Church Elders: How to Shepherd God's People Like Jesus (Building Healthy Churches)

I like this book because1. It describes God’s role for pastors elders and overseers. It’s all the same.2. I agree, definition of eldership from the word of God.3. Practical application of being an elder.I recommend this book for anyone who is in an elder currently, a potential elder, and a new church member

Everything rises or falls with leadership. In the local church, this kind of leadership begins with pastor/elders. As such, I believe that the fruitfulness of our churches is dependent upon men who exert strong, humble, and God-centered leadership. Godly leadership is informed by at least four critical assumptions:It must be anchored to the Bible.It must be guided by unshakeable convictions.It must be based on God's blueprint - for he has an order for his church.It must be intensely spiritual.Church Elders by Jeramie Rinne another fine selection in the 9 Marks Series, edited by Mark Dever. Rinne begins with some basic presuppositions which are designed to guide prospective elders down a path that is both biblical and practical.The author outlines the qualifications for the office of elder as set forth in 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, and 1 Peter 5. The discussion is elementary but is nonetheless very helpful. In addition, the terms for elder are surveyed (pastor, elder, overseer, and bishop). There can be no misunderstanding that the terms are synonymous, a feature that seems to be misunderstood by many people.Elders are called to shepherd the flock. Therefore, they are called to:Engage in relationships with the flock.Minister with the intent of growing the flock in Christian maturity.Readers should not be surprised that elders should participate in the teaching ministry of the local church. This fact is the key factor in distinguishing between men who are called to serve as elders as opposed to deacons. The elder must be "able to teach" (1 Tim. 3:2). Rinne makes it clear that this teaching ministry is not limited to the public preaching of God's Word. It may include biblical counseling, one-on-one discipleship, classroom instruction, or small group gatherings. The important take-away is that a qualified elder is able to teach God's Word - which means he also has a good handle on God's Word.Additionally, elders are called to protect the doctrinal sideboards of a church family: "He must play both doctrinal offense and defense, 'holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it" (Titus 1:9).Elders are to pay attention to the flock and hold God's people accountable to their faith commitment as well as their membership commitment. They are charged with watching over the straying sheep. The author notes five kinds of straying sheep which include sinning sheep, wandering sheep, limping sheep, fighting sheep, and biting sheep.Elders must be humble men. Rinne adds, "The simplest and most effective thing a church can do is to develop an intentional process for screening potential elders, and then be sure to select humble men." Men must serve in plurality. There is no hint of a lone ranger eldership in the New Testament. The author rightly notes that elders always serve as a team - in plurality.Church Elders by Jeramie Rinne is a terrific introduction to the subject of biblical eldership. Readers interested in a more comprehensive treatment may turn to Thabiti Anyabwile's work, Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons. For the best survey of this subject, I commend Biblical Eldership by Alexander Strauch.

An excellent primer on the essence of eldership in the local church.This is just the little book on eldership that the evangelical Church needs. For years, I have searched high and low for an accessible book that introduces biblical eldership which doesn’t devolve into either a technical treatise on ecclesiology nor a how-to manual that relies on debatable insights from the world of secular organizational theory. And here it finally is!Rinne successfully avoids secondary polity and pragmatic questions while staying strongly theological and practical on both what an elder is and does. Need proof? Check out these chapter titles which edify all by themselves: “Smell Like Sheep,” “Serve Up the Word,” “Track Down the Strays,” “Lead Without Lording,” “Shepherd Together,” “Model Maturity.”Church Elders does a good job of neither glorifying the position nor denigrating the work of an elder. Rinne writes as a vocational pastor but FOR avocational elders. He understands the perspective of a man for whom being an elder is lived out in addition to all of his other responsibilities including a family and a full-time job.Rinne packs a lot into these 122 short pages, but it feels like just the right amount. His illustrations are concise but revealing and helpful. His prose is conversational and carries the reader along but isn’t trite, sentimental, or sappy. If I could write a book on church elders, I would want it to be just like this one. I’ll be asking all of our elders to read it and include it in all future elder training.

Its a mostly great book, I disagree with a couple positions the writer takes however there are lots of great nuggets in the writing that over shadow what I don't agree with. I am reading the Deacon book in the same series right now.

This is a must read for anyone with a desire to become an elder in your church. This is also a must read for anyone who is currently serving as an elder, or a church who has had elders for a long time and needs some vision.

Pick up this book if you are a church elder or considering it.

Completely biblical and tremendously readable. The typical American model of church leadership is badly broken. I pray that God uses this tiny book to right the wrongs of the professionalization of church leadership. We really need a revolution in this area.I truly believe that the CEO-and-board-of-directors model of church leadership is adversely impacting everything else in the life of our local churches. If we don't care about biblical direction in the way we structure the leadership of our churches, why should we expect the rest of our church membership to consider living their lives as though the Bible is relevant, much less authoritative?Well written and brief, but also timely and extremely important. I truly wish it were required reading for every "elder board" and every paid professional pastor.What if church leadership would begin to search the scriptures, rather than the business world, to see how church leadership should lead? If God has His way with church leadership, watch Him revive whole congregations, one after the next. But are we willing to give God the reins? Do we trust Him or don't we?

This is an excellent primer for a new church Elder/Leader. It is practical, biblical, provocative and incredibly challenging. The only thing I'd change is for there to be more biblical referencing - but this is a slim volume and very adequate. It should be the bible that defines who/what you are as an Elder. And Jeramie Rinne does a fine job of going through everything in a methodical way from qualifications for Eldership, through the functions of Elders, to the final two chapters which simply bring you to your knees.I really needed this book when I found myself appointed into Eldership and didn't know what on earth I was supposed to be doing. I'm still struggling hugely, but at least I feel this has pointed me in the right direction.

A very good read for all who are called to be elders in the church. I found this book so helpful and wish I had read it before becoming an elder in my own church. This lays out the very important duties of the role you are committing to, how to lead your flock or as it's put in the book "sheep". I recommend this book to all who are called.

This is a very short, but very biblical and practical book on church eldership.This book would benefit people considering eldership, people joining eldership, or as a refresher reading group book for an existing eldership team.Excellent stuff

This excellent book on Church Leadership spells out the role of Eldership in very clear terms. It makes for challenging reading but leaves you inspired by the Great Shepherd, Jesus.

This is a concise but extremely challenging book with great questions that can be used individually or collectively with other elders.