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12 reviews for:
Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Churc (REV and Expanded)
Alexander Strauch
4.15 AVERAGE
12 reviews for:
Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Churc (REV and Expanded)
Alexander Strauch
4.15 AVERAGE
I still have plenty of books to read regarding eldership so I can't quite say this is the best book on the subject. That said, I found this book to be very eye-opening regarding the surprising clarity with which the Scriptures speak about the men God intends to shepherd his church and how those elders are to lead. This book helped bring me to conviction on some ecclesiological issues I had been on the fence about, and as such this book may prove to be life changing.
I had to read this book as a pre-eldership requirement. It was a thorough reading of every scripture verse(s) on elders (overseers, bishops, pastors). He clearly explains what the Bible says about qualifications and expectations of elders. This is not a practical book. It is not a book about how to be a better leader. This book is strictly exegesis on the scriptures related to Eldership. The author goes through the greek and hebrew, cultural context, and historical understanding. There is times where sentence structure and tense of verbs are crucial to understanding the passage.
The author also address issues of today's cultural practices of eldership and why how they go against scripture. He does a great job of thoroughly explaining disagreements and expounding on scripture. As an elder-candidate, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My college experience was in education not in pastoral ministries. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know about Biblical Eldership because the book lives up to the title.
The author also address issues of today's cultural practices of eldership and why how they go against scripture. He does a great job of thoroughly explaining disagreements and expounding on scripture. As an elder-candidate, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My college experience was in education not in pastoral ministries. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know about Biblical Eldership because the book lives up to the title.
The first part of this book is a must read for everyone called to enter the high calling of being a pastor/elder. The second part of the book, where Strauch expounds on the so-called pastoral epistles, is less technical than I would have liked. His theology is pretty standard for more conservative evangelical audiences. Not bad, but not great.
Been working on this one for a while and finally finished the other night. This was a quality read and I'm most glad I did put in the time to read it. It's an interesting book because I get the sense that it was written as a call and plea for churches to move to a more biblical model of church leadership - away from the congregational or single pastor model. For myself, coming from an elder-led church and believing that churches should be governed by elders, I didn't need convincing. But this was a most helpful book because it both strengthened my convictions for why an elder-led local church is biblically sound as well as building up my understanding of what the elders are and how they ought function. I greatly appreciated that this book is so soaked in Scripture. The author is not attempting to force or stretch Scripture to support his own ideas on church leadership, but he rather walks through the appropriate biblical passages to help the reader understand the concept of a ruling elder, both in the Jewish context as well as in the early church. The majority of the chapters are focused on a particular passage of Scripture, exploring the context of that passage and what it means to us today. I could go on and on talking about various parts of this book that encouraged me, but a few points that stood out. I greatly appreciated the author's focus on the elder as pastor or shepherd. The elder is not to be a board member or one ruling with an iron fist. Instead, the elders should be looking out for the welfare of the flock and watching out for the wolves. The local church is not a business or a social organization and should not be run as either. Instead, the elders ought use their individual and particular gifts to lead and serve the flock. This was another point that I appreciated. The elders will not all be exactly alike, with the same gifting and same passions. Each elder will likely have a different mixing of gifts and different ways of using these gifts to minister to the body. Yes, all must be able to teach, but some will truly have the gift of teaching and should be using this to build up the church. Some will have gifts of compassion or administration and should use these in their role as elders. And so on. Another concept that the author hammered home was the unbiblical clergy/laity divide. Do we think that the pastors or priests are more holy than the lay members of the congregation? May it never be! This false thinking leads people to operate as if the pastor and staff does all of the church's work, while the members merely sit back and appreciate and consume. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ and we have but one Father, but one Leader. I appreciate the author not being content to follow Tradition, but instead to point back to the biblical model of the local church. Let us not venerate man, but God. Those of us that don't go to a church with a more rigidly structured hierarchy may think that we've escaped this trap, but I don't believe that's so. Much of Western evangelical Christianity has fallen under the sway of the celebrity pastor model - if we just get that one uber-talented, multi-gifted pastor, he will solve the church's problems and lead us to glory. Again, may it never be. Yes, there will be elders that will be more visible on a Sunday morning and there will be elders that are even (rightly so!) compensated for their work in the church, but that does not mean that these more prominent persons ought rule the church. A plurality of elders ruling the local body is the desired leadership model, as laid out by the author in this book. I'm aware I'm rambling a bit and am all over the place here! There is simply too much to say and so I'm bouncing from idea to idea! Were there things I didn't like? Really only one thing. While I thought the majority of his chapter on "male eldership" was both biblical and sound, the author does go a bit farther than I think is biblically justified when he shuts down women's involvement in the corporate worship service almost entirely. Also, this book is not comprehensive. Some of the issues raised in this book have had multiple books written about them! But this book is a most fantastic overview as to what it is to be a biblical elder. Who qualifies? What are their duties and tasks? How ought the eldership function? I appreciated the fact that the author isn't dogmatic where the Scripture is not. Many of the church structure/leadership details that we so squabble over, the author passes over as being things that can be done different ways in different church contexts, as long as the elders are prayerfully and humbly seeking God's wisdom in leading the church. This book would be very controversial to many (both non-Christian and Christian alike), but I am grateful for the author's deft interpretation of Scripture in attempting to understand this issue of church leadership. It's even made me consider some of my own blind spots in this area, most particularly my partially subconscious belief in the "senior pastor" as the key to a church's success. May it never be! All of us who are in Christ have received the Holy Spirit from the Father and thus all in a local church are saints. There are some who have the gifting, qualifications and desire to partake in the leading of this body and these men ought humbly serve their fellow saints in this way as they tremble in acknowledgement of the heavy burden that is eldership. Might we respect and assist these men as well as recognize that we are all yet brothers and sisters in Christ - they are not above or beyond us in spiritual status. I walk away from this book with an increased conviction that a local church ought be ruled by a plurality of elders, as laid out and demonstrated in the New Testament. I also have an increased gratitude for the elders in my own church. Might I pray more that God grant them grace in their service and protect them from the devil's snares! This author multiple times comments on the natural laziness of us all and how easy it is to let someone else do all the work in church. Might I remain convicted myself of this fact and strive to use my own gifts in service of the body of Christ. And all of this - through the power of the Spirit for the glory of God alone. Amen and Amen.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Alex Strauch at his best; 30 years of experience goes a long way towards making this a very practical book.
This book is so needed in the modern church. The biblical teaching of a plurality of elders has been almost lost throughout church history. But Strauch shows us all the places in the NT it can be found, and how to apply it to the local church today. Very highly recommended!
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Great book; it's interesting and valuable to learn more about Biblical church leadership structure, and the honor due to elders.