(Part 1)

JBTM Book Reviews
129
the convictions presented here, their churches will display the gospel in a rich manner that
is contrary to the anti-authoritarian trend in contemporary culture. Seminary students and
scholars interested in ecclesiology will also find it helpful. The book will serve in many ways
to introduce readers to the more detailed works on ecclesiology authored by many of its
contributors.
- David Mark Rathel, St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews, Scotland
The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement. By Anthony L. Chute, Nathan A.
Finn, and Michael A. G. Haykin. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2015. 356 pages. Hardcover,
$39.99.
The Baptist Story provides the reader with an expansive survey of the more than four
hundred years of Baptist history. Told chronologically and in three major sections, each author
writes in the area of his expertise. Haykin writes the section concerning the seventeenth and
eighteenth-century Baptists, Chute the section on nineteenth-century Baptists, and Finn on
the twentieth century and beyond. The book concludes with a chapter on Baptist beliefs.
In a mere 356 pages, the authors manage to tell the entire Baptist story. This is no easy feat.
Told in almost a story manner, the authors depict the rise of the Baptists from John Smyth
in seventeenth-century England to John Piper in twenty-first century America. The text
highlights important individuals, theological issues, confessions of faith, the development
of associations and conventions, and the inevitable schisms that haunt the denomination.
Of particular strength are the sections concerning the first British Baptists, Baptists and
religious liberty, Black Baptists, Baptists and the slavery issue, Baptists roles in World War II,
and the 1979 Conservative Resurgence.
While dedicating the majority of the text to Baptists in England and the United States,
the authors do a sufficient job of telling the story of their brethren in other parts of the
world. Each of section is well-researched, well-written, and fairly represented the person
or event. In particular, the balanced depiction of the 1979 Conservation Resurgence merits
praise. It is rare to read a book that describes such a volatile event without praising one side
and demonizing the other. To add color to the text, the authors provide boxed sections with
primary source material germane to the topic. The last section makes this book different from
any other Baptist history book. The authors do a masterful job of depicting the commonalities
of what distinguishes Baptists from other Christian denominations. It would be difficult to
argue with any of their findings, and this section alone is worth the price of the book.
Along with these praiseworthy aspects, however, some puzzling elements detract from
the book. The authors provide a bibliography at the end of each chapter, but there are no