Baptism: Four Views

For some years Zondervan has produced a helpful series of books called "Counterpoints." These books have addressed two broad categories: theology and church life. The distinction made by these two categories is somewhat artificial but the issues the series addresses are very often important to contemporary Christian life and thought. The standard approach adopted by these Counterpoint volumes is to evaluate several views of an issue or doctrine and to survey how these views impact the church. Different authors contribute from their own perspective and show how the issue is variously understood by serious Christians. Each author is allowed to respond to other contributors in a fair and humble way. Volumes in this series have addressed issues such as law and gospel, sanctification, eternal security, apologetics, hell, creation and evolution, women in ministry, Eastern Orthodoxy, the church growth movement and and even different perspectives on worship. There are presently twenty volumes in the entire series.

The twentieth volume, Understanding Four Views on Baptism, was released today by Zondervan. I had the privilege of editing this book and writing about 35% of the 222 pages in the volume. My part includes the opening essay and the conclusion. In addition, most of the material in the appendices was put together by me as the general editor. The four views presented here are Baptist, Reformed, Lutheran and the Christian Church. Each of these perspectives is significantly different enough from the other to make this an interesting book. The four contributors did an excellent job and present their material in a readable manner. The book is available from our ministry store at www.act3online.com and will also be in local Christian bookstores and major book chains soon. It can be used for private reading and for group study as well.

A special word of thanks is due to all who prayed for me during the course of this project. A companion volume on the Lord’s Supper is schedule to be released in November. In the coming months I also hope to work on several more new book projects. One will address the issue of church unity, ecumenism and my own engagement of these issues over the past ten years or so. Another will address some basic mistakes that Christians have made in trying to impact the culture with the message of Christ. Your prayers are appreciated as I seek to find the time and creative thought to write these works and thereby to serve the church through published books from mainstream Christian publishers.