An updated examination of ecclesiology from a Baptist perspective In this useful book, professor and former pastor John Hammett helps church leaders think through foundational questions about the nature of the church. Blending biblical teaching and practical ministry experience, Hammett presents a comprehensive ecclesiology from a historic Baptist perspective, examining crucial contemporary issues such as church discipline, the role of elders, and church ministry in a post-Christian culture. This second edition contains updates throughout, including: · Substantive changes to chapters on the nature of the church, Baptist church polity, and deacons · An expanded chapter on baptism and the Lord’s Supper · A thoroughly revised chapter on church models like multisite churches and missional churches · A brand-new chapter on meaningful church membership

In this volume, representatives of several North American Baptist seminaries and a Baptist university make the exegetical and theological case for a Baptist polity. Right polity, they argue, is congregationalism, elder leadership, diaconal service, regenerate church membership, church discipline, and a Baptist approach to the ordinances.

The Southern Baptist Convention is currently facing issues that challenge its identity, heritage, and future. In The SBC and the 21st Century, key leaders—including Jason Allen, Frank Page, Ronnie Floyd, Thom Rainer, Albert Mohler, Paige Patterson, David Platt, and Danny Akin—address critical issues such as: · Will the SBC grow more unified around shared convictions and mission or will it fragment over secondary concerns and tertiary doctrinal differences? · Will the SBC be able to maintain a distinct Baptist identity while engaging and partnering with the broader evangelical community? · Will the SBC be willing to reimagine its structures, programs, and efforts to effectively reach the world for Christ or will it risk being a past-tense denomination? This volume not only promotes meaningful dialogue, it calls leaders throughout the SBC into action. Extensive thought, research, assessment, and wisdom from some of the SBC’s brightest minds have been poured into this volume with the intent of rendering a helpful contribution to SBC life that will propel forward the collective work of Southern Baptists well into the 21st century.

A contemporary evaluation of the history and present status of Southern Baptist Missions For more than 175 years the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has been sending missionaries around the world to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has also developed strategies and methods that have been adopted by numerous other missions groups. Make Disciples of All Nations tells the story of this groundbreaking organization, including its most recent developments. Besides recounting its historical development, the contributors to this volume critically evaluate the IMB's strategies and methods, as well as examine its controversies, regional developments, and organizational changes. The concluding chapter explores how Southern Baptist missions can best adapt to an era of global Christianity. Students, missionaries, and those involved in supporting them will be informed and encouraged by this account of one of the oldest and largest missions organizations in the world.

This title offers a comprehensive analysis of Baptist theology. Embracing in one common trajectory the major Baptist confessions of faith, the major Baptist theologians, and the principal Baptist theological movements and controversies, this book spans four centuries of Baptist doctrinal history. Acknowledging first the pre-1609 roots (patristic, medieval, and Reformational) of Baptist theology, it examines the Arminian versus Calvinist issues that were first expressed by the General Baptists and the Particular Baptists; that dominated English and American Baptist theology during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from Helwys and Smyth and from Bunyan and Kiffin to Gill, Fuller, Backus, and Boyce; and, that were quickened by the 'awakenings' and the missionary movement. Concurrently there were the Baptist defense of the Baptist distinctives vis-a-vis the pedobaptist world and the unfolding of a strong Baptist confessional tradition. Then during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the liberal versus evangelical issues became dominant with Hovey, Strong, Rauschenbusch, and Henry in the North and Mullins, Conner, Hobbs, and Criswell in the South even as a distinctive Baptist Landmarkism developed, the discipline of biblical theology was practiced and a structured ecumenism was pursued. Missiology both impacted Baptist theology and took it to all the continents, where it became increasingly indigenous. Conscious that Baptists belong to the free churches and to the believers' churches, a new generation of Baptist theologians at the advent of the twenty-first century appears somewhat more Calvinist than Arminian and decidedly more evangelical than liberal.

The field of youth ministry is often driven by fads and trends as leaders attempt to reach students by chasing the ever-changing tides of teenage culture. This short-sighted, though often sincere, approach not only produces superficial and misguided disciples, it leaves youth leaders and parents drained and disappointed by the lack of authentic spiritual transformation despite their heartfelt and painstaking efforts. Student Ministry by the Book addresses these and other common missteps by providing a concise, yet thorough, Biblical philosophy and practical guide for youth ministry. By establishing a spiritual perspective of a student’s identity and exploring the Scriptural precedent for student ministry, the authors refute the culture’s view of teenagers that often sabotages the church’s approach to discipling them. In addition, this book provides youth leaders and parents with an accessible resource full of useful insights to reach the families of teens, build relationships with students, integrate them within the church, and recruit workers as effective partners in ministry. It also offers helpful direction in leading youth in the process of spiritual formation and grounding them in the foundational truths of the faith. Student pastors, youth leaders, and parents of teens will all benefit from this thoroughly biblical and practical approach designed as a handbook for starting, strengthening, and sustaining a youth ministry in the local church.

Capitol Hill Baptist Church associate pastor Michael Lawrence contributes to the IXMarks series as he centers on the practical importance of biblical theology to ministry. He begins with an examination of a pastor's tools of the trade: exegesis and biblical and systematic theology. The book distinguishes between the power of narrative in biblical theology and the power of application in systematic theology, but also emphasizes the importance of their collaboration in ministry. Having laid the foundation for pastoral ministry, Lawrence uses the three tools to build a biblical theology, telling the entire story of the Bible from five different angles. He puts biblical theology to work in four areas: counseling, missions, caring for the poor, and church/state relations. Rich in application and practical insight, this book will equip pastors and church leaders to think, preach, and do ministry through the framework of biblical theology.

Veteran pastor, professor, and church planter Horrell suggests that the customs, patterns, and structures of churches may actually be barriers to what God 's purposes for the church really are.

Dr. JM Carroll's "The Trail of Blood" is a great historical premise concerning the beginnings of the church from "Christ it's founder, till the current day". Written in the early 20th century, Dr. Carroll details the history and plight of TRUE bible believers throughout time. Still as relevant today as it was almost 100 years ago, this timeless classic is a must-have part of any Christian's personal reading collection.

An updated examination of ecclesiology from a Baptist perspective In this useful book, professor and former pastor John Hammett helps church leaders think through foundational questions about the nature of the church. Blending biblical teaching and practical ministry experience, Hammett presents a comprehensive ecclesiology from a historic Baptist perspective, examining crucial contemporary issues such as church discipline, the role of elders, and church ministry in a post-Christian culture. This second edition contains updates throughout, including: · Substantive changes to chapters on the nature of the church, Baptist church polity, and deacons · An expanded chapter on baptism and the Lord’s Supper · A thoroughly revised chapter on church models like multisite churches and missional churches · A brand-new chapter on meaningful church membership