Amidst Us Our Belovèd Stands: Recovering Sacrament in the Baptist Tradition

Amidst Us Our Belovèd Stands: Recovering Sacrament in the Baptist TraditionWhen it comes to baptism and the Lords Supper, many Baptists reject the language of sacrament. As a people of the book, the logic goes, Baptists must not let tradition supersede the Bible. So Baptists tend to view baptism and Communion as ordinances and symbols, not sacraments. But the history of Baptists and the sacraments is complicated. In Amidst Us Our Belovd Stands, Michael A. G. Haykin argues that earlier Baptists, such as Charles Spurgeon,

When it comes to baptism and the Lord’s Supper, many Baptists reject the language of sacrament. As a people of the book, the logic goes, Baptists must not let tradition supersede the Bible. So Baptists tend to view baptism and Communion as ordinances and symbols, not sacraments. But the history of Baptists and the sacraments is complicated. In Amidst Us Our Belovèd Stands, Michael A. G. Haykin argues that earlier Baptists, such as Charles Spurgeon, stood closer to Reformed sacramental thought than most Baptists today do. More than mere memorials, baptism and Communion have spiritual implications that were celebrated by Baptists of the past. Haykin calls for a renewal of sacramental life in churches today—Baptists can and should be sacramental.

Publisher: Lexham Press
Type: Hardback
ISBN: 9781683595854

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Michael A. G. Haykin is professor of church history and biblical spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies. He is author and coauthor of numerous books, including The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement and Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church

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‘Drawing on some of the most popular hymns and most formative theological writing in Particular Baptist history, Michael Haykin’s outstanding new book offers a much-needed recovery of this doctrinal and devotional tradition.’ Crawford Gribben, professor of early modern British history at Queen’s University Belfast; author of John Owen and English Puritanism: Experiences of Defeat.