Eager Elders

It was a joy to preach this morning at Christ Baptist's 6 year anniversary celebration. We installed a new elder so I took a break from the Gospel of Mark and preached on elders from 1 Peter 5:1-4. This is a challenging text addressed to elders.  Peter addresses the elder's calling to shepherd the flock of God with eagerness and joy. You can listen here.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

(1 Peter 5:1-4 ESV)

Elder Training Ministry

This year, my church is starting an elder training ministry. The idea is very basic: We must always be recognizing and developing men to lead God's church.

We will start meeting regularly with men who have expressed a desire and evidence fruit of leading in the church.

Our plan is simple: meet to talk about, pray about, and pursue godliness together. To guide our discussions, we have chosen 4 books to read together over the next 5 months:

1. The Cross and Christian Ministry by DA Carson
2. The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper
3. Humility by CJ Mahaney
4. The Trellis and the Vine by Marshall and Payne

We will also be discussing various articles and sermons together, evaluating each other's lives, and challenging one another to lead our families well. Pray for us.

Practices of a Healthy Church

Don't judge a book by its cover! That well-known statement is true when you come to The Practices of a Healthy Church by Donald J. MacNair. This front cover is poorly designed, but the content is excellent!

MacNair is a former pastor and now serves churches through consulting. He has obviously analyzed many churches. The examples scattered throughout are worth the price of the book.

He explains 6 healthy pracices:

1. The church must retain its commitment to the Holy Scriptures without compromise.
2. The church must engage in regular vibrant worship to God as the ultimate motivation for personal and corporate growth.
3. The church must continuously train and implement shepherd leadership.
4. The church must have a mechanism for utilizing gifted member initiative while maintaining elder accountability.
5. The church must have a continually modified vision and plan, unique to that church body at that time and in that community, which focuses and implements its purpose and mission.
6. The church must prayerfully seek the grace of God to build commitment to biblical health.

Strengths of the book:
1. MacNair loves the church and it is contagious.
2. The examples.
3. MacNair's discussion of shepherd leadership is fantastic. The middle section on elders could be removed from this book and published separately as a primer on Biblical eldership.
4. Its practical.