The Believers' Church

The Believers' Church
Author: Donald F. Durnbaugh
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2003-09-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1592443486

The most comprehensive and authoritative review and analysis of that line of church history which runs from the sixteenth-century Anabaptists...to the present age of...church struggle and lay renewal.... The authoritative volume in the field...imperative reading for scholars and other thinking Christians. Franklin H. Littell A classic. John H. Yoder The best-yet synthetic presentation of the Believers' Church stance as a tradition. . . . The basic document which should be read by Catholics or 'mainstream Protestants' who have hitherto understood the radical reformation heritage through polemic categories alone, or as an episode of only one century. 'Journal of Ecumenical Studies' An admirable and comprehensive treatment of 'sect-type' churchmanship. . . . Indispensable material from which our judgments can be formed and our vision stimulated. 'The Christian Century'

Looking in the Other Direction

Looking in the Other Direction
Author: Teun van der Leer
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2023-09-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666766798

In this study, Teun van der Leer tells the story of the Believers’ Church Tradition, a tradition, mainly rooted in the so-called Radical Reformation, which prefers to be called a movement, or rather a renewal movement. Its name is a program, a vision, and a way of being church. Based on extensive source research, this book describes and analyzes the defining characteristics of this so-called “third type of church” and investigates its ecumenical value. With an extensive description of its nature of faith, the church, hermeneutical discernment, and mission, this book colors a movement within the church landscape that has never been mapped in such detail before. As such, the book provides an in-depth introduction to this ecumenically important but still a bit underexposed movement and makes a substantial contribution to the ecumenical ecclesiological debate about the church and its future.

Looking in the Other Direction

Looking in the Other Direction
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021
Genre:
ISBN:

SUMMARY In this study I tell the story of the Believers Church Tradition (BCT) on the basis of nineteen Believers Church Conferences (BCC) held between 1967 and 2017. Through a lens, created from the first seminal conference at Louisville 1967, all the papers of these conferences are analyzed to find the defining characteristics of this tradition. This lens consists of the nature of faith, the nature of the church, the nature of hermeneutical discernment and het nature of mission. The proceeds of this are used to establish the ecumenical contribution of this tradition to the ecclesiological debate. The resulting pneumatic and kenotic ecclesiological perspective is applied to the concrete case of mutual baptismal recognition. The central question of this study is how the defining characteristics of the BCT challenge and sharpen the understanding of the church in the ecumenical ecclesiological debate. In order to answer this question, I have split the question into three sub-questions, each of which is answered in a section of the book: 1. What is meant by the Believers Church Tradition and how did it emerge in the twentieth century? (Part I) 2. What are the defining characteristics of the Believers Church Tradition based on the outcomes of the nineteen Believers Church Conferences held between 1967 and 2017? (Part II) 3. What contribution has the Believers Church Tradition to offer to the ecumenical ecclesiological conversation? (Part III) It is shown in Part III that the BCT has its own ecumenical style, summarized in ‘Spirit over structure’. The continuity of the Gospel and the church lies in the living and renewing force of the Spirit, working in every generation anew. Spirit over structure is different from Spirit or structure; it is a statement about priority. I conclude that an approach to ecclesiology from pneumatology is a very helpful contribution here. This pneumatological approach leads to and is reinforced by a kenotic ecclesiology.

Come Out from among Them, and Be Ye Separate, Saith the Lord

Come Out from among Them, and Be Ye Separate, Saith the Lord
Author: William H. Brackney
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2020-04-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0227907256

Believers' Churches have their origin in the Radical Reformation of the sixteenth century. Over the past 450 years the movement has included the Brethren, Mennonites, Hutterites, various types of Baptists, and the Restoration Movement. While never a unified denominational structure, the Believers' Churches together have been characterized by a strong personal faith in Christ, a call to discipleship and Christian activism, a high view of the authority of Scripture, and profession of faith in believers' baptism. The Believers' Churches have represented their beliefs in various ecumenical settings, missionary gatherings, and theological conversations. In the late 1950s, representatives of the several Believers' Churches began to meet in a series of conferences to explore their common views on doctrine, history, and ethics. Topics at the conferences have included baptism, Lord's Supper, the nature of the church, and religious voluntarism. In 2016, the 17th Believers' Church Conference was held at Acadia University and sponsored by Acadia Divinity College. The theme was 'The Tendency Toward Separationism Among the Believers' Churches', a key recurring characteristic. This volume includes the papers presented at the conference and examines the theme from an immediate post-Reformation perspective, including Baptists, Black Baptists, Restorationists (including the Churches of Christ), the Hutterites, Pentecostals, the role of women, and significantly, the separationist tendency as it occurs in New Religious Movements. Typologies and analyses are provided by leading historians, theologians, and social science specialists.