Books on Baptists

[charliedale]

Pastor Mike,

Miss you a lot. Hope you guys are doing well.

In seminary I purchased and (mostly) read Leon McBeth's Baptist Heritage and Stan Norman's More Than Just a Name. Katrina relieved me of those treasures, and I would like to buy a book on Baptist history and another on Baptist distinctives. What would you recommend? I wouldn't mind buying those same two books, but I wondered if they were the best and most current available. I noticed Dr. Norman has a book called the Baptist Way. It may be a better buy than the old book. Your suggestions?

[Josh Freeman]

Dear Charlie,
I am not Dr. Miller, but I am a student at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and I am studying to achieve a P.h. D. in church history. So I hope I am able to help you here. As far as a history of Baptist go there is no greater book than McBeth's. Its a golden standard, and it may stand in that role for years to come. Its just the best.
The other book does have some debate on it. Dr. Norman's book, The Baptist Way, is a better source than his earlier works. The book's purpose is to show the beliefs that Baptist hold. So its more to the point than some of his other works. Also The Baptist Way is the kind of book I could hand to a lay person, and they would be able to understand what they believe as a member of a Baptist church.
So the better work for not only structure and information, but also functionality is The Baptist Way.

Dr. Miller may have some other sources that he would suggest. These are just some of the ones that we use in the history department.

[charliedale]

Thank you, Josh.