What good is a church community if it lacks loving fellowship?

In 'Rules for Walking in Fellowship', John Owen supplies struggling congregations with biblical guidelines for making church life in the present a foretaste of heavenly fellowship to come. He discusses both the responsibilities congregations have toward pastors as well as the duties members have toward one another. Together, Owen presents twenty-four rules for fostering gospel fellowship, supporting them with numerous proof texts, brief explanations, and words of motivation to keep them. His simple approach makes this book ideal for personal or small group study. Here, then, is a collection of indispensable biblical rules that will challenge Christians in any given congregation, of whatever denomination—a little gem that is at the same time doctrinal, practical, and ecumenical.

Table of Contents:
PART 1: Rules for walking in fellowship, with reference to the pastor or minister who watches over your souls
Attending to the Ordinances Dispensed by Your Pastor
Following Your Pastor’s Example
Praying for Your Pastor
Esteeming Your Pastor
Paying Your Pastor’s Salary
Standing by Your Pastor in His Trials
Gathering to Worship when Summoned
PART 2: Rules to be observed by those who walk in fellowship, to remind them of their mutual duties toward one another
Loving One Another
Praying for the Church
Taking a Stand for the Church
Preserving Unity
Separating from the World
Engaging in Spiritual Conversation
Bearing with One Another’s Faults
Bearing One Another’s Burdens
Helping the Poor
Being Wary of Those Who Divide the Church
Sharing the Church’s Lot, No Matter What
Associating with the Lowly
Praying for the Afflicted
Keeping Each Other Accountable
Being Holy

Series Description:
Interest in the Puritans continues to grow, but many people find reading these giants of the faith a bit unnerving. This series seeks to overcome that barrier by presenting Puritan books that are convenient in size and unintimidating in length. Each book is carefully edited with modern readers in mind, smoothing out difficult language of a bygone era while retaining the meaning of the original authors. Books for the series are thoughtfully selected to provide some of the best counsel on important subjects that people continue to wrestle with today.

Author:
John Owen (1616–1683) was an English Puritan who served as vice-chancellor of Oxford University and pastor of congregations in Coggeshall and London. His complete works have been reprinted by Banner of Truth Trust.

Endorsement:
“Everything Owen wrote is worth reading, but some of his books are more accessible than others. This little practical treatise is a great way to meet a great Christian mind as it deals with the most basic elements of the Christian’s life in his church. I have loved reading Owen for nearly thirty years now and return to him again and again, never without profit. Enjoy this book. And learn from it.” — Carl R. Trueman, Paul Woolley Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia