Buku The Anabaptists and Contemporary Baptists – Malcolm B.Yarnell III

 According to the scholarly and pastoral authors of this essay  collection, sixteenth-century Anabaptists have much to teach Baptists  and other Free Church evangelicals.

A study of the lives and  theology of evangelical Anabaptists encourages a reader to dig deeper  into the Bible, count the cost of discipleship to Jesus Christ, and  commit oneself to engaging the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The theological commitment of Anabaptists like Balthasar Hubmaier to the  supremacy of the Word of God encourages us to live by the motto that  “the truth is unkillable.” The example of Leonhard Schiemer, who  understood that following Jesus meant taking up the cross of Jesus  Christ, prepares one for the joyous difficulty of a life of  discipleship. The loving attitude, missionary fervor, and desire for  communal integrity of leaders like Hans Denck and Michael Sattler draws  us into a stronger commitment to share the gospel from an authentically  Christian heart and life.

Finally, such great contemporary  leaders as Paige Patterson and Rick Warren have drawn upon the legacy of  the evangelical Anabaptists to build great churches and seminaries.  Their thoughts and stories are included here to encourage the recovery  of the Anabaptist vision among Baptists and other free churches today.

These  papers also serve as a Festschrift honoring the lifelong work of Paige  Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in  the study of the Radical Reformation. Indeed, he has inspired the  recovery of the Anabaptist vision as a means of restoring New Testament  Christianity.