Review of "Andrew Fuller and the Evangelical Renewal of Pastoral Theology" (original) (raw)

Review: Emerson, Morgan, and Stamps, Baptists and the Christian Tradition

The editors of this volume have attempted to situate Baptist faith and practice within the historic Christian tradition, as well as placing current Baptist faith and practice within the historic Baptist tradition. To this end, along with brief introductions and conclusions, they have included 15 chapters on different topics, plus an appendix by the influential moderate Baptist theologian Steven Harmon. The book is not divided into sections, but the beginning chapters follow a typical creedal structure, with later ones covering practical and current issues. The first chapter is on Christian unity. After a summary of the Bible's teaching, Christopher Morgan and Kristen Ferguson show that, although 17th-century Baptist confessions discussed unity, no such confession has done so since the mid-18th century. Next, Rhyne Putnam treats sola Scriptura and the use of creeds, showing that Baptists in the 17th century used creeds but that by the 19th century they preferred a 'No creed but the Bible' posture. Malcolm B. Yarnell III successfully demonstrates that Baptist confessions over the last four centuries have used classical trinitarian language. However, he also

What Makes Baptist Theological Education Baptist

Journal of European Baptist Studies, 2019

What makes Baptist theological education Baptist? I start the article by asking what makes Baptist theology distinct among other theological approaches. After that I present two types of empirical data: the first was gathered in two conversations, which took place among Baptist theological educators in the summer of 2018-one at the workshop of the Consortium of European Baptist Theological Schools (CEBTS) and the other at the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Theological Education Committee. The second set of data comes from research into alumni feedback from Tartu Theological Seminary. In conclusion I suggest five possible characteristics of Baptist identity in regard to the method and content of theological education: • Baptist theological education is rooted in Baptist ecclesiology; • Personal faith and integrity are crucially important aims of theological studies; • Biblical hermeneutics and knowing one's tradition in context are two important areas of study; • Constant openness and search lead to even better understanding; • Baptist theological education is always missional.

Baptists and the Emerging Church Movement

ines the major ecclesiological proposals of the emerging church movement. Though many theologians argue that the emerging church movement emphasizes epistemology, Rathel contends that its primary concern is ecclesiology. Emerging church leaders offer a number of important ecclesiological proposals, including restructuring traditional church leadership models to accommodate the rise of postmodernity, changing the mission of the church so that the church may strike a more "missional" tone in contemporary culture, removing the categories of "in" or "out" within the church body, and adopting the multi-site church model. In assessing these proposals, Rathel draws upon historic Baptist convictions about the nature of the church, using Baptists' ecclesiological distinctives and long history of ecclesiological thought as a helpful reference point. This book will not only serve as a guide for those who wish to learn of emerging church ecclesiology, it will also be an aid to Baptists who wish to evaluate recent trends in ecclesiology in light of their denominational distinctives.

Church Membership in Baptist Thought

Regenerate church membership has long been a distinctive of Baptist ecclesiology. However, the precise meaning and implications of the Baptist view of church membership can be obscure to non-Baptists. This paper undertakes a brief historical survey of Baptist ecclesiology, revealing both a consistent commitment to regenerate membership and a lack of clarity with respect to its meaning. The author argues that the lack of clarity is due in part to the historical context in which Baptist churches emerged. These circumstances led Baptist thinkers to develop an ecclesiology characterized more by contrast with other traditions than by their own originally constructed view. Consequently, Baptist theologians have not typically addressed local church membership as a doctrine distinct from soteriology and church ordinances. Moreover, heavy emphasis on the local church has left Baptist ecclesiology without a robust theology of the universal church and its relationship to the local assembly. This lacuna undermines Baptist attempts at constructing a coherent biblical theology of church membership. This paper concludes that the most faithful Baptist definition of local church membership is committed voluntary association of a believer with a local congregation, and addresses Baptist objections to this view. It further urges Baptist theologians to develop an ecclesiology which acknowledges the primacy of the universal church and describes the relationship between the church universal and local. Implications for the Baptist doctrine of church membership, including the vital role of church discipline for maintaining regenerate membership, are discussed.

Baptist Ecclesiology: a Faithful Application of New Testament Principles

2004

Cornett: Baptist Ecclesiology 23 Recent publications evidence an awakening of sorts in Baptist life to this present denominational identity crisis. 1 The specific crisis that has worked to bring about this recent flurry of activity is that more and more Baptist pastors and congregations have either implemented or are currently entertaining the idea of employing elders (ruling or leading) in addition to the traditional offices of pastors and deacons. This has served as the splash of cold water on the face of a theologically slumbering denomination. Baptist pastors and leaders are asking interesting questions about church polity. Many are wondering if an emphasis on Baptist identity is adverse to effective evangelism and church growth. Some are struggling with the historic differences between congregational and presbyterian church polities. Many are sincerely seeking to discern what the New Testament teaches concerning the polity of the local church. This essay seeks to address these issues by examining the historical and biblical differences between the Baptist and Presbyterian traditions. After a brief overview of ecclesiological development in Christian history, this discussion narrows to these two differing Protestant groups for two reasons. First, an exhaustive examination of all the various Protestant traditions would be overly tedious, unnecessary, and too long. As distant cousins, Baptists share a more common ancestry with Presbyterians than other traditions, but like any extended family,