Wounds That Heal: The Importance of Church Discipline within Balthasar Hubmaier's Theology

Synopsis: Is church discipline really necessary? One sixteenth-century Anabaptist reformer certainly thought so. A contemporary of Luther and Zwingli Balthasar Hubmaier believed that church discipline was so important that he included the doctrine in every major area of his theology. Not only did church discipline appear in his doctrine of humanity salvation and the church as a theoretical construct but he also included practical instructions regarding its implementation in the life of the church. In this book Goncharenko examines Hubmaiers teaching on discipline and considers its relevance to the church today. Endorsements: Simon Goncharenkos most welcome study of the place of discipline in Balthasar Hubmaiers understanding of the church is characterized by jargon-free flowing prose. Through a patient probing of the sources and development of Hubmaiers mature thought he shows the coherence--without bypassing occasional inconsistencies--in his subjects thought. Goncharenko is steeped in the secondary as well as primary literature on his subject and gives well-considered reasons for his assessment of the growing and diverse body of scholarly literature on Hubmaiers theology. In addition to his considerable academic achievement the author offers pastors a compellingly articulated model for a believers church. --John D. Rempel Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary In Wounds That Heal Dr. Goncharenko has done a masterful job introducing the reader to one of the most important and biblically minded pastors in the Reformation Dr. Balthasar Hubmaier. In this thoroughly researched work Goncharenko discusses crucial topics for the contemporary reader--salvation discipleship and church discipline--and through the life of the Anabaptist martyr persuasively reminds us that the best theologians given by the Lord to His Church are the ones who adhere to a strict biblicism. While there are many deep theological discussions and insights within this fabulous work the reader will also gain a powerful understanding of the importance of the belief in the sufficiency of Scripture upon the Christian life. --Emir F. Caner Truett-McConnell College Church discipline as an integrative theological motif?! Today many theologians would decry such a notion as hopelessly arcane even a potential threat to theological freedom. Yet the same scholars routinely lament the atomization of humanity the demise of community and the division of the theological disciplines. In Wounds That Heal Simon Goncharenko demonstrates through Balthasar Hubmaier that redemptive church discipline may bridge anthropology with ecclesiology dogma with praxis and sanctification with justification inter alia. This is a text worthy of close and attentive reading. --Malcolm B. Yarnell III Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Author Biography: Simon Goncharenko is the Founding Pastor of 21 Fellowship (SBC) in Midway Texas and a regular contributor to the Prayer Message Segment of Houstons KHCB (105.7FM) Radio Network.