Well Ordered, Living Well: A Field Guide to Presbyterian Church Government

by Guy Prentiss Waters

Why does church government matter? In this book, Guy Prentiss Waters offers a brief and accessible introduction to presbyterianism that shows how a well-ordered church fosters Christian lives lived well. In making the case that church government is critical to Christian discipleship, Waters presents an overview of the nature of the church (the body and its member) and its structures of authority (officers, assemblies, and ordination). He concludes by answering common questions people raise about church government. The book is an ideal resource for explaining the relevance of church government to the ordinary Christian’s life and service.
Table of
1. Why Does Church Government Matter?
2. What Makes a Church?
3. How Is the Church Led?
4. But What about…?
5. Where Do We Go from Here?
Further Reading
Appendix 1: Membership Commitments
Appendix 2: Presbyterian Church Polity and the Church Order of Dort

Genres: Theology

112 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2022

About the author

Guy Prentiss Waters (PhD, Duke University) is James M. Baird Jr. Professor of New Testament and academic dean at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He is the author or editor of fifteen books and numerous chapters, articles, and reviews. He is a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

Reviews

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a clearly written, appropriately succinct, and eminently useful introductory manual to biblical ecclesiology and church government (polity) in the Presbyterian and Reformed (and especially PCA) tradition. I WILL use this as the base textbook in the new members’ class at my church (where I am pastor), and as a key textbook for other teaching I do on the subject. I cannot think of a way this material could be better presented at the level and for the audiences intended by the author. I am thoroughly impressed with this book.

[Mitchell Traver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written with the explicit purpose of accessibility, I’m afraid that is what led to the three star review. The book is simple, clear, and crisp. No words are wasted, and I think it would be difficult to finish without a very solid and basic understanding of Presbyterian church government. Moreover, there are takeaways and encouragements here for *all* Christians regarding the gift of the Church and her officers. In saying these things, when I disagreed with Dr. Waters (which I did on a few things), the nature of the book made the disagreement feel more stark. No nuance, distinctly different accentuating points of focus, or just a complete absence of arguments to the contrary. All by the books design! Which is totally okay. All in all, I guess that means, while a happy Presbyterian I am, I don’t fall into *all* the categories articulated here. There’s great diversity within the Church, even within denominations themselves!

FWIW, my disagreements revolve around the articulated mission of the Church in its fullness, the allowance (or not) of Deaconesses, and an accentuation on Biblical authority with very little (if anything at all!) for the place of historical theology/testimony of Tradition. I’ve read enough of the Reformers to know that what was written here was not copy and pasted from the 16th century - there was diversity, amidst great agreement, then as now.

This is a book worth reading! I hope there are others like it for other traditions within the one Great Tradition.

[Colton Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief read. Would be helpful for folks new to presbyterian polity.

[Nick Carrico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waters gives a basic overview of the polity. If you’re looking for the ins and outs of a session or assembly you’ll probably be disappointed. Nonetheless, I found it helpful in understanding the polity in general.

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basic introductory manual to Presbyterian polity. Its strengths are the concision and brevity. This also happens to be the weakness. If you’re not predisposed to Presbyterian polity you probably won’t find this book to be convincing. On the other hand, this book is an easy read that explains the basic of Presbyterian church government. It simply needs more nuance and pastoral balance.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick Read. Brief but helpful introduction to Presbyterianism. Chapters 1-3 focus on the central tenets of a Presbyterian form of Government, and chapter 4 seeks to address questions related to doctrine of the church and comparative polities.

I think what would have put this as a five star review for me is that some of the questions and phrasing would speak better to somone who had been attending a Presbyterian church for a couple months. While someone outside the church would likely understand the basic argument, I don't know if it necessiarly anticipates non-presbyterians questions.

Definitely suitable for a New Members class, whether as a handout to those interested or to help structure a class on Presbyterian polity.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise, clear and compelling gentle argument and explanation of the Presbyterian form of government, how it is based on Scriptural principles, and how it works out in practice. Gracious in tone, and a wonderful little appendix where a Reformed pastor explains the differences between Presbyterian polity and Dortian polity. Great little book!

[mattie mae seals · Rating 5 out of 5]

hey guys be prepared for a new kind of book review to be hitting your feed. i recently finished well ordered living by guy prentiss waters and wow. first of all i picked this up because i started another book on church government and immediately felt like i had enrolled in a surprise seminary class without the syllabus. so this one became my warm up lap. and let me just say it was so much easier to understand and actually enjoy along the way.

this book walks through church government in a clear and pastoral way. and as silly as it sounds i genuinely feel like this should be required reading for anyone who ever steps foot inside a church. we all interact with the structure of the church multiple times a week but most of us have never slowed down to understand the biblical why behind it. it is kind of like standing inside a beautifully designed house your whole life and suddenly finding the blueprints and going ohhhh so that is why the kitchen wall is there. makes sense.

my favorite part is that it does not really give you room to disagree unless you would like to disagree with scripture and church history which is a bold life choice. the biblical case is thoughtfully layered and you can feel the carefulness in every chapter. it gives you confidence and also humility. like ok lord you really do care about order and the flourishing of your people and this is not about bureaucracy but about shepherding.

funny but slightly alarming realizations i had while reading
i am starting to see why elders are a thing and why paul had OPINIONS
accountability and clarity suddenly feel less like institutional furniture and more like spiritual oxygen
am i becoming the person who brings up polity at dinner i might be someone check on me

the main takeaway
understanding how the church is meant to be ordered does not make things dry it actually expands the beauty. it helps you see the intentionality of god in the everyday rhythms of worship leadership care and membership. it feels less like learning corporate structure and more like learning family design.

i walked away from this book grateful thoughtful and honestly more rooted in my love for the church as a whole. and if you are someone who attends church regularly but has never studied how it is meant to function biblically this is such a helpful place to begin.

i would recommend this to literally anyone because we are all shaped by church governance even if we have never looked directly at it.

[Baylor Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having grown up the first 25 years of my life non-denominational, I’m realizing what a wild, wild west the non-denominational landscape is in terms of church form and order. In church planting, I’ve spent countless hours with other leaders in biblical reflection over the first century church’s structure, meticulously building out what it would mean to apply in the 21st century, endlessly tweaking and revising upon learned lessons and retrospect, only to find as I enter a Presbyterian church that others have already done such a work of interpretation and implementation well (not perfect, for perfect is always a fools errand) and that it has been in motion for centuries. It’s honestly refreshing for the scaffolding to be intact and not constantly under construction.

Presbyterianism’s distinctives are not primarily theological (though, of course, those exist) but a matter of church governance informed by the New Testament model of church planting, establishment, and leadership.

This book does a good job concisely explaining this governance structure, how it is biblically based, and other Presbyterian distinctives.

[Mr. Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was a quick read! It went about discussing presbyterian polity in a way that I wasn't quite expecting but I appreciate. States the case for church government, described a couple different versions of it, why he as a presbyterian believes presbyterian polity is faithful to scripture, and goes about it using "the five points of Presbyterianism" (which I won't spoil here). Even goes through a brief discussion of the difference in office views within Reformedland - one stream has elders and deacons, the other has ministers, elders and deacons...and how that plays out in practice today.

Yeah, if you're interested in how Presbyterianism works and a want a general overview for the "why" things operate as they do in those churches, I'd give this one a go. It won't take you long but it'll clear things up for you.

[Parker Bentley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m giving this book 2 stars because I didn’t really find it to be helpful. As an introductory work, I would expect someone with less knowledge on the topic (like myself) to come away with a basic understanding. I felt as though the scriptural texts typically used to base the Presbyterian government framework off of weren’t discussed much. I wish that had been looked at a little more, and that others’ church government views were included as well. One would think you would need to include that (at least at a basic level) when vying for your own view. There is a lot in the short book that’s beneficial - practical application on church membership, pastors/elders, and church discipline - so the book is helpful in some areas. I think if I were able I would give this book 2.5 stars.

[Tim Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief but good overview of Biblical Church Government. Probably better suited for a new members class or introduction rather than as a full case/defense of church government as exampled for us in the Old and New Testament. Definitely graduate from this to "How Jesus Runs the Church" by Waters and/or "I Will Build My Church" by Thomas Witherow. The penultimate treatise of Biblical Church Government is probably "Jus Divinum Regiminis Ecclesiastici: The Divine Right of Church Government" by some of the Westminster Divines, with particular emphasis on their sections on Church Courts and interconnectionalism drawn from scripture.

Approx Reading Time: 2hrs 10min

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief introduction, but maybe too brief.

This short book aptly overviews how Presbyterian and Reformed churches do church. Although this could be a dry topic, Waters avoids this by continually showing how ‘church government’ is good for Christian living.

A significant weakness of the book is often the author makes a claim, says it’s based on scripture but then doesn’t show how (or, at least, I missed where it happened). This may be because Waters has a more technical book on the topic where these things are worked out, but for a non-Presbyterian reader, it left lots of claims unsupported.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written not so much to convince as to explain Presbyterian church government. This book will probably not convince non-Presbyterians of the rightness of the Presbyterian system of government. That is for other, and larger, books. But this does explain clearly and concisely why Presbyterians hold the type of government they do and how it works. Excellent resource for lay people seeking to understand more about how the church is governed.

[Jeremy Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful little booklet explaining the importance and elements of presbyterian church order. Waters shows how committees, boards, or chairs, are not how Jesus runs His church. God is a God of peace and order and His church ought to reflect this in her government.

[Oliver Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct, Accessible Explanation of Presbyterian Church Government

I’ve been talking to many college students lately about the nature and importance of the church and this would be a great resource to share with them.

[Evan Cruse · Rating 3 out of 5]

More general than exclusively Presbyterian arguments. I also felt some arguments were stretched, but overall an easy read on polity.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent little book. I recommend it as a book table resource for churches.

[Taylor Bradbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic introduction to Presbyterianism. Accessible and easy-to-read. Should prove to be a helpful resource to hand out to church members.

4.25/5

[Travis Robnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good introduction to Presbyterianism, especially in the matter of church government.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and helpful presentation of Presbyterian church government. The appendix outlining the differences with (Dutch) Reformed churches was a nice addition.