Does the Bible teach single Senior Pastor leading a church, assisted by a youth pastor and music minister, or does it teach a multiplicity of elders? Does Scripture restrict this office to men, as 1 Timothy 2:11-12 seems to indicate, or is it open to anyone who desires the office of elder, called a good thing in 1 Timothy 3:1? Is there any difference between an elder and a deacon, and if so what are they?
Church Elders: How to Shepherd God's People Like Jesus by Jeramie Rinne is part of the 9Marks Building Healthy Churches series. It deals with topics both controversial and non-controversial, though a lot of the controversies are not as much what the text says but whether we agree with what it says. For example, one Amazon reviewer gave this book a one star review because the author did not believe that women should have authority over men in the church; I guess Paul's statements in 1 Timothy 2:12 should be discarded because, well, because the views of man supersede the Word of God.
This book does a good job of analyzing what the teachings of the Pastoral Epistles and Peter's admonition to elders in 1 Peter 5. Rinne holds that elders are, unlike deacons, supposed to be able to teach. I like his story when he challenged his elders to consider preaching a sermon. He also states the Biblical model is for there to be multiple elders in the congregation, not only to more effectively shepherd the flock, but also to encourage and hold accountable the other elders - after all, they're human and need shepherding as well.
My favorite chapter is on searching out the strays. After all, there are cults that are really more interested in turning church attending Christians into their teaching than reaching the lost. He does a great job of identifying the strays that need shepherding: sinning sheep (those who need to be corrected), wandering sheep (those not attending regularly due to work, interests, or illnesses), hurting sheep (those that need encouraging and sometimes need visiting due to illness), fighting sheep (when a church member has a beef with another church member), and biting sheep (when a church member has a beef with an elder). Rinne also points out that church membership is an aid in allowing elders to rescue the strays.
I highly recommend both the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series in general and this book in particular.
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