浸信會堂會體制──基督主權下的責任

Baptist Local Church Polity: Responsibility under the Lordship of Christ

Jerry E. JUERGENS

Baptist local church polity is the form of governing whereby each local church is governed by members of the congregation alone. These members are the final human authorities in the church on matters of faith and practice. Baptists trace their foundation for this polity to the pattern of church governance described in the New Testament. This New Testament pattern of church governance is held to be normative for Baptist churches today. A survey of Baptist history from the seventeenth century (the period of Baptist beginnings) to the present time shows that Baptists have always practiced and advocated congregational polity. This Baptist tradition of local church congregational governance may be traced in historical documents such as adopted church, associational, and convention confessions of faith. Other historical sources presenting this Baptist distinctiveness are church manuals, individual books and articles in Baptist history that almost always name congregational polity as the Baptist way. Four current challenges to traditional Baptist congregational polity have arisen from different Baptist groups. One outgrowth of the powerful conservative resurgence among Southern Baptists is the movement downplaying the importance of the individual church member in favor of the authority of community. A second criticism of congregational polity arises from a movement known as the Re-envisioning of Baptist faith and life. In their document, “The Baptist Manifesto,” they suggest an alternative way to govern the church for Baptists. Third, Baptist megachurches are too large to provide for all members to participate in church decisions, thus an alternative to traditional congregational polity must be found. Finally, the increased role of Baptist elders in decision making and as authority figures who bypass congregational authority have increasingly been adopted in some churches. This Baptist generation is searching for a congregational polity that is responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ through individual freedom and community cooperation in Baptist church faith and practice.