings. It is my hope that God will bless you through these writings of and about Richard Baxter. Soli Deo Gloria, Dale Tedder

Soli Deo Gloria will reprint the massive 4 volume
"Practical Works of Richard Baxter"
once again in early 2000.

Baxter on the Fate of Sermons

New Stuff

The Duties of Parents for Their Children added April 24, 2001
The Special Duties of Children and Youth Toward God added April 24, 2001
The Special Duties of Children Toward Their Parents added April 24, 2001

Check out
Those Swingin' Puritans
updated
March 30, 2001

Check Out

Church & Christian History

Richard Baxter Links
The Richard Baxter Society
Index to Richard Baxter (by Fire and Ice)
Study Resources on Richard Baxter
Portrait of Richard Baxter
The Richard Baxter Institute of Ministry
Richard Baxter Memorial - 1
Richard Baxter Memorial - 2
Baxter Bibliography

If you have any comments or questions,
please feel free to contact me.
Dale Tedder

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