This work in practical theology begins with an exploration of the
psychosocial issues at play in Australian Baptist churches as
communities. Many of those who attend such churches, and those like
them in Britain and North America, often find a warm sense of
welcome and belonging. What follows builds on this positive
subjective experience through the lens of Christian community
framed by the rich scriptural narrative of covenantal priesthood.
Such corporate priesthood, as demonstrated by our early Baptist
forebears, comes to joint expression in worship and sharing God's
blessing with his world, and affirms the mutual priestly service of
covenanted church community. Endorsements: "Talk of 'community' can
be too easy. It appeals as a convenient space holder in
ecclesiological debate, with sometimes facile results. Anne Klose
has produced a welcome and overdue theology of community which
avoids such traps. Speaking from within (and, critically, to) the
Baptist tradition she considers the issues from many angles:
pycho-social, biblical, historical and systematic. The result is a
practical theology which both genuinely advances Baptist debate and
takes the questions poignantly into wider dialogue. All current
ecclesiological conversation will benefit from taking this study
seriously." - Martin Sutherland, Dean/CEO, Australian College of
Theology "Anne Klose's book is an important Australian contribution
to the global conversation between Baptist theologians around
shared understandings and practices of congregation and community.
Far from being a merely academic treatise, Klose outlines a
theologically rich account of worship, congregational
relationships, and the sharing of God's blessings with the wider
community. For Baptist readers who might find these emphases
unsurprisingly familiar, Klose disconcertingly describes these
practices as 'covenantal priesthood'. For Baptists unfamiliar with
such language, Klose's book is a necessary corrective to the overly
individualistic and reductionist congregational practices that
typify too many contemporary Baptist churches." - Rev Dr Darrell
Jackson is the Associate Professor of Missiology, Morling College,
Sydney. "Baptist historian W. T. Whitley once suggested that "the
distinctive feature about Baptists is their doctrine of the
Church." Yet this uniqueness is not uniform. It is evident in its
diverse manifestations. Anne Klose has written an important book
that puts the ecclesiology of Australian Baptists into wider
conversations. She argues that one of the contributions that
Baptist have to make is their commitment to a church of priests to
each other, which resists the degrading influences of modern
individualism. It is a word well worth pondering in this age of
moral strangers." - Curtis W. Freeman, Research Professor of
Theology and Director of the Baptist House of Studies at Duke
University Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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