Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership

"I doubt that many evangelical leaders would say `It doesn't matter how the U.S. government is structured as long as there is some form of leadership.' Yet, that is precisely what I have heard some evangelical leaders say." (102)The fact is, many people in the church today do not think about church leadership. As long as something is in place, as long as the church is headed in the right direction, that is good enough. Alexander Strauch has written Biblical Eldership to reveal the truth about church leadership, plainly revealed in God's Word.Part One defines what Biblical eldership is. "According to the New Testament concept of eldership, elders lead the church, teach and preach the Word, protect the church from false teachers, exhort and admonish the saints in sound doctrine, visit the sick and pray, and judge doctrinal issues. In biblical terminology, elders shepherd, oversee, lead, and care for the local church." (16)Strauch covers Pastoral Leadership, Shared Leadership, Male Leadership, Qualified Leadership, and Servant Leadership each in a separate chapter. Each chapter is thorough, easy to read, and back up with scripture references throughout.Part Two is a defense of Biblical Eldership. The average church member is not interested in the leadership structure in the church, but it is hugely important. As Strauch says, the structure of church government will help determine how people think and act in the church. In my experience, people just don't want to talk about eldership for one reason or another, choosing to focus on the "more important" issues. However, "the New Testament offers more instruction regarding elders than on other important church subjects such as the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Day, baptism, or the spiritual gifts." (103)Obviously, eldership is hugely important in Scripture and needs to be carefully considered by every local church.Part Three serves as the exposition of Scripture on eldership. It essentially covers the same material as Parts One and Two, but expositionally instead of topically.Part Four includes two short chapters, one on the appointment of elders and one on the relationship with elders and their congregation.Biblical Eldership is a great book that covers an underserved area of theology and should serve as an example for other Christian authors who want to cover church topics. It is Biblical, thorough, and well written. Highly recommended for all readers interested in Biblical leadership in the church.

First time buying a used book, simply amazing.

What is the Church? Who decides how things operate and under what rules? The obvious answer should be Christ is the head of the Church and HIS Word (the Bible) is where we find all we need to know regarding the Mission, Operation and Building of the Church.Along with other books written by Alexander Strauch, "Biblical Eldership" is not just for those pursuing an 'office' or doing dry research into ecclesiology... it is a wonderful call to seek the knowledge of God from the source we have (the Bible).A Must Read for Pastors, Elders, teachers, or anyone who seeks to be faithful to God's command to be an active and serving member of the local Church (i.e. Christians).

I used elders when I pastored a church and they really help to carry the burden of the church. Then I wished I'd read this book ahead of time to enable me to have made them even more effective. He does not see a place for women in eldership and I would disagree just on this point, but she would need to be in submission to her husband if married..

As Strauch says in this book, he wrote it because no full book had been written on Biblical Eldership. Well, thanks to Strauch, we now have one and it is excellent! The book starts with some passionate, Biblically sound, and powerful chapters on various aspects of church eldership (e.g., Shared Leadership, Servant Leadership) and then moves to specific Scriptural exposition chapters on key texts like Acts, I Timothy, Titus, and others that you might not even associate with eldership like Philippians 1.The book is intentionally light on application (and thus the accompanying study guide), but Strauch consistently demonstrates a comprehensive grasp of Scripture which he obviously obtained throughout his first-hand experience of being a church elder and the work of the Holy Spirit in his life.My only complaint about the book is that, though usually even-handed, Strauch sometimes forces his readers to take his side on debatable issues with words like "clearly," "extremely," and other slight exaggerations unfortunately common to many Christian teachers. But as I said, he is usually even-handed and convincing and the book is still most definitely a 5/5.If you or your church are looking to establish and eldership or bring an existing eldership into greater conformity to Scripture and effectiveness for Jesus, I highly recommend this book!

This book is a must have if you are considering true Biblical church leadership. The author references every point made back to the Word of God. With prayer and true study of God’s word. The Holy Spirit will use this book to guide you in the right scriptural direction.

As an Elder in a Bible believing church, I was shocked to find that our general way of doing business was in direct contradiction to the clear words of scripture. Questions of church structure are difficult because they are not consolidated into one verse or chapter. Some in our church suggested that there was no specific correct church structure given in the Bible. Others suggested that only traditional Pastors were qualified to lead a growing vibrant church. This book brings together every passage related to church leadership. It is a tremendous reference tool for analysing these various positions. Perhaps most importantly, it is written first as an examination of the Biblical text rather than an argument defending a denominational or traditional bias.Alexander Strauch makes the case again and again that a plurality of Elders is the only biblical structure for the church. There is solid exegesis of difficult passages. This weighty work distills the Biblical truth and clearly highlights the Biblical case for a group of Elders as God's plan for governing the local church.