Understanding the Congregation's Authority by Jonathan Leeman

Understanding the Congregation's Authority Reviews

• 
  Brian Pate

  Really good! I read this with our pastoral interns in Brazil.
  
  Congregationalism = pastors training members to do their job. As priest-kings, believers have the responsibility and authority to keep God's temple (the church) holy. They have authority over the "what" and the "who" of the gospel -- affirm statements of faith and add/remove names from membership.
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  Josiah Richardson

  This one was all over the place. He argued for Baptist congregationalism while downing presbyterian ecclesiology, but at the same time his critiques of presbyterian ecclesiology were descriptions of Baptist congregationalism. There were certain sections of this book that made me think that he didn't have the first clue about the subject, and I say that as someone who has read many of Leeman's works and never had this thought previously. I would avoid this one for no other reason than it will confuse the reader if they do not have a firm foundation on this subject.
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  Kaitlyn Pindak

  This book outlines the scriptural mandate of the church. Excellent, excellent book that doesn’t mince words and clearly lays out what Christ calls us to. Short and easy read with good information.
• 
  Benjamin

  Bon petit livre pour mieux comprendre comment fonctionne l'autorité donnée à la congrégation en lien avec l'autorité donnée aux anciens.
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  Jeff Short

  I’m a firm believer in congregationalism as the only biblical model, but any attempt to build the case for congregationalism from the Old Testament is going to be problematic. First, the church is not in the Old Testament, but is a mystery revealed by Christ in the New Testament. That is not the same thing as saying the Old Testament has no relevance for the church. Leeman’s approach suffered from a covenant theology that has been developed theologically and not exegetically. He places the church at the end of the line of historical redemptive development as though the church is ultimate—Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Christ, church. He actually made the church out to be another Adam, which confuses the churches’ purpose and mission. There is only the first Adam and the last Adam, which is Christ. There is the first Adam and the second Adam is Christ. Leeman puts the church in a universal, invisible kingdom where the church is another Adam taking dominion of the earth. This is an over-realized eschatology where the church supersedes Israel and serves as a second priesthood. More could be said.
  
  Where Leeman actually addressed congregational authority from the New Testament, he did a good job. There’s definitely good in this book, but it’s a shame it’s in such a mixed bag.
• 
  David Harris

  A short introductory work that summarizes Leeman's longer defense of the Baptist distinctive pastor-led-congregationalist view of church government. This is a great little book to put into someone's hands that wants to understand of major ways Baptist views of church life stand in contrast to Catholic or Protestant alternatives. He upholds the importance of pastoral leadership while maintaining the centrality of member-responsibility, all in a very practical and engaging way that lends itself to application. This is part theology, part biblical studies, part church history, part Baptist distinctives, and part Christian living all condensed into a short but helpful 80 page paperback.
• 
  Todd Bryant

  I could probably be convinced to give this a 5-star rating. This is an approach to congregational authority that is often overlooked and regularly neglected. I think every church member (including the eldership) should read this book, as it lays out a members responsibility to the Lord and His church with clarity.
  
  I certainly would like to sit down over coffee with Pastor Leeman and discuss a few statements, but overall this is a great read.
  
  
• 
  David

  This book is a very helpful and simple understanding on how congregationalism works. Leeman shows the benefits and discipleship that occurs because of congregationalism. He also lays out a great Biblical argument for it from Matthew 16 and 18. It really helped me get a full and better grasp of something that I knew a little about. It also helped me understand the part the elder plays in congregationalism more clearly. Great short read.
• 
  Amber Hammond

  Such a helpful book on understanding exactly what the Bible says about congregation authority within a church. If you are a member of a local church but aren’t sure what your responsibilities are as a church member, this book lays it out so clearly for you. If you are aren’t familiar on what it means for a church to be elder-led Congregationalists this book will show you why it’s Jesus’ discipleship program that he shows us very clearly in the Bible.
• 
  Marc Sims

  This is such a great little explanation of elder-led congregationalism. I used this little booklet for the elder candidates I am training at my church. It takes arguments Leeman makes in his “Don’t Fire Your Church Members”, and condenses them down into a tight little package. My only hesitation is that because I am an already convinced Congregationalist, I might have a blind eye to any ways the arguments here may not be convincing to the skeptical.
• 
  Jonathan Pait

  Quick and easy synopsis that would be a good read for members of a congregational church. More of a supporting document than an argument… though Jonathan is quick to remind the reader that he wrote a book for that purpose as well. 😉
• 
  Jarod Grubbs

  Fantastic little book on elder-led congregationalism. Very helpful for church members. Also, I honestly think every guy who hopes to be a pastor should read this so he understands church polity, at least on a basic level.
• 
  Michael Pagan

  Very good. I’m not convinced, but very good.
• 
  Craig Miller

  Quick guide
  
  This great shirt book to read on elderled-congregratiolism. It just gave you a basic understanding and you to see the importance of church membership.
• 
  Jackie Eason

  I’m pretty certain this book was written for someone like me- I don’t have a theology degree, and I’m not well-versed in explaining a biblical foundation for church polity. BUT I do have a basic understanding of the terminology, and I do have a good foundation for the role of an elder and the role of a church member.
  
  That being said, I found this small book very confusing. Terms like “priest-king” and the congregation holding the keys of the kingdom? I’ve just never heard these things. That’s fine, because now I should...except that I don’t. My biggest criticism is that the structure could be the problem. He kept saying “we’ll talk more about this is chapter __.” When a book is small that is completely unnecessary- just talk to me. Reading a book means that I know there is more you want to say. It also felt like it was a big advertisement for his other book. If you really wanted me to read that book, why write this one?
  
  The last chapter and the conclusion were the most helpful sections by far. They were organized better, and the use of Scripture was more clear.
  
  I probably won’t read more of this series.
• 
  Alex Shepard

  I would have given this book five stars, except for the fact that one of the scripture references is a typo or misprint. Leeman references 1 Tim 1:20, which does not exist. Maybe I’m too picky here, but the rest of the book is quite excellent.
  
  I had a very soft understanding of church governance, so I’m grateful for this book for biblically explaining what faithful authority structure in the church looks like. Leeman describes this as elder-led congregationalism, wherein the elders of the church teach the congregation how to do their job. Their job being guarding the who (church membership) and what of the gospel.
  
  I appreciate the teaching that as a member of a church, I have a job to do of faithfully stirring up those that I have covenanted with to love and good works. I would recommend this to anyone wanting an introduction to the congregation’s authority in the governance of the local church.
  
  “…the church maintains final say on decisions concerning what they believe and who they are…the elders must lead the congregation through those very decisions.”
• 
  Jenny Schroeder

  Growing up in an elder-led congregationalist church, I haven't given much thought to the biblical reasons behind this form of church government and why we do it this way. This book gave me a deeper understanding of some of those reasons and most of them were directly from Scripture. Chapter 5 was really helpful in understanding the relationship between the elders and the congregation members. Ephesians 4:11-12 was one of the highlight verses that hit this home for me: "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Elders have the the authority of counsel and the congregation has the authority of command. This distinction was very helpful. Short and easy to read! Definitely recommend if you are interested in church government forms!
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  Taylor Diehl

  I really love the concept that Leeman is presenting here, and having just joined an elder-led congregational church, I completely agree. However, I found his evidence to be insubstantial. When someone takes a confusing passage of scripture and claims to know completely what it means, there needs to be plenty of convincing evidence. Leeman did not convince me. There were many points where he seemed to be exclaiming something in confidence which appeared to me to be more of his personal understanding. Perhaps this is because I did not grow up in Baptist culture. That being said, his encouragement for church members to invest more deeply in each other is greatly needed and excited me.
• 
  Steve Johnson

  I bought and read this book thinking it was the closest thing to a brief companion to the longer ‘Church Membership’ by the same author (Jonathan Leeman). It may have been the closest match in B&H’s Church Basics series, but the focus is less on membership per se and more on church polity. If you understand that and want to read a good primer on church polity, this is an excellent choice. Leeman advocates for elder-led Congregationalism and then builds a Biblical case for it while contrasting it to the weaknesses of other forms of church polity.
  
• 
  Joshua Reichard

  This book is interesting. It’s short so by no means is it meant to be a comprehensive guide on church polity. So with that said Leeman does an okay job at explaining his view of church government. My big problem with Leeman though is he is always arguing his view and not really finding biblical truth to his arguments. Yes he quotes Matt. 16 and 18 all the time. But I wish he would focus on more texts and help us see his view more clearly in the Bible. He is riding all his truth on Matt. 16,18. That’s not a bad thing but it’s also not the most helpful.
• 
  Ryan Hawkins

  Overall, quite convincing. And being only 67 pages long, he does a really good job covering a lot of ground. For these reasons, I easily give it five stars.
  
  That being said, I don’t know if I’m fully convinced of a handful of his points. I have to dig in deeper than a mere booklet to see.
  
  But I definitely recommend this booklet. As with Dever’s *Understanding Church Leadership* in this series, this was excellent for what it was.
• 
  Dalen

  A very short primer on what elder-led congregationalism means for both the elders and the congregation. Good for layout out what the responsibilities of the members of the church are and what the authority of the elders is. Not a defense of congregationalism vs. other forms of church polity, which is important for setting expectations. Would recommend to any member of a congregational church.
• 
  Philip Tadros

  Great little book. Answers the question: "Show me from the how congregationalism is biblical." This little book answers that question and more...
• 
  Collin Coffee

  A book every churchgoer should read.
• 
  Nicholas

  So good. A short, punchy must-read for anyone curious on the structure of church as it pertains to membership, leadership, and in-betweens
• 
  Caleb Levi

  More reader friendly (and less abstract) than his larger book on this topic.