From Preface: In this Ecumenical Age it is necessary that each Christian Communion consider again its particular doctrine of the Church, and restate it for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ. This Thesis is an attempt to show some historical and theological facets of the traditional Congregational doctrine of the Church. However, it must be stated that a full exposition of Congregational ecclesiology is an impossible task for any thesis. Firstly, inherent within Congregationalism is the fear of dogmatizing about matters of faith and practice. It has expressed itself in Statements and Declarations but always with the qualification that these things are 'commonly believed amongst us' Therefore, Congregationalism, while it has a characteristic ecclesiology, has never formulated a rigid pattern of Churchmanship which has to be adhered to by all the Churches. Secondly, a full study of Congregational ecclesiology would entail the study of the practices of every Congregational Church through the ages. That is an impossible task. Therefore, we have been confined to available material; but material which nevertheless expresses what we would regard as traditional congregationalism. Thirdly, a study of this nature must be content merely to state, however critically, what Congregationalists have believed about the Church at various times in the history of Congregationalism. It is impossible to convey the pulse and feeling of the life of a Congregational Church, for it is very important in seeking to understand any Churchmanship, not only to understand its theological form and structure, but also to experience its ' koinonia ' in its common life and worship.

Project (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-227).

Thesis (Th. D.)--Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht, 1951. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [299]-303) and index.

Thesis (Th. D.)--Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht, 1951. / Includes index. Includes bibliographical references (p. [299]-303).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1938. / "Private edition, distributed by the University of Chicago Libraries, Chicago, Illinois." "Reprinted from Church history, vol. 7, no. 4, December 1938"--Cover. Includes bibliographical references.

The intention of this thesis is an examination of the conflict and interaction between the Presbyterian and Congregational church polities, as seen in the polemic and apologetic material published concerning the "New England way" between 1641 and 1662. No attempt is made to describe the historical influence of one polity on the development of the other, except by the way; the aim is rather to present a systematic view of the arguments actually used by each side in attack and defence. In the works under survey, the attack was largely made by the Presbyterian divines, the defence by the New Englanders; as a result, the emphasis is on the Congregational system under Presbyterian criticism, rather than vice versa. The New England writers, alone among contemporary Independents, spoke from the experience of an established Congregationalism; this, the Presbyterians could not afford to ignore. It is this which makes a study of the controversy between them especially interesting. Scottish and English Presbyterians had not only to prove that the New England way was theoretically wrong, but also that practically it was a failure. This gave added urgency to the debate. These works reveal not only the differences between the two sides, but many of their common presuppositions as well; and a knowledge of each of these things is important for those who have followed in their steps. For the spiritual descendents of these men often use arguments in defending the polities they have inherited, which have little or no relation to the principles used by their forefathers in establishing them. We can only benefit from a greater understanding of some of the forgotten principles which lie behind our systems and their differences. Absolute scriptural literalism, double predestination, covenant theology, millennialism, and the idea of the Roman Catholic Church as "Great Mysterie Babylon," are more or less foreign to the thought of most modern churchmen; and Ramism, repugnance for democracy, the philosophy of Social Contract, and "the duties of the Magistrate in the first table of the Law," are, for almost all, as relics of an age long dead. Yet this is the native soil of New England Congregationalism, and of Westminster Presbyterianism as well. One may hope that an increased understanding of some of the reasons behind their quarrel may be some help to us in making it up.

Background to the Research. In his enthronement sermon as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1942 William Temple famously declared the ecumenical movement to be ‘the great new fact of our era’. For much of the twentieth century it was the major metanarrative of Church renewal. By the end of the century however the enthusiasm had largely dissipated, the organizations which represented it were in decline, and the hoped for organic unity looked further away than ever. Surprisingly little has been written on the attempt to achieve organic unity in England, what it hoped to achieve and why, at least in terms of its expectations, it failed. I propose to come at this major topic by focusing on the creation of the United Reformed Church, which was formed in 1972 by a union of the majority of congregations of the Congregational Church in England and Wales and the Presbyterian Church in England and saw its formation as a catalyst for the ecumenical renewal of the British churches. Methodology. This thesis, which is mainly resourced by documentary evidence and interviews, comes into the category of qualitative research but also uses statistics where they are relevant, for example when dealing with Church decline. Since I am a United Reformed Church minister, and have worked ecumenically, my role here draws upon the perspective of an observing participant. Conclusions. The research revealed that the hopes of the United Reformed Church to be a catalyst for church renewal were illusory and that the effects of its ecumenical priority were partially negative in the Church’s life. With the failure of its ecumenical hope the Church had little idea of its purpose and found great difficulty establishing an identity. It suffered from severe membership loss and the hoped for missionary advantage promised by its ecumenical strategy did not materialize. The thesis will analyse the reasons for failure, while noting that what failed was not ecumenism as such but a particular model of ecumenism.

The study is an exploration of pastoral leadership from the perspectives of members of the congregation within an Australian Chinese congregational church. The congregational form of church government is one of the governing structures within the Protestant churches. This kind of church operates under a democratic voting system in which each member of the congregation has an equal voice regarding church administration. Most Australian Chinese congregational churches consist of different generations of Chinese Christians. Research indicates that Chinese Australians’ length of residence in Australia is closely linked to their identification with Australian culture. As such, the values, beliefs and attitudes of different generations of Chinese Christians might be different as a result of acculturation. These generational differences will in turn affect the decision making processes of church administration and the approaches to pastoral leadership of the senior pastor. In the past, issues of pastoral leadership have mainly been discussed from theological perspectives. Nowadays, studies of pastoral leadership have been more varied. However, there is still relatively little scholarly empirical research concerning pastoral leadership in a congregational church setting, especially from an intergenerational perspective. In this study, four dimensions of pastoral leadership are identified, namely the personal, organisational, religious and cultural dimensions. The epistemology and theoretical perspective governing the research study is constructionism and interpretivism respectively. Case study has been employed as the methodology. The strategies of data collection include questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, direct observation and document analysis. Rich data is analysed by using the framework of Spencer, Ritchie and O’Connor (2003). The findings of the research revealed differing perceptions among different generations of Australian-Chinese Christians about the pastoral leadership of the senior pastor within an Australian Chinese congregational church. Differences in the perceptions about the pastoral leadership of the senior pastor were also found between groups of lay leaders and church members. Results indicated that a variety of leadership approaches were used by church pastors when they were dealing with different generations of Australian-Chinese Christians in the church. The findings identified the personal characteristics of the senior pastor as the most influential factor in the pastor’s leadership effectiveness, with the organisational, religious and cultural factors also perceived to influence the leadership effectiveness of the senior pastor within the research context. The research presents a conceptual framework for the exploration of pastoral leadership which may be useful for further research. This framework draws attention to the four dimensions of pastoral leadership, namely the personal, organisational, religious and cultural dimensions. The research findings suggest that attention given to these dimensions may enhance both the leadership of church pastors and the growth and development of churches in similar contexts.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Mass., 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 318-325).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, 1990. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [259]-266).