(Part 1)

JBTM Book Reviews
127
Church. Jonathan Leeman, who earned a PhD from the University of Wales, serves as an elder
at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and his publications include Political Church. Contributors to
the various chapters serve as either professors at Southern Baptist seminaries or as pastors
of local Baptist congregations.
Dever and Leeman warn that our present age displays a strong suspicion toward authority.
They lament this fact because they contend that exercising authority is not intrinsically
immoral; indeed, they argue that Scripture outlines prescriptions for the proper use of
authority within the local church. These prescriptions, they insist, constitute a divinely-given
polity for the church.
Dever and Leeman offer this volume in the hope that Baptist churches might regain an
interest in polity and thereby become healthier. All contributors write from their Baptist
convictions, and they address matters related to congregationalism, the ordinances, church
membership and discipline, the role of elders and deacons, and the manner in which churches
should cooperate with other congregations.
The book begins by examining the foundational authority for a Baptist church, the local
congregation. Though a church body relies on its elders to provide direction, the “last and
final court of appeal in matters related to the local church is the congregation itself” (49).
Michael A. G. Haykin provides a historical survey of congregationalism, noting that the
model’s many proponents—the French Protestant Jean Morély, the early English Separatists,
the Particular Baptists—all shared the conviction that congregationalism “best reflected the
scriptural teaching” (27). Stephen and Kirk Wellum then explore that scriptural teaching,
arguing that only Spirit-endowed members of the new covenant should comprise the local
church body.
The ordinances assist the local church in commemorating and presenting the gospel.
Both Thomas Schreiner’s survey of the scriptural doctrine of baptism and Shawn Wright’s
historical analysis argue that the practice of believer’s baptism best displays the gospel
because of its ability to preserve regenerate church membership. Also, the Lord’s Supper
portrays the gospel by commemorating Christ’s work on the cross and by pointing to his
future coming.
The topics of church membership and discipline receive attention because, as contributor
John S. Hammett explains, Scripture’s “one another” commands reveal that the gospel call
to community requires church members to fulfill certain spiritual and practical obligations
to one another in the local church body. One such obligation is the responsibility to enact
loving church discipline. Thomas White provides a helpful chapter that surveys the New
Testament teaching on church discipline and then offers practical suggestions for church
leaders regarding this neglected practice.