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 PrintableVersion Biblical foundations for Baptist churchesA contemporary ecclesiologyThe church’s glorious destinyBIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR BAPTIST CHURCHES Written from an American Baptist standpoint, this book is comprehensive and challenging and recommended to all Christians. Five sections of the volume are: What is the Church? Who is the Church? How is the Church governed? What does the Church do? Where is the Church going? An annotated bibliography follows each main part. The bibliographies reveal that by comparison with other subjects the doctrine of the church is neglected, and very much so from a Baptist standpoint. In Part one, What is the Church? 114 occurrences of the Greek word ekklesia are examined. This is the only section of the book that is technical. An exposition follows on the images of the Church as the people of God, the body of Christ, and the Church as a building. The patristic formulation, ‘We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church’, is set within the context of church history and evaluated (p.61ff). The author observes, ‘These words (one, holy, catholic, apostolic) are ambiguous. That is why both Protestants and Catholics have been able to affirm them: they fill these terms with different meanings’ (p.62). The second major section of the book begins with the thought-provoking ‘Who is the Church?’ Here the biblical basis for holding to a regenerate church membership is thoroughly examined. Of course, this involves the assessment of what we mean by a credible profession of faith. This matter is anticipated by the earlier section on where the biblical usage of ekklesia (called out ones) points to the nature of church membership. The author grapples with the challenge of believers’ children. Do they automatically inherit the right of church membership from their parents? To this the author responds, ‘Those who advocate regenerate church membership acknowledge that the children of believing parents have a great blessing and many advantages, but would note that the children of believing parents must still trust Christ personally to be saved, and that until they are saved, they are not proper subjects of baptism, for baptism in the New Testament is baptism of believers only’ (p.85). Prof. Hammett states that the concept of the believers’ church has grown increasingly prevalent. It prevails among Pentecostals who now number 500 million, ten times more than Baptists. But why is it that the practice of a mixed church, believers and unbelievers, prevailed for so many centuries? When did change begin? How did the doctrine of the believers’ church develop? These questions are answered clearly (p.87ff). Historical perspectiveFrom the historical perspective the author turns to his own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. It is claimed that, with 16 million believers, this is the largest evangelical denomination in the world. Prof. Hammett discusses the harmful practice of baptising children before they are mature. He calls for reformation and refers to the example of Romanian Baptists: ‘No one would think of asking for baptism prior to the age of 14’ (p.112). This careful attitude is true of many Baptist groups in Africa and Asia. Reference is also made to Brazil where classes in preparation for baptism can last from six to 13 weeks. Hammett maintains that, ‘Regenerate church membership began to disappear when Baptist churches in North America began to baptise and bring in members who gave no visible evidence of regeneration’ (p.113). With reference to the disappearance of church discipline, the author cites Greg Wills: ‘No one publicly advocated the demise of discipline — it simply faded away, as if Baptists had grown weary of holding one another accountable’ (p.113). Greg Wills is quoted again: ‘From 1790 to 1860, when Baptist churches maintained high rates of discipline, they also maintained high rates of growth’. Prof. Hammett turns to the subject of recovery and reformation. He suggests that the churches can be purged of their unregenerate (mostly absentee) members by the use of church covenants; a method used in earlier times. Three examples, one from 1853, and two contemporary church covenants are printed out in full. The use of an annual covenant can purify a church membership of its non-participant disinterested members. Part three addresses the subject of Church government. The author sets out the different forms of Church government: Episcopalianism, Presbyterianism and Congregationalism. Helpful diagrams illustrate how these different forms work. Hammett is zealous for congregational church government. This reviewer found his diagrams for Episcopacy and Presbyterianism much more compelling than the one for Congregationalism because it is hard to comprehend how a church can be governed by immature members and in the case of the Southern Baptists by a mixture of converted and unconverted members. In the Southern Baptist Convention pastors are fired with such frequency that the average tenure for a Southern Baptist pastor is 18 months! Prof. Hammett provides a lucid exposition of the doctrine of elders and deacons. His exposition of eldership is constraining. It is disconcerting therefore to read that Baptists should resist elder rule (p.157). This contradiction is hard to follow. Part four of the book bears the title, ‘What does the church do?’ Following Acts 2.42-47, a variety of ministries are described, namely, teaching, fellowship, worship, service and evangelism. The meaning and practice of baptism and the Lord’s supper is explained in detail. Acts 2.42-47 is foundational to his exposition. That passage includes a specific reference to prayer. Overall in the whole of this book there are only two passing references to prayer whereas it can be argued that in the Bible as a whole and in Acts in particular corporate prayer is centre stage, not a sideline. See, for instance, Acts 1.14, 4.22 and 12.12. The future of the churchPart five addresses the theme of the future of the church. Where is the church going? The author provides an excellent survey of the changing landscapes and major new directions in the evangelical spectrum. He deals with the seeker church movement. He notes of Willow Creek that, ‘difficult or unpopular elements of the Christian message get shaved off by the marketing method’. And, ‘7% of the messages stress God’s holiness and 70% his love’. Such distortion, he maintain,s applies to Rick Warren’s books on The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life (p.309). Prof. Hammett addresses the phenomena of mega-churches and discusses the problems that beset large assemblies. He considers the subject of the emerging church movement and notes that while this movement has generated a lot of excitement it consists of only a handful of congregations. With regard to the pressures of postmodernism, Hammett helpfully points out that for many churches postmodernism is not yet a pressing concern — the shift has not happened everywhere (p.321). The author takes into his remit the amazing change that has taken place with regard to global evangelical Christianity so that now we are constrained to think multi-racially, multi-nationally and multi-culturally. The work concludes with a call to be faithful. Prof. Hammett deplores the widespread assumption that the only criterion of success in pastoral ministry is numerical growth. He calls for us to focus on the glorious destiny of the church. Erroll Hulse,
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