Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman (SRSC 12)

Chapter 4: The Ministry of Visitation to Individuals (1757–1759)

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Discussion Questions

What was a big insight or “take away” from your experience of reading this portion of John Woolman’s Journal ?

Here we see the world of pastoral care firsthand. How might you compare the ministry of pastoral care in Woolman’s day (insofar as this is revealed

through Woolman’s Journal ) with that in your own context? What questions might you have about pastoral ministry in Woolman’s situation? What questions might Woolman have about pastoral care in our situation today?

Near the end of this chapter, John Woolman begins to reflect on his ministry of visitations in the context of the smallpox epidemic. He

speaks of the epidemic in terms of God’s use of it, providing various warnings and reasons for self-examination. He also evaluates his own choices in the midst of the epidemic and the current state of medical research. He wonders about taking a vaccine that gives the recipient a dose of the disease. Needless to say, medical research has developed a great deal since the 1750s. But have the questions changed that much? How do we navigate our ideas today regarding God’s sovereignty, human weakness, medical science, and practical ministry in the midst of epidemics?