About Us

Some Context

This page will provide some context and a brief introduction to the organization of this website. If you have any questions, feel free to use the comments section (when available) or the contact page to reach out.

This site is a personal project. But, since I am already doing the work, I thought I would share it with the world. I pray others will find the resources and occasional reflections helpful.

I have been intentionally and seriously studying the topic of ecclesiology since 2017. After a couple of significant encounters, our church decided to adopt a polity that was different from the one I grew up in. Specifically, we have been working to reorganize our church according to an episcopal framework of church government.

How did this happen? It begins with a simple thought. What has God said and done in the Church through the ages that I was not aware of?

What this means is that as I began to look at the full history of the Church, a different picture began to emerge. One that was both interesting and confusing at times from the one I thought I knew. The journey has been one I am thankful for.

What does “episcopi ecclesiarum protestantium” even mean?

The idea for this blog and the title of it was equal parts being “tongue-in-cheek” and also drawing a connection to the long history of ecclesiological study.

I decided to try and find out if there was an interesting or provocative translation of variations of the phrase below in latin. I don’t know latin, but I thought it would be an enjoyable exercise.

I made adjustments to the underlying English phrase until I found a latin translation that captured the general direction of my thoughts. And for reasons I will discuss throughout this site, I want to explore what it means for a low-church Baptist to consider and adopt a different ecclesiology altogether after 20 years of ministry and over 40 years of life in the Free Church.

So what does the title of this blog mean? It means:

The Bishops of the Protestant Churches

The reason for choosing this title and theme is two-fold.

1. I grew up in what can be described as the free- or low-church tradition. Specifically the Baptist tradition of the Church.
2. Over the last few of years, after much study, I have become convinced that the best and most biblical option for church government is that which is often described as episcopacy.

With these two realities in mind, I wanted to find a way of putting all the information I have discovered and some of my meandering thoughts in one place.

This blog will not be for everyone. But, if it helps others as they investigate the topic of ecclesiology, then that will be a welcomed bonus.

We do not want a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world.

G. K. Chesterton

The purpose of this website

Another word typically used to describe the study of church governance is “polity.” This word is derived from the idea of people living in communities, regardless of size. The polity of the church is how a group of people decide to govern themselves.

This organizational reality and necessity cannot be escaped. It is a sociological imperative of sorts. We can tolerate some disorder in our lives, but growth and security will always be threatened when there is no direction for moving forward.

While the study of ecclesiology is not something many people consider to be all that interesting, we believe it is vital to the health and stability of the whole Church and each local congregation.

The general purpose of this website will be to catalog and archive articles and books on the various topics related to ecclesiology. Most of these have been found through internet searches. Links will be provided whenever possible.

For those resources still in print or not yet out of copyright, they will be referenced in the standard way. A bibliography will be created (or at least attempted) for those interested in further research themselves.

Each of the documents reviewed and presented will be organized by ecclesiological tradition (as best as can be determined) and the general era of publication. Because the study of ecclesiology is a historical one, it made sense to us to provide some of that context in the bibliographical archive.