A Baptist Manual of Polity & Practice 2nd Rev

<a href="/Content/Site189/FileSamples/J186-Sample1.pdf" target="_blank">2012 Foreword by Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches USA</a> <a href="/Content/Site189/FileSamples/J186-Sample2.pdf" target="_blank">2012 Preface by editor David Gregg</a>

Originally published in 1962, A Baptist Manual of Polity and Practice was written to bring together traditional Baptist positions and practices and the modifications adopted over the years. This classic was first revised in 1991 and then again in 2012 for its 50th anniversary. In addition to freshening the book's general style and tone, the current edition reflects:

• Profound shifts in Baptist polity since 1991
• New challenges, especially that of an increasingly fragmentary and secularistic culture
• A looser and more locally focused form of ministry

Although the focus of the book (especially in the latter chapters) is on the American Baptist Churches USA, most of the manual is written with an eye to basic principles shared widely and historically across the Baptist family of associations and denominations. Contents include:

• The New Testament concept of the church
• The local church and its officers
• The meaning of church membership
• The Baptist ministry including Baptism and the Lord's Supper
• The Associational Principle of Baptists
• Autonomy and interdependence
• Ecumenical relationships

And, the appendix offers:

• Significant dates in Baptist history
• Church covenants
• Suggested constitution and bylaws