In a culture that encourages self-governing and individualist approaches to church management, a Baptist perspective on polity appears not only timely but vital. Mark Dever, Jonathan Leeman et al. provide in Baptist Foundations a distinctly Baptist view for the effective functionality of today’s church. Topics explored in the work cover issues of congregationalism, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, church membership, church discipline, and elders and deacons. The authors provide historical background, Biblical context and practical application for these issues which are pertinent to the continued sustainability of the church in the form that has stood for centuries and to which we are familiar. There are several areas of personal interest in this …show more content…
If a member sees themselves as a functioning part of a larger system they potentially may be more attune to the collective need. The congregational model allows for this unified group of believers, bound by a mutual covenant to govern their own body. In chapter two the authors provide several strong arguments for congregational governance based on the formation of God’s covenant with the church and extending to Jesus as the head of the church and the membership as the facilitators of governing functions under the leadership of a Pastor or …show more content…
Therefore, balanced reflection is warranted as to some of the foreseeable weaknesses of plural eldership. The authors argue that a plurality of elders typifies the essence of congregationalism; however, it may be disputed that potentially this type of leadership actually diminishes congregational participation in decision making. When decisions pass through a group of elders, then a group of deacons to finally the congregation, most of the operational decisions have already been made, possibly overlooking valuable input from the membership. Additionally, it could be argued that this practice substantially diminishes the role of women in church decision making. Qualifications for both elder and deacon exclude women from the office therefore the only acceptable participation of decision making falls within the realm of the congregational vote. The greatest advantage of a congregational structure is the ability to work together as one entity including both male and female church members. Evidence is found in the New Testament of a church that held a unique view of equality in a time of pronounced inequality as seen with women and slaves (Romans 16:12; Galatians 3:26; Philippians
In order to discern the capacity to give, it is important to be familiar with the demographic data related to the topic of stewardship and the overall capacity of Christians spanning from worldwide to Millennials in Johnson County, Kansas attending LBC. For this section, the demographic content starts with worldwide and US statistics. Then shift from Kansas City (metro-wide), to county (Johnson County, Kansas), then community context for Lenexa Baptist Church. The demographics then will focus more on Millennials and then Millennials at Lenexa Baptist
First Baptist of Pontotoc, Mississippi, is a hundred and forty-six year old church that is full of history. This paper will provide a brief background of the church history. Over the last four years, three immoral staff members of First Baptist Church of Pontotoc have been contributing factors to the church 's decline.
In the Introduction section of the book, The Hidden Lives of Congregations, Israel Galindo states that a congregation is a “corporate relationship organization” (3) and is not an organization. He points out that the hidden life of a congregation would depict the “nature” of a congregation. This further identifies the relationships and faith of the congregation. According to him, the universal principles are followed by the congregations so that “systemic relationships” can work. The leaders learn the roles that they have within the people who are the congregation. The journal will focus on Dr. Fowler’s question “what is the purpose of this gathering we call the church?”
The Making of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message. A. J. Smith Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.
Between 1820 and 1860, Americans constructed 40,000 new churches compared to the 10,000 they constructed in the 40 years before 1820. At the end of the revival period, ”one-third of all Americans attended church regularly.”(P.400) Many of the early revival preachers embraced Christian evangelicalism, the established groups sought to take advantage of the popular enthusiasm to build their particular denominations. Methodists and the Baptists established themselves as leading American denominations as a result of the Second Great Awakening. The two faiths had a mutual sense of affinity with regard to doctrine, but the Baptists created a radically decentralized hierarchy that empowered local ministers and individual churches.
The Holy Bible authorities people to be evangelists for Jesus Christ, and they will impart their beliefs on others, therefore knowing the doctrine of Jesus Christ is important.
The American Baptist Movement came from England in the 17th century, after the Baptists were persecuted by the Church of England for being dissenting separatists. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, new members were converted and congregations were formed by Baptist preachers who traveled throughout the South, in particular during the eras of the First and Second Great Awakenings.
Rienow, Rob. Limited Church: Unlimited Kingdom: Uniting Church and Family in the Great Commission. Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2013. 325 pp. $18.04
After going through different types research observing and analyzing hierarchical and congregational church structures, a conclusion that the two churches are basically completely different. Hierarchical are run by people’s level of authority or rank, and in congregational churches the church makes the decisions as a whole. In a Hierarchical church the members have no say in how they worship, unlike a congregational church when they have a say in matters of the sort. The two both have strengths and weaknesses that make them into the kind of church they are today. thesis
Gilbert Bilezikian gives four areas that need to be addressed when administering the church here on earth, 1. A shared faith, 2. A share purpose, 3. A shared lifestyle and 4. A shared authority (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195-197). A shared faith is noted in Ephesians 4:5 where God’s people are told to have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (NIV). Gilbert tells his readers, “every church needs to formuloate clearly its understanding of the Christian faith” ( (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195). With this written statement everyone within the church will have a common ground from which to govern, with all people knowing what the belief of that church is.
In Baptist history there has always been differences in doctrine. This has unfortunately resulted, at times, to separate believers from one another. This can be evident from comparing two American Baptist confessions. The most notable difference in doctrine between The Philadelphia Confession of 1742 and A Treatise on the Faith of the Free Will Baptists, 1834 and 1948 is the doctrine of Calvinism versus free-will. The Philadelphia Confession supported Calvinism and the Free Will Baptists supported Arminianism. A closer look at these two confessions show that throughout Baptist history certain doctrines remain constant while others are debated and cause separation of believers. However, this has not stopped the Gospel message to be preached
This book offers three sections, which paves the way for concrete information for the leaders in a church in framing a relevant knowledge for developing an essential church. The two strengths include the stories and interviews of young adults help to strengthen the argument for essential church. The nineteen topics which revealed factual information and the expectation of the church.
The New Testament leaders are an example of how church leaders of today should also behave and work[8]. They ought to be able to teach, guide the believers in the way of God and nurture their spiritual gifts. The New Testament leaders had to boldly defend the word of God in case of any false teaching. Basing on this New Testament leadership, it is important to make sure that any believer appointed to the leadership office has the laid down qualifications[9].
To begin, there are several unique advantages that occur when a community of faith attains little or no power over its members. Between having unanimous power, increased diversity, creating trust, and attaining community leadership and participation outline a rather lengthy list of potential benefits. Coincidentally, I find this technique to be rather beneficial. It is vital to advance one’s understanding of these potential advantages due to the
This paper will highlight some of the historical points of division in Christianity and reflect on ways the church succeeded and failed in practicing professed beliefs. Christianity has become so diverse that some theologians have called it “Christian Pluralism”(Melton, 2007). In 1982 Anglican theologian David Barrett estimated that there were 20,800 denominations in Christianity across the globe (McGavran, 2012).