The mission of the Worldview Leadership Institute is to equip Christians with the training and educational tools needed to complete the Great Commission. To help meet this goal we educate Christians about the worldviews of the world's religions and competing ideologies. These perspectives are then contrasted with a holistic Reformational worldview, which we consider to be the most developed biblical worldview at this stage of church history.
Much of the turmoil we see throughout the world today is a byproduct of tensions between world religions, philosophical ideologies and their resulting worldviews. We want to make people aware of the various worldviews that exist and how they interact with their surrounding cultures. By presenting an increased understanding of how worldviews interact culturally, we hope to promote a better understanding of the behavioral motivation behind many of the incidents we witness in the daily news. We believe an increased understanding of worldviews will result in opportunities to deal more effectively with controversial cultural issues.
In our training we contrast the world religions and ideologically competing worldviews with a Reformational worldview. The Reformed biblical worldview was chosen because it is the most effective vehicle for fulfilling the Great Commission and the Cultural Mandate. The Reformation was revolutionary. It transformed European culture, led to the development of Western Civilization and laid the foundation for America's legal and governmental systems. The leaders of the Reformation, especially John Calvin, directed the church back to the Bible as the ultimate definer of truth and reality. Calvin believed and taught the total sovereignty of God throughout the universe. He taught that God is the Lord over every facet of life. Calvin developed the principles for a holistic biblical worldview that addressed all areas of life through a systematic theology called covenant theology. Reformed covenant theology is both personally and globally transformative. It calls for the redemption of both individuals and their cultures. The Reformed worldview is built on a three-part theological paradigm:
1) The creation
2) The fall of mankind into rebellion from God
3) God's redemption of mankind and the world's cultures
The theme of the Reformed worldview centers on the redemption of both individuals and their cultures from the deadly affects of mankind's original rebellion from God. The Reformed worldview re-establishes the lordship of Christ in all of life. Is holistic and addresses every facet of life. Its effectiveness in transforming both people and cultures has already been demonstrated historically with the transformation of Europe during the Reformation era and its contribution to the development of Western civilization.
Today we find America in a moral freefall. Her people have generally rejected the nation's Christian heritage and turned to humanism for their guiding principles for living. At the same time, many church leaders have compromised the Gospel and turned to business or psychological techniques to draw people to their churches. Christian social researcher George Barna has also pointed out church members today rarely get discipled. They are generally unfamiliar with the fundamentals of their faith. Barna's research has shown that many churches have become nothing more than businesses focused on attendance numbers and reaching monetary goals. Personal and cultural redemption are not considerations for many consumer-driven churches and the CEOs that lead them.
Yet, hope is not lost since God is sovereign and in control of all of life's circumstances. There is currently a spiritual reawakening that is occurring among university students. In their quest for spiritual truth and genuine spirituality they are turning to the covenantal theology of the Reformation. The following videos document the reawakening that is occurring on the university campuses.
Resurgence of Calvin on the Universities
Link: (in case there is a download issue)
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2009/July/500th-Anniversary-of-John-Calvins-Birth/
The goal of the Worldview Leadership Institute is to help equip Christians and church congregations with the biblical knowledge and principles needed to promote a third Great Awakening. The Reformers directed Christians back to the Bible for the guiding principles for all of life. The revolutionary impact the Reformation had in transforming Europe and in establishing America's foundations demonstrated the power of the Gospel for both personal and cultural transformation. Chief among the Reformers was John Calvin. We begin our training by revisting the biblical principles he used to develop a holisitic biblical worldview that helped to transform the cultures of the world.
Calvin's Legacy
"He that will not honor the memory and respect the influence of Calvin knows but little of the origin of American liberty." George Bancroft - Harvard Historian
"He was a theologian, pastor, biblical exegete, and tireless apologist for Reformed Christianity. Calvin ranks among the most important thinkers in church history. His theological works, biblical commentaries, tracts, treatises, sermons, and letters helped establish the Reformation as a legitimate and thriving religious movement throughout Europe.” –- From Calvin 500 — A Quincentenary.
The late Dr. Robert A. Baker noted “Calvin rejected all tradition and insisted on a fresh start from the direct teachings of Scripture. In addition, his system was more nearly self-consistent in its teachings and its methods. Its emphasis on God’s predestination in human experience put iron into the souls of those who fought the Roman system.” But his theology was much more than just an emphasis on predestination, which Luther and most of the other Reformers of that era also believed. Calvin's theology was based on the total lordship of Christ in all areas of life and thus provided Christians with a revolutionary holistic biblical worldview. This worldview helped transform European cultures and laid the foundations for America and its republic form of constitutional government.
Loathed by some and loved by many, John Calvin remains after 500 years one of the most controversial and dominant figures in church history. His influence on western civilization has been enormous, being credited by many historians with laying the foundations for western political liberty. Historian George Bancroft even called Calvin “the father of America.” Bancroft went so far as to state that “he who will not honor the memory and respect the influence of Calvin knows but little of the origin of American liberty.” Following is a video clip that reveals the major influence Calvin had on both the world and the founding of America.
Impact of Reformed Theology on Culture
Link:
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2009/July/Analyzing-Calvins-Teachings-Amid-His-Anniversary/
Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, first published when he was only twenty-seven years old, became the manifesto for Reformed theology in the sixteenth century. Both Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon referred to Calvin as the theologian of the Reformation. Much of the discussion and content presented on this web site approaches life issues from that holistic Reformed biblical worldview.
If you believe that the Word of God, coupled with the power of the Holy Spirit, is an unstoppable force for global transformation, then we ask that you consider joining our efforts in restoring the biblical foundations that have been lost to our culture. America is on the verge of a major economic collapse due to the moral breakdown within both her people and the churches. We need a spiritual reawakening which can only come from an uncompromised Gospel message that recognizes the sovereign lordship of Christ in all areas of life. We believe that Jesus is lord of all facets of life, not just the spiritual dimension. Our ultimate goal is to help complete the mission of discipling the nations (Great Commission) of the world by equipping Christians to both evangelize and disciple the people of the world by extending the lordship of Christ into all areas of living (the Cultural Mandate).
"John Calvin is the father of America."
George Bancroft - Harvard Historian