Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Perspectives on Church Government presents in counterpoint form the basic models of church government which have developed over the course of church history with a view toward determining which is most faithful to Scripture. Each chapter will be written by a prominent person from within each traditionwith specific guidelines dealing with the biblical, historical, and theological issues within each governance tradition. In addition, each writer will have the opportunity to give a brief response to the other traditions.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars

A Helpful Place to Begin Exploring Polity July 6, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Church polity is a fascinating topic and it is no light study to try to understand the differences in ecclesiastic praxis that we encounter even in our own broad theological traditions. This counterpoint introduction to Church polity includes five authors which represent three specific polities: Congregationalism, Presbyterianism, and Episcopalianism. The Congregational authors (Daniel Akin, James Leo Garrett, Jr., and James R. White) each represent subtle differences in Congregationalism (single elder, plurality of elders, and one representative of general Congregationalism who argues mostly for a plurality of elders). Why the editors chose three representatives of Congregationalism is not clear - they could have equally chosen three representatives of either of the other two ecclesiastic traditions. To add to the confusion, Daniel Akin was tasked with making a case for the Single-Elder-Led-Church but concedes that he personally prefers a plurality of elders. Huh?

I suspect most non-Congregationalist readers will find Akin's and White's arguments for Congregationalism tenuous at best; however, many will likely find James Leo Garrett's contribution to this work fairly helpful and perhaps some may even find it convincing.

For those interested in looking for a strong presentation of Episcopalian polity, they will need to look elsewhere. One wonders if the Editors were even familiar with their author's views on the subject prior to soliciting their participation. Case in point: Paul Zahl, the chosen representative of Episcopalianism. Zahl doesn't seem much interested in actually making a case for Episcopal polity, so no argument is presented, no exegesis is offered. What we get instead is his history of the Anglican Church. An interesting read nonetheless, but hardly appropriate for this venue.

That leaves Robert Reymond and his defense of Presbyterianism. Reymond is a gifted author and his confidence and handling of the subject at hand is attractive. Reymond will certainly be appreciated by Presbyterians and, like Garrett, will likely given opponents of Presbyterianism a better understanding of Reymond's tradition and the reasoning purported to support it.

The disadvantage to a format such as this book adopts is that it is not sufficiently interactive. Each author is given the opportunity to comment on each other author's presentation, but that's where it ends. This leads you to want to know how each author would respond to his peer's reviews, which would probably generate a lot more clarification of each author's intention and position.

When I am seeking to purchase books on Amazon, I read the reviews ultimately to determine if I should make the purchase or not. Is this one worth your money? I suppose that depends on how familiar you are with the topic. If you feel you have a good grasp of the traditions represented in this book, you should probably save your money as you are unlikely to gain much from this book. However, if you are not so familiar, then it is certainly is worth the money and in that case it has my recommendation.

4 out of 5 stars

Great book on 5 views of Church Gov August 18, 2005
4 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is a great book in counterpoint. I think that every author had some good points about their position and some good counter points for their rebuttal. Before I read this book I held the purality of Elders position. After reading and finding out James R White held the same position. I still hold that position. One thing that we must remember is just because you might see the abuses of each of the positions in real life. Doesn't make them invaild. If you wanted a great overview this is a good place to start.

4 out of 5 stars

Diversity in Church Polity July 12, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I have found the book interesting just to get other peoples viewpoints. I have attended all these types of churches mentioned and have seen some pro's and con's to each.

I think one of the main structures to all these methods should be - to incorporate freedom of the Spirit. Which one will give the Spirit freedom to exercise in Liberty.

The New Testament is founded through the Holy Spirit by the very words of Jesus. He that was sent from the Father, The Holy Spirit, we should allow freedom to worship in the Spirit. So, how can one incorporate His good pleasure through the selected polity? If by instruction of the letter? No, it is to be by the Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts as the Prophets foretold and the way Jesus foretold. Rev. 19:10.

There can be too much structure in polity, which comes from man not God.

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