Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches

by John S. Hammett (Editor)

Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches features notable contributors on the key issues in many local churches, especially within the Southern Baptist Convention, America's largest Protestant denomination. Some of the contributors include Mark Dever (on church membership); Daniel Akin (on baptism); Emir Caner (on the Lord's Supper); Gregory Wills (on church discipline); and Malcolm B. Yarnell III (on the priesthood of all believers). Pastors and church leaders will find here a timely resource for important theological questions; students training for the ministry will gain a practical guide.

Genres: Ecclesiology, Theology

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2007

Reviews

[Randy Corn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book seeks to address what the authors consider the major challenges to Baptist ecclesiology in the modern evangelical world. It is a team effort, drawing in eleven contributors to focus their attention on church membership, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, church discipline, and the priesthood of believers. The book contends that Baptists have lost a clear understanding of these five aspects of ecclesiology in the headlong pursuit of church growth. Early in the book, one of the contributors writes, “American Christianity had long been a democratic, egalitarian, populist movement and as such had generally accommodated popular culture. In other words, American evangelical Christianity was becoming market driven before there was marketing.” Any pastor who is even mildly aware of the trends in churches will wonder if these writers aren’t on to something.

The authors are mostly Southern Baptist academics with Mark Dever, the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C., being the notable exception. Often books that pull together many writers are uneven in quality. It is a tribute to the editors that the writing is both clear and compelling throughout.

As a student of church history I have always appreciated books that put contemporary issues in their historical framework. That is a strong point of this volume. Many of the authors trace their subjects from their biblical roots through the reformation and up to the modern day. I was particularly interested to see the contribution of the Anabaptists in what is often called the Radical Reformation. My interest in this aspect of the book was really piqued with the mentions of the man affectionately known as the “Prince of Preachers,” Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He is quoted very favorably for his opposition to baptismal regeneration (page 66), but is panned for holding to open Communion (pages 168-171)! The author brings together the comments from several Baptist papers of Spurgeon’s day where the American editors refer to their English cousin as a “semi-Baptist” and one that they could not recognize as a “sound Baptist preacher.” While I was surprised at this attack on the pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, it did illustrate the authors’ point that Baptists of that generation took the closed Communion position very seriously. In this section dealing with the subject of Communion the authors make passing mention of Free Will Baptists. They write, “American Baptists, with the exception of some Free Will Baptists, were ardently firm in their view of a closed Communion” (page 169).

Warren Wiersbe, the noted Christian writer, once advised pastors that they should sometimes read the books of those they disagree with, if only to understand the argument involved. That is what the chapters dealing with Communion and the Priesthood of Believers did for me. I had never read a vigorous defense of the closed Communion position, and I have to admit that such a position might well aid in church discipline. What the authors fail to mention is that the difficult task of telling people they are not qualified to receive the Lord’s Supper would still have to be done. I must admit that the chapter on the Priesthood of Believers left me with some questions. The authors make the point that this doctrine, or as they might say it, the misapplication of this doctrine, has led many Baptists to believe any sort of doctrinal statement, whether by a denomination, a local association, or a local church, is not binding (page 238). What they seem to be suggesting is that since the New Testament mention of the “royal priesthood” is plural, we can only experience this collectively, within the local church.

This book is not easy reading. It is written by Southern Baptists with a Southern Baptist readership in mind, but I believe a Free Will Baptist pastor could benefit from reading it. I know that I did.

[James Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Needed Resource For Pastors & Church Leaders
"Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches" features notable contributors on the key issues in many local churches, especially within the Southern Baptist Convention, America's largest Protestant denomination. Some of the contributors include Mark Dever (on church membership); Daniel Akin (on baptism); Emir Caner (on the Lord's Supper); Gregory Wills (on church discipline); and Malcolm B. Yarnell III (on the priesthood of all believers). Pastors and church leaders will find here a timely resource for important theological questions; students training for the ministry will gain a practical guide.

[Kevin Choate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very in depth view of Baptist ecclesiology with an appeal for correction to traditional, biblical church structure. Authors believe membership, baptism, the Lord’s supper, and church discipline have all been watered down for the sake of cultural convenience. And intriguing, systematic approach that can be appreciated for churches who view the sacrificial, anti-hypocritical nature of church to be the highest level of witness to those who do not know God.

[Matt Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a compilation of essays written by Southern Baptists about what it means to be a Baptist. There are sections on church membership, church government, baptism, communion, and one essay on the priesthood of the believer. It does a good job explaining what most Baptists, especially those from the nineteenth century until today, have believed.

The book is footnoted throughout, but some the historical scholarship is questionable due to the fact that some authors ignore examples from Baptist history that don't support their respective points. Also some of the suggestions made for restoring Baptist churches should be ignored. An example from one author is to have church members sign a membership document every three years saying they want to continue as members and those who don't sign it would be dropped from membership. This is not Scriptural. Nevertheless if one wants to know what what distinguishes Baptists from others, it is a valuable book.