Richard Lovelace and Kingdom-minded Renewal

Richard Lovelace had a very significant impact on my thinking while in seminary. I was fortunate enough to take his course, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, his magnum opus which is essentially a holistic vision of renewal, rooted in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. Lovelace outlines preconditions, primary and secondary elements, for living life in a constant state of spiritual renewal. His grasp of the dyanmics of spiritual life throughout church history and in discipleship was so impacting that I made up a song to reflect his primary elements of renewal (justification, sanctification, the power of the Spirit, and  authority in  spiritual warfare), which my wife and I still sing.

Jimmy Davis has nicely summarized some of Lovelace’s contributions by reviewing his Renewal As a Way of Life. Read teh article here. Better yet buy the book. Last time I talked to Lovelace he was reading the paper in the mornings Luther’s commentary on Galations during the day, and working on his memoirs in the evenings. Above all, Lovelace embodied his teachings with passion, humility, and a ferocious love for Christ and his kingdom coming on earth.