Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church (Foundations of Evangelical Theology)

by Gregg R. Allison

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2012

Overview

What is a church? This can be a difficult question to answer and Christians have offered a variety of perspectives. Gregg Allison explores and synthesizes all that Scripture affirms about the new covenant people of God, capturing a full picture of the biblical church. He covers the topics of the church’s identity and characteristics; its growth through purity, unity, and discipline; its offices and leadership structures; its ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper; and its ministries. Here is a rich approach to ecclesiology consisting of sustained doctrinal reflection and wise, practical application.

Key Features

• Answers questions about what a church is, both functionally and ideologically
• Presents practical application of ecclesiological concepts

Contents

• Part One: Foundational Issues
  • Introduction to Ecclesiology
  • The Church of the New Covenant
• Part Two: The Biblical Vision—Characteristcs of the Church
  • Characteristics Regarding the Origin and Orientation of the Church
  • Characteristics Regarding the Gathering and Sending of the Church
• Part Three: The Vision Actualized—The Growth of the Church
  • The Purity and Unity of the Church
  • Church Discipline
• Part Four: The Government of the Church
  • The Offices of the Church
  • Types of Church Government
  • A Model of Church Governance
• Part Five: The Ordinances of the Church
  • Baptism
  • The Lord’s Supper
• Part Six: The Ministries of the Church
  • Ministries of the Church
• Part Seven: Conclusion
  • Sojourners and Strangers

Top Highlights

“Absolute continuity (e.g., reconstructionism/theonomy) maintains that the entirety of the Old Testament legal material—including its many moral laws, civil rules, and ceremonial regulations—continues in force today and thus is binding on Christians.” (Page 39)

“The second view is that Scripture is wholly sufficient with regard to ecclesiology.” (Page 34)

“My personal position on this matter is that Scripture is wholly sufficient with regard to ecclesiology (the second position).” (Page 36)

“The church is pneumadynamic, or created, gathered, gifted, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.^{40” (Page 117)}

“Because of the identity of the new covenant partners—God and Christ-followers—I draw the conclusion that the church began at Pentecost and did not exist prior to that monumental event.” (Page 78)

Praise for the Print Edition

I believe that the doctrine of the church will be the most urgent locus of theological reflection over the next generation. In Sojourners and Strangers, Gregg Allison clears the ground by presenting a thoroughly biblical ecclesiology, at once comprehensive in scope and sensitive to nuance. A welcome addition to an important series.

—Timothy George, founding dean, Beeson Divinity School

The doctrine of the church is one that continues to divide Christians, and especially Protestants, from one another. Dr. Gregg Allison has grasped this thorny nettle and produced a book that presents both the basic principles that unite us and the controversies that continue to produce different ecclesial formations. He maintains his own conservative, Reformed Baptist convictions while being fair to those who hold other views, making his book a valuable contribution to our understanding of this vitally important subject.

—Gerald Bray, Research professor of divinity, history, and doctrine, Beeson Divinity School

I am a full-time pastor, and therefore I must be a full-time theologian. As a pastor, my highest calling is to honor Jesus by shepherding his flock. As a theologian, my highest calling is to laud Jesus publically as the hope of the world. Quite frankly, I need help as I deal with real life difficulties that I could not fictionally create. Dr. Allison’s work in Sojourners and Strangers is the most helpful, theologically driven manual for leading in the church. If you buy it, you’ll wear it out.

—Tyler Jones, lead pastor, Vintage Church, Raleigh, NC

Product Details

• Title: Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church
• Author: Gregg R. Allison
• Series: Foundations of Evangelical Theology
• Publisher: Crossway
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2017
• Pages: 496
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Church
• ISBNs: 9781581346619, 9781433536014, 9781433536021, 9781433536038, 1581346611, 1433536013, 1433536021, 143353603X
• Resource ID: LLS:SJRNRSSTRNCHRCH
• Resource Type: Systematic Theology
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:00:47Z

About Gregg R. Allison

Dr. Allison comes to Southern from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, where he had taught theology and church history for nine years. He has also served as adjunct faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL; Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL; Judson College, Elgin, IL; and Institute of Biblical Studies, Western Europe. Dr. Allison has 18 years of ministry experience as a staff member of Campus Crusade, where he worked in campus ministry as well as a missionary to Italy and Switzerland. He also co-pastored a church in Lugano, Switzerland. He is author of Getting Deep: Understand What You Believe About God and Why and Jesusology: Understand What You Believe About Jesus and Why, and he has five articles in The Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions. He is currently the book review editor for theological, historical, and philosophical studies, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, a position in which he has served for the last seven years. Dr. Allison is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society in which he serves on the editorial and membership committees and regularly presents papers at its national meetings.