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The Believers' Church: The History and Character of Radical Protestantism
The most comprehensive and authoritative review and analysis of that line of church history which runs from the sixteenth-century Anabaptists...to the present age of...church struggle and lay renewal.... The authoritative volume in the field...imperative reading for scholars and other thinking Christians. Franklin H. Littell A classic. John H. Yoder The best-yet synthetic presentation of the Believers' Church stance as a tradition. . . . The basic document which should be read by Catholics or 'mainstream Protestants' who have hitherto understood the radical reformation heritage through polemic categories alone, or as an episode of only one century. 'Journal of Ecumenical Studies' An admirable and comprehensive treatment of 'sect-type' churchmanship. . . . Indispensable material from which our judgments can be formed and our vision stimulated. 'The Christian Century'
328 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 9, 2013
In this book, Don Durnbaugh provides a theory that attempts to counter other sociological and historical church typologies. Rejecting the notion of a "free church" he instead identifies key characteristics of what he terms "Believers' Churches." These characteristics include voluntary membership, separate themselves from the world, engge in Christian works, have a mechanism for church discipline, carry out mutual aid, develop liturgical orders, and understand the Bible as central to their activities. Durnbaugh argues that these characteristics are more precise than the notion of a free church. He then identifies different groups, such as the Waldenisans, Brethren, Moravians, Mennonites, etc. in different periods of church life that demonstrated these qualities. Finally, he outlines how these various Believers' Churches have lived out the aforementioned principles.
Certainly Durnbaugh provides some important factors to consider in his typology and has done an admirable job of identifying how these characteristics appeared in the groups under examination. However, the book suffers from being outdated, as it was originally written in the 1960s and although it was updated in the 1980s, it remains largely true to the original publication. As such, it does not trace the ways that church has changed or adapted to the postmodern world. Also, many of the historical narratives provided about the various Believers' Church groups could be updated as the scholarship is dated. Despite these issues, however, this theory remains a viable way to approach church typologies today and is worthy of consideration, particularly by members of the Believers' Churches.
Certainly Durnbaugh provides some important factors to consider in his typology and has done an admirable job of identifying how these characteristics appeared in the groups under examination. However, the book suffers from being outdated, as it was originally written in the 1960s and although it was updated in the 1980s, it remains largely true to the original publication. As such, it does not trace the ways that church has changed or adapted to the postmodern world. Also, many of the historical narratives provided about the various Believers' Church groups could be updated as the scholarship is dated. Despite these issues, however, this theory remains a viable way to approach church typologies today and is worthy of consideration, particularly by members of the Believers' Churches.
July 27, 2025
Donald F. Durnbaugh’s 1968 The Believer’s Church: The History and Character of Radical Protestantism is not so much the history of a time or a movement but of an idea. That idea, flirted with briefly by Luther but ultimately rejected by all the magisterial reformers, is that “the church consists of the voluntary membership of those confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. To them an uncoerced faith is the mark of true religion.”
In his treatment, Durnbaugh highlights two instantiations of this idea in each century that he covers. In the late medieval centuries leading up to the Protestant Reformation, he discusses the Waldenses and the Hussites. The sixteenth century highlights two Anabaptist groups–The Swiss Brethren and the property-sharing Hutterites. The seventeenth century brought English separatist movements like the Baptists and the Quakers, followed by the Church of the Brethren and Methodists in the eighteenth. The movements we now call restorationist–the Disciples of Christ and Plymouth Brethren, for instance–came in the nineteenth century. At the time that Durnbaugh wrote the twentieth century was only about half spent, but he saw new forms of the believers’ church idea during this time–such as the Confessing Church in Germany.
After completing his historical survey, Durnbaugh brings out common threads that mark most of these various believers’ churches in one way or another. The ones he highlights are discipleship, apostolic doctrine, mission/evangelism, separation of church and state/the peace witness, and mutual aid. He ends by asking whether these sectarian movements have an ecumenical streak as well. While he argues that they do, some of the examples he cites, such as an appeal to universal truths, could likewise be claimed by Catholics and Protestants who argue that their unique tradition has something approaching a monopoly on the most essential transcendent spiritual truths. True ecumenism recognizes important truths shared across boundary lines, or at least argues that our convictions are not so strong that they should get in the way of some kind of fellowship despite our differences. But in my reading of the early Anabaptists, for example, I don’t see these attitudes expressed very often.
Durnbaugh’s curation of quotations and stories from major believers’ church movements prevents this volume from being just another example of dry historical analysis. I’ve already incorporated some of these accounts into conversations and interviews I’ve done to illustrate the values of voluntaryist Christianity and the price which the state churches were willing to pay to try to wipe it out. One story that immediately comes to mind is the torture of Jakob Hutter: “one treatment involved immersing him in icy water until his skin cracked open, then pouring alcohol into the wounds and igniting it.” How illustrative this account is of the boundlessness of human ingenuity–and of what we far too often apply it to. Throughout the book, Durnbaugh gives memorable historical sketches of various believers’ churches. For those who are not intimately familiar with all of these movements, this can be an important and powerful book to help them understand the power of sincerity in faith and the price that so many have unfortunately had to pay for it. For that reason, it’s a book that I have and will continue to recommend to fellow believers to give them models of faithfulness that are worth emulating.
Durnbaugh’s work here is readable, thoroughly researched, well written, and inspirational. One wonders what later editions might include–the organic house church movement, the persecuted church in China, the American black church’s incredible successes in the area of civil rights? Moreover, one wonders what could be coming next. Will the church learn from these incredible forefathers in the faith what it means to not only be a voluntary Christian but a sincere and committed one; or will we atrophy like so many Christian movements which sought to create an artificial the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through mere ritual, half- hearted assent, and the accumulation of political power to use as a weapon?
For my part, I would like to do everything I can to point the church to these incredible men and women who give us a model of voluntaryist, allegiant Christianity. I’m thankful for Durnbaugh’s book since it helps us to do just that.
As an aside, I am glad to see this book back in print, but I wish it weren't so expensive--and that W&S would provide a Kindle version!
In his treatment, Durnbaugh highlights two instantiations of this idea in each century that he covers. In the late medieval centuries leading up to the Protestant Reformation, he discusses the Waldenses and the Hussites. The sixteenth century highlights two Anabaptist groups–The Swiss Brethren and the property-sharing Hutterites. The seventeenth century brought English separatist movements like the Baptists and the Quakers, followed by the Church of the Brethren and Methodists in the eighteenth. The movements we now call restorationist–the Disciples of Christ and Plymouth Brethren, for instance–came in the nineteenth century. At the time that Durnbaugh wrote the twentieth century was only about half spent, but he saw new forms of the believers’ church idea during this time–such as the Confessing Church in Germany.
After completing his historical survey, Durnbaugh brings out common threads that mark most of these various believers’ churches in one way or another. The ones he highlights are discipleship, apostolic doctrine, mission/evangelism, separation of church and state/the peace witness, and mutual aid. He ends by asking whether these sectarian movements have an ecumenical streak as well. While he argues that they do, some of the examples he cites, such as an appeal to universal truths, could likewise be claimed by Catholics and Protestants who argue that their unique tradition has something approaching a monopoly on the most essential transcendent spiritual truths. True ecumenism recognizes important truths shared across boundary lines, or at least argues that our convictions are not so strong that they should get in the way of some kind of fellowship despite our differences. But in my reading of the early Anabaptists, for example, I don’t see these attitudes expressed very often.
Durnbaugh’s curation of quotations and stories from major believers’ church movements prevents this volume from being just another example of dry historical analysis. I’ve already incorporated some of these accounts into conversations and interviews I’ve done to illustrate the values of voluntaryist Christianity and the price which the state churches were willing to pay to try to wipe it out. One story that immediately comes to mind is the torture of Jakob Hutter: “one treatment involved immersing him in icy water until his skin cracked open, then pouring alcohol into the wounds and igniting it.” How illustrative this account is of the boundlessness of human ingenuity–and of what we far too often apply it to. Throughout the book, Durnbaugh gives memorable historical sketches of various believers’ churches. For those who are not intimately familiar with all of these movements, this can be an important and powerful book to help them understand the power of sincerity in faith and the price that so many have unfortunately had to pay for it. For that reason, it’s a book that I have and will continue to recommend to fellow believers to give them models of faithfulness that are worth emulating.
Durnbaugh’s work here is readable, thoroughly researched, well written, and inspirational. One wonders what later editions might include–the organic house church movement, the persecuted church in China, the American black church’s incredible successes in the area of civil rights? Moreover, one wonders what could be coming next. Will the church learn from these incredible forefathers in the faith what it means to not only be a voluntary Christian but a sincere and committed one; or will we atrophy like so many Christian movements which sought to create an artificial the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through mere ritual, half- hearted assent, and the accumulation of political power to use as a weapon?
For my part, I would like to do everything I can to point the church to these incredible men and women who give us a model of voluntaryist, allegiant Christianity. I’m thankful for Durnbaugh’s book since it helps us to do just that.
As an aside, I am glad to see this book back in print, but I wish it weren't so expensive--and that W&S would provide a Kindle version!
June 7, 2024
This was a required read, so I’m not sure I ever would have picked it up otherwise. There is rich historical background to the Believers’ Church tradition (Anabaptist, Methodists, Quakers, Baptists, and German Confessing Church) and I learned more than I ever thought I would. Being rooted in an Anabaptist tradition, I appreciated this generous work to place the Anabaptists into the conversations of Lutheranism, Catholicism, and Reformed tradition. We have a lot we take for granted now as normal church culture that came from the Believers’ Church, from small group/Bible studies to voluntary church participation to social programs. Obviously not limited to the BC, but certainly has its experimental roots here.
The book seriously deserves a part 2, as all of the authors thoughts come from the 60s (even in an updated edition in the 80s) and I’m so curious how Durnbaugh would address the issues of Christian nationalism he only hinted to, missions, and our American post-Christian era which he referred to only in Europe.
Could be a helpful resource for anyone doing research involving these groups. I don’t see this as a typical read someone would just sit down to enjoy or learn from, though I did engage deeply with some parts like the Confessing Church section (Bonhoeffer, Barth, and Niemöller). This was listed as a contemporary example of a BC expression, so that shows the dating of the book.
The book seriously deserves a part 2, as all of the authors thoughts come from the 60s (even in an updated edition in the 80s) and I’m so curious how Durnbaugh would address the issues of Christian nationalism he only hinted to, missions, and our American post-Christian era which he referred to only in Europe.
Could be a helpful resource for anyone doing research involving these groups. I don’t see this as a typical read someone would just sit down to enjoy or learn from, though I did engage deeply with some parts like the Confessing Church section (Bonhoeffer, Barth, and Niemöller). This was listed as a contemporary example of a BC expression, so that shows the dating of the book.
January 21, 2014
This is a classic and foundational historical work on the identity of the believer's church. His historical work is careful enough to support the works timeless character. Of course, being a classic, there is much that can and has been expanded upon. Issues in the "baptist" vision have been expanded by theologians such as James McClendon (his Systematic Theology), Paul Fiddes (Tracks and Traces), or Nigel Wright (Free Church, Free State). Nevertheless, I absolutely loved the richness of his research. Far from dry, the history offered great stories of faith and inspiring quotations.
August 9, 2015
A classic. Good overview of some radical Protestantism. More of a narrative than a reference.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews