Overview

The landmark World Council of Churches convergence text, The Church: Towards a Common Vision (2012), which has the potential to become this generation's Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1982), invites the churches to envision how their own distinctive visions of the church might have a place in the global church's imagination of the ecumenical future. Seeds of the Church: Towards an Ecumenical Baptist Ecclesiology is a collaborative effort by members of the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Baptist Doctrine and Christian Unity to respond to this invitation. This book contends that the distinctive Baptist ecclesial vision is best embodied in twelve core practices of Baptist churches and their interrelationship: covenanting, discerning, gathering, befriending, proclaiming, equipping, baptizing, discipling, caring, theologizing, scattering, and remembering. Seeds of the Church opens a window on what is possible when Baptists engage with people of other Christian traditions in the exploration of the common heritage of people belonging to the one household of faith. The global Baptist theological voices represented in this volume offer it as a reading of an ecumenical text in a Baptist key that paves the way for ecclesiological renewal--among Baptists and in the whole church to which they belong.

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9781666718386

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Seeds of the Church provides ample evidence that Baptists understand themselves best as they engage in relationship and dialogue with others in the worldwide Christian church. But this is no theoretical exercise. The strength of this book lies in its critical reflection on various actual practices of Baptist ecclesiology and how these can contribute to, and be enriched by, a growing ecumenical consensus around the rich concept of the church as koinonia. I warmly commend it. --Anthony Peck, general secretary, European Baptist Federation This fine collection of essays represents an intriguing Baptist contribution to ecumenical dialogue, namely, beginning with a recent ecumenical convergence text and following its emphases through the lens of traditional Baptist commitments. The beauty of this collection lies largely in its consistently receptive and generous tone and a posture geared toward giving and receiving as opposed to merely comparing and contrasting. Those of us from neighboring free-church traditions have much to learn from these thought provoking and inspiring essays. --Jeff Cary, Lubbock Christian University

"""Seeds of the Church provides ample evidence that Baptists understand themselves best as they engage in relationship and dialogue with others in the worldwide Christian church. But this is no theoretical exercise. The strength of this book lies in its critical reflection on various actual practices of Baptist ecclesiology and how these can contribute to, and be enriched by, a growing ecumenical consensus around the rich concept of the church as koinonia. I warmly commend it."" --Anthony Peck, general secretary, European Baptist Federation ""This fine collection of essays represents an intriguing Baptist contribution to ecumenical dialogue, namely, beginning with a recent ecumenical convergence text and following its emphases through the lens of traditional Baptist commitments. The beauty of this collection lies largely in its consistently receptive and generous tone and a posture geared toward giving and receiving as opposed to merely comparing and contrasting. Those of us from neighboring free-church traditions have much to learn from these thought provoking and inspiring essays."" --Jeff Cary, Lubbock Christian University"

Author Information

Teun van der Leer is Tutor at the Dutch Baptist Seminary in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Henk Bakker is Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, and James Wm. McClendon Chair for Baptistic and Evangelical Theologies. Steven R. Harmon is Professor of Historical Theology at Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, USA. Elizabeth Newman is Adjunct Professor of Theology at Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, USA, and Chair of the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Baptist Doctrine and Christian Unity.

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