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James Leo Garrett Jr.
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Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity Paperback – July 1, 2004

by Chad Owen Brand (Editor), R. Stanton Norman (Editor), Daniel Akin (Collaborator),
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 73 ratings
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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 tradition—with 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.

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  1. Part of series
    Perspectives
  2. Print length
    368 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    B&H Academic
  5. Publication date
    July 1, 2004
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.94 x 8.4 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    080542590X
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0805425901
  9. See all details
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From the brand

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chad Brand is associate professor of Christian Theology at Boyce College of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He resides in Louisville, Kentucky.

Stan Norman occupies the McFarland Chair of Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He resides in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ B&H Academic (July 1, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 080542590X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805425901
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.94 x 8.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 73 ratings

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James Leo Garrett Jr.

James Leo Garrett Jr.

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
73 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly Educational
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2010
Verified Purchase
We have been searching for a new church and several of the churches that we have been looking at are elder led - one of those having a single elder. We are used to a pastor and a board of deacons. I ordered "Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity" to read biblical perspectives from the points of views of others who had different background from mine as I dealt with the possible change I faced.

The book was remarkably refreshing in that the men presented each of their cases for the type of church government that they preferred and, in most cases, were open-minded enough to understand that there is latitude for difference without one side necessarily being right or wrong. The most interesting part of the book in my opinion was that after each man presented his views, the others werer given the opportunity to respectfully challenge those views. It made for a very interesting exchange of ideas - again, with a high level of respect among the different men - and helped me tremendously. I really appreciated the book.
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Barry R.
4.0 out of 5 stars Perspectives is effective at presenting the arguments for and against ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2017
Verified Purchase
Perspectives is effective at presenting the arguments for and against the different church polities that it examines. In general the essays are done in sufficient depth to understand the positions, with effective references, and the responses help to identify particular challenges to the positions that are stated in the essays. As a person not that familiar with church polity I found it helpful
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Randy Redd
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Resource
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2016
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I appreciate the breadth of coverage that the authors (and editors) gave to each of the government styles included in the book. These five views do indeed compass the prevailing styles currently used in church polity. The reader is given adequate description as well as references for each style. By having different authors represent each style, the reader gets to see each style presented in a complete, authoritative manner. This legitimizes the material presented. In the end, the reader has a valid and valuable resource for their library.
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Danny Cook
5.0 out of 5 stars the church polity
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2014
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I find this book to be engaging and very good discussion. But I disagree with the author view point when it comes to church polity and government structure at it relates to God divine order for His church. Having experience church order for Many years we must be lead by the Holy Spirit. The early church of Jews and Gentiles where able to work together as this was the first formation of the first church. There is a system of church order and organizational service that enables the church to be what God has design it to be according to God purpose and plan.
One person found this helpful
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R. Jankowski
3.0 out of 5 stars A Helpful Place to Begin Exploring Polity
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2007
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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.
44 people found this helpful
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styleon
5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent read if you'd like to better understand the differences ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2017
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This is an excellent read if you'd like to better understand the differences and backgrounds between the five prevailing protestant church governments. The essays and critiques are written by 5 very will versed individuals and proved to be very insightful.
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James W. Martin
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2016
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Provides a thought provoking examination in the topic of church leadership styles. Worthy of reading in order for a person to sincerely develop a convictional position on this issue.
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Top reviews from other countries

Winston J. Bygrave
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to the different perspectives that denominations have on Church Government.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a great book that summarises the key perspectives and nuances that key denominations hold concerning church government, e.g., Congregationalism (rule of the membership), Episcopalianism (rule of the bishops), and Presbyterianism (rule of the elders).

Each writer presents his own understanding of church government from, scripture, tradition and experience, and the other writers comments on their strengths and weaknesses.

All the essays were informative, except that the Episcopalian argument failed to give a biblical justification for his from of church government, however, he did managed to demonstrate in a gracious manner, that all systems of church governments, have their roots in scripture, and each has particular benefits for the wider church.

Finally, none of the writers really developed the importance of congregational participation, regardless of one's view on church government, in which believers are encouraged to use their individual gifts to build up the local and wider body of Christ.
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