Founders Press Theology Collection (10 vols.)

by Ernest C. Reisinger; D. Matthew Allen; Fred A. Malone; Stan Reeves

and

3 more

Publisher:

Founders Press

, 1997–2013

Overview

Connecting modern readers with a rich theological heritage, the Founders Press Theology Collection examines Southern Baptist history, message, and mission. Collecting theological studies and histories, these works from Founders Press promote historic Baptist principles, using the theological framework of the first recognized confession of faith produced by the Southern Baptists, The Abstract of Principles. These studies discuss the doctrines of grace, argue for the biblical authority for credobaptism, offer a modern rendering of the 1689 Baptist Confession, introduce important Baptist figures and movements, compile papers presented over the first 20 years of the Southern Baptist Founders Conference, and more. With contributions from Baptist preachers and teachers including Thomas Nettles, Ernest Reisinger, and Fred Malone, this collection is filled with insights into Southern Baptist history and theology for modern ministry.

In the Logos edition, the Founders Press Theology Collection is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Traces Southern Baptist history and introduces important figures
• Discusses important elements of historic Baptist theology
• Compiles papers presented over the first 20 years of the Southern Baptist Founders Conference
• Includes a modern rendering of the 1689 Baptist Confession

Product Details

• Title: Founders Press Theology Collection
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Volumes: 10
• Pages: 2,506
• Christian Group: Baptist
• Resource Type: Topical; Histories
• Topic: Theology

A Foundation for the Future: The Southern Baptist Message and Mission

• Author: Thomas Nettles
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Pages: 59

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

“Who were the people and what were the teachings that gave Southern Baptists the bones, ligaments, muscles, breath, and blood to endure and prosper in the intensity of the twentieth century?” In A Foundation for the Future, Thomas Nettles—longtime Baptist professor of church history—takes us on a journey back through the annals of Southern Baptist history, to encourage and remind Baptists of the foundation laid by centuries of pioneers before them.

“Looking back to the founding fathers has the potential to provoke spiritual renewal by helping modern believers more clearly understand the Word of God. Such a reformation and revival among the Southern Baptists could, under God, significantly influence the missions, theological education, worship, and evangelism in the entire modern evangelical world . . .” notes Nettle. This concise resource introduces prominent figures from John Albert Broadus to Adoniram Judson to James Boyce, as it provides a historical overview of the core tenets of the message and mission of the Southern Baptists.

Thomas J. Nettles was professor of historical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky from 1997 to 2014. Earning his MDiv and PhD from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he taught church history there, as well as at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he also served as chair of the department of church history. He is also the author of James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman and coauthor of Baptists and the Bible.

A Southern Baptist Looks at the Biblical Doctrine of Election

• Author: Ernest C. Reisinger
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 2000
• Pages: 28

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

This brief text from Ernest Reisinger offers a concise examination of the Southern Baptist understanding of the doctrine of election, presented in clear and accessible language. Reisinger stresses the importance of understanding doctrine, as he draws heavily from the confession of faith produced by the Southern Baptists, Abstract of Principles to help readers gain a more informed understanding of election, and how it relates to theology and Christian living.

Contents:

• The Importance Of Doctrine
• The Abstract of Principles on Election
• Antinomy? (What Is It?)
• God’s Electing Love Expressed in a Hymn
• The Golden Chain of Theology
• Evangelism and Election
• Amazing Grace

Ernest Reisinger (1919–2004) was a Reformed Baptist pastor, a trustee for the Banner of Truth Trust, and a founding board member of Founders Ministries.

A String of Pearls Unstrung

• Author: Fred A. Malone
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 56

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

“The greatest struggle in my theology has not been, oddly enough, the five points of Calvinism and the Reformed faith. I find these clear and well-defined from Genesis to Revelation. Rather, the thorn in my theological flesh has been baptism,” notes author Fred Malone. In this booklet, he presents a convincing case for believer’s baptism that draws from his own personal theological struggles. This work was later expanded into The Baptism of Disciples Alone.

Fred Malone is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Clinton, Louisiana. He earned his MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary and his PhD in New Testament from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Malone is a board member of Founders Ministries, the Midwest Center for Theological Studies, the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies, and serves on the administrative council of the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches in America.

Beyond Five Points

• Authors: Ernest C. Reisinger and D. Matthew Allen
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 2002
• Pages: 270

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Beyond Five Points presents a Baptist articulation of the doctrines of grace. Authors Ernest Reisinger and D. Matthew Allen address theological concerns addressed here go far beyond the traditional five points of Calvinism. The doctrines of grace extend from and give symmetry to the full range of categories of traditional systematic theology. They are interrelated with the supremacy of God, and a concern for the glory of God, in all things. The effectively preserve conservative doctrine because they alone provide the fullest, most consistent manifestation of every aspect of Christian truth.

The authors provide a cogent defense of those doctrines from Scripture, theology, and Baptist history. Along the way, they demonstrate the truth, goodness and beauty of those doctrines and show that the Baptist brand of Calvinism blends hearts hot for holiness, minds zealous for truth, spirits submissive to God’s providence, a vision that sees Christ’s atoning work embracing people of all nations, tongues, and tribes, and lives that find their meaning in being consumed to the glory of God. The authors finally urge Baptists everywhere not to grow slack in the proclamation and distribution of gospel truth.

Biblical exposition, systematic theology, Baptist history, dealing with vital objections, and encouragement for faithfulness and sobriety and are all done well and integrated beautifully into a holistic defense of the Doctrines of Grace. . . . The power of orderly arrangement, deep comprehension, and finely tuned argument provide a vehicle of communication worthy of the exalted purpose for which the authors write.

—Thomas Nettles, professor of historical theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Ernest Reisinger (1919–2004) was a Reformed Baptist pastor, a trustee for the Banner of Truth Trust, and a founding board member of Founders Ministries.

D. Matthew Allen is a lawyer in Tampa, Florida. He is pursuing an MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

By His Grace and For His Glory: A Historical, Theological, and Practical Study of the Doctrines of Grace in Baptist Life

• Author: Thomas Nettles
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 486

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Thomas Nettles presents a study of the doctrines of grace in the Baptist tradition. Tracing Baptist history from the times of the earliest Baptists, Nettles examines the development of these doctrines in a theological and practical sense, as well as historical. His thorough study introduces readers to important figures and movements in the tradition along the way, with portraits of leaders including Benjamin Keach, Adoniram Judson, John A. Broadus, Albert Mohler, and many more.

This is simply the best book there is on the subject at hand. Dr. Nettles is a superb historian and he traces with careful attention to the sources the history of the doctrines of grace within the Baptist heritage. An important resource for reclaiming the past in the service of a future shaped by the great tradition of Bunyan, Keach, Fuller, Carey, Spurgeon, Boyce and Carroll.

—Timothy George, dean, Beeson Divinity School

Tom Nettles’ book By His Grace and For His Glory is a landmark study. Bringing together the disciplines of the school, the concerns of the preacher and the heart of a Christian, Nettles effectively reminds Baptists of our own day what so many before us believed to be the gospel.

—Mark Dever, pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC

Twenty years after its first appearance, Tom Nettles’ book remains an important work for modern Baptists. His major historical thesis—that the doctrines of grace formed a theological consensus among Baptists in the Southern states for the mid-nineteenth century into the first quarter of the twentieth century—has not seriously been engaged, much less refuted, by detractors and others who are less than thrilled by this doctrinal heritage. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to be honest when assessing historical Southern Baptist theology.

—Tom Ascol, pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coral, FL

Thomas J. Nettles was professor of historical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky from 1997 to 2014. Earning his MDiv and PhD from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he taught church history there, as well as at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he also served as chair of the department of church history. He is also the author of James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman and coauthor of Baptists and the Bible.

Confessing the Faith: The 1689 Baptist Confession for the 21st Century

• Editor: Stan Reeves
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 60

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Stan Reeves presents a new rendition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, making it accessible to the average modern reader. With Reeves’ fresh rendition, you can access the riches of the most influential historical Baptist confession without the obstructions sometimes posed by antiquated language.

It is a good cause to make more accessible to our generation the great truths embodied in the 1689 Baptist Confession, and Stan has done good work in bringing them into the English of the 21st Century.

—Sam Waldron, pastor, Heritage Baptist Church, Owensboro, KY

It is my hope and prayer that this edition of the Confession will help many individuals, churches, and church planters. May many read and profit from this and may its contents become the things most surely believed among many more!

—Richard Barcellos, church planting pastor, Palmdale, CA

Stan Reeves serves as an elder at Grace Heritage Church in Auburn, AL, and is a professor at Auburn University. He also serves as the webmaster for Founders Ministries.

From the Protestant Reformation to the Southern Baptist Convention: What Hath Geneva to Do with Nashville?

• Author: Thomas Ascol
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 152

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

From the Protestant Reformation to the SBC uses a historical argument in order to make that theological point. Tom Ascol traces the development of Baptist doctrines, discussing what Baptist forefathers believed and taught about the nature of God’s saving grace. In bringing to light their doctrinal views, exegesis, and exposition, Ascol seeks to reacquaint Baptists with their rich theological heritage which offers lessons for charting a God-glorifying course for the future.

This booklet provides an excellent summary of the doctrinal continuity between the sixteenth century Reformation and the confessional position of Southern Baptists at the time of the Convention’s founding. In this day of heightened interest in Baptist doctrinal identity, there is not a more accessible and accurate presentation of the doctrinal issues involved than this brief, clear, accurate treatment.

—Thomas Nettles, professor of historical theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

It is hard to write a classic, but that is what Tom Ascol did in 1996 when he first published this succinct and accurate summary of Baptist life from the Reformation to the SBC. This new edition is all the more valuable because it makes available classic documents from the Charleston tradition. Highly recommended!

—Timothy George, dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

Getting our history right as Southern Baptists is vital. This small booklet is a very helpful account of our roots, which gave shape, substance and mettle to the people known today as the Southern Baptists.

—Michael Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

‘We are not Calvinists because we are Southern Baptists.’ Sadly, this statement can be heard on the lips of many Southern Baptists in our own day. It reveals, however, a historical naiveté. Contrary to popular belief, our founding Southern Baptist fathers, whose sweat and blood is in the very soil of the SBC, were Calvinists to the core, and unashamedly so. These men loved the doctrines of grace and saw their Baptist heritage firmly rooted in the Reformation. Therefore, I highly recommend Thomas Ascol’s book, From the Protestant Reformation to the Southern Baptist Convention. This updated and expanded edition is once again timely as today we are witnessing a recovery among Southern Baptists of the Reformed theology their Southern Baptists predecessors so cherished and believed in.

—Matthew Barrett, assistant professor of Christian studies, California Baptist University

Tom Ascol is the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida and executive director of Founders Ministries.

Reclaiming the Gospel and Reforming Churches: The Southern Baptist Founders Conference 1982–2002

• Editor: Thomas Ascol
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 674

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Marking a significant milestone in the history of the Southern Baptist Founders Conference, this book compiles papers presented over the first 20 years of the conference. Papers are argued around the categories of doctrine, devotion, missions/evangelism, pastoral/ecclesiological, and historical/biographical. Contributors include John MacArthur, John Piper, Thomas Nettles, Timothy George, and Mark Dever.

Tom Ascol is the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida and executive director of Founders Ministries.

The Baptism of Disciples Alone: A Covenantal Argument for Credobaptism Versus Paedobaptism

• Author: Fred A. Malone
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 2008
• Pages: 319

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Expanded from Fred Malone’s earlier work, A String of Pearls Unstrung, this text offers a covenantal argument for credobaptism versus paedobaptism. In this thorough study on baptism, Malone offers a helpful analysis and summation of the Baptist position that the Bible authorizes only credobaptism—the baptism of disciples alone.

Fred Malone has written one of the most important books on baptism to appear in at least the last two hundred years—and every thoughtful Christian will find The Baptism of Disciples Alone to be an essential guide to thinking through the debate between what Dr. Malone rightly identifies as the ‘paedobaptists’ and the ‘credobaptists.’ The Lord Jesus Christ set baptism at the center of Christian worship and as the defining mark of Christian identity. Dr. Malone is a scholar and pastor who argues with biblical passion and instructs by personal testimony. He presents his case with the skill of an attorney, the conviction of a theologian, and the care of a faithful pastor and he is right! We are all in his debt.

—R. Albert Mohler Jr., president, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Fred Malone presents the best case I have seen for believers’ baptism from a covenantal perspective. This outstanding book deserves to be widely read and studied by everyone involved in the baptism discussion.

—Timothy George, dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

Every Baptist will welcome Dr. Malone’s volume as being a new champion of the cause of truth. It should have immense usefulness for pastors and churches as a tool for teaching covenant theology and as an aid in controversy about the subjects of baptism.

—Walter J. Chantry, editor, The Banner of Truth magazine

Fred Malone is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Clinton, Louisiana. He earned his MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary and his PhD in New Testament from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Malone is a board member of Founders Ministries, the Midwest Center for Theological Studies, the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies, and serves on the administrative council of the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches in America.

Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy

• Editors: Matthew Barrett and Thomas Nettles
• Publisher: Founders Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 402

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

This collection of essays deals with the timeless issues of the ineffable glory of the grace of God and the dependence of sinners on unalloyed mercy. The various authors—including Thomas R. Schreiner, Mark DeVine, and Thomas Ascol—also address a highly contemporary conflict in Southern Baptist life over the character of this very mercy.

The issues in this book are essential to a consistent theism. They are essential to any confession of divine rescue. They are an essential part of the very fabric of the biblical revelation of divine salvation. They are essential to a right understanding of the gospel. They are essential to a worship that would rightly acknowledge God as the Savior of sinners. And they are basic to a realized joy in God’s salvation.

—Fred Zaspel, author, The Theology of B.B. Warfield

The essays here do represent a serious engagement by a team of thoughtful Baptist pastors and theologians to come to grips with a major tension inherent in the Christian gospel itself. As such, it deserves to be read, discussed, and responded to.

—Timothy George, dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

The doctrines of grace, which form the subject matter of this book, have often proven to be the stuff of controversy in the church’s history. What I deeply appreciate about these studies of these precious truths, though, is the Irenicism that informs them. And this is as it should be. To paraphrase the apostle: here we find the speaking of the truth about divine grace in love.

—Michael Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Thomas J. Nettles was professor of historical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky from 1997 to 2014. Earning his MDiv and PhD from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he taught church history there, as well as at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he also served as chair of the department of church history. He is also the author of James Petigru Boyce: A Southern Baptist Statesman and coauthor of Baptists and the Bible.

Matthew Barrett is assistant professor of Christian studies at California Baptist University. He earned his PhD in systematic theology and MDiv in Christian studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.