B. Officers,

, Most Churches were originally gathered without a minister; if necessary, they could function without one for weeks, months, or even years. This was indeed mentioned

, due to the Church's idiosyncratic use of its terms and their variation over time. Congregational polity distinguished between the offices of 'pastor,' 'teacher,' 'elders,' and 'deacons,' but without attributing pre-eminence to either pastor or teacher. 25 In Bedford, John Gifford had used 'overseer,' 'teacher,' and 'pastor' indiscrimately (CB, 18, 21), and John Burton was referred to as a 'teacher' (CB, 38), although he clearly fulfilled the functions of a 'pastor' as well, 1659.

J. Whiteman and J. Grew, CB, 32) and it was suggested that an 'assistant' should be found with the help of London ministers (CB, 34)

A. Dunan-page and G. Overwhelming, The Pilgrim's Progress and the Extremes of the Baptist Mind, pp.47-100, 2006.

, The Savoy Declaration, The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism

C. Elizabeth, Nordbeck (1893; rpr, vol.404, pp.340-408, 1991.

J. M. Renihan, Edification and Beauty: The Practical Ecclesiology of the English Particular Baptists, pp.88-117, 2008.

. Halcomb, Social History, p.63

. Bartlet, , pp.62-66

C. Goodwin and V. I. Book, , pp.279-90

J. F. Cooper, Tenacious of their Liberties: The Congregationalists in Colonial Massachusetts, 1999.

M. Davies, When Was Bunyan Elected Pastor? Fixing a Date in the Bedford Church Book, BS, vol.18, pp.7-41, 2014.

, Dissenting Hands,' special number of BS, p.20, 2016.

R. L. Greaves, The Organizational Response of Nonconformity to Repression and Indulgence: The Case of Bedfordshire, Church History, vol.44, pp.472-84, 1975.

J. Halcomb, A Social History of Congregational Religious Practice during the Puritan Revolution, 2010.

M. D. Macdonald, London Calvinistic Baptists 1689-1729: Tensions within a Community Under Toleration' (unpublished D, 1982.

E. S. More, Congregationalism and the Social Order: John Goodwin's Gathered Church, 1640-1660, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol.38, pp.210-245, 1987.

G. F. Nuttall, Visible Saints: The Congregational Way, 1975.