Publisher Description
Churches have split and denominations have formed over the issue of church government. While many Christians can explain their church's form of rule or defend it because of its "tried and true" traditions, few people understand their church's administrative customs from a biblical perspective.
Who Runs the Church? explores questions such as: What model for governing the church does the Bible provide, and is such a model given for practical or spiritual reasons? Is there room for different methods within Christianity? Or is there a right way of "doing church"? And, finally, how (and by whom) should the church be governed?
Four predominant approaches to church government are presented by respected proponents:
- Episcopalianism - represented by Peter Toon
- Presbyterianism - represented by L. Roy Taylor
- Single-Elder Congregationalism - represented by Paige Patterson
- Plural-Elder Congregationalism - represented by Samuel E. Waldron
As in other Counterpoints books, each view is followed by critiques from the other contributors, and its advocate then responds.
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About the Authors
Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, is a
world leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications. For
more than eighty years, Zondervan has delivered transformational Christian
experiences through its bestselling Bibles, books, curriculum, academic
resources, and digital products. The company’s products are sold in multiple formats,
worldwide in more than sixty countries, and translated into nearly two hundred
languages.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
About Jonathan Petersen
Jonathan
Wilson-Hartgrove
is a celebrated spiritual author and sought-after speaker. A native of North
Carolina, he is a graduate of Eastern University and Duke Divinity School. In 2003
he and his wife founded the Rutba House, a house of hospitality where the
homeless are welcomed into a community that eats, prays, and shares life
together. He is also an associate minister at the historically black St. Johns
Missionary Baptist Church. An evangelical Christian who connects with the broad
spiritual tradition and its monastic witnesses, he is a leader in the New
Monasticism movement. He speaks often about emerging Christianity to churches
and conferences across the denominational spectrum, and he has given lectures
at dozens of universities. He is a complier of the celebrated Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary
Radicals and is the author of several books on Christian spirituality,
including The Awakening of Hope, The Wisdom of Stability, and The New Monasticism.