Customer Reviews

Biblical Eldership: Restoring the Eldership to Its Rightful Place in Church

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I can't believe this book isn't a best seller among Christians and especially evangelical Christian pastors. Strauch presents a clear exposition of the concept of pastoral leadership in the church. If pastors truly want to operate according to the intentions of Christ and the apostles, and the New Testament, they will heed the clear example of eldership/pastoring given in this book. Anyone who reads this book and remains a single head pastor or senior pastor of a church is operating Christ's church hypocritically.

I'd read Strauch's other book on eldership (Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership--a very useful exploration of the biblical material on the subject), so when I saw this book, I assumed it would offer additional material or approach the subject from a different angle. However, Biblical Eldership: Restoring the Eldership to Its Rightful Place in the Church is just a short pamphlet that summarizes Strauch's other book. It might be useful to introduce the topic to a church leader who doesn't have time/interest for the longer book, but if you're looking for substance rather than brevity, Strauch's other book is the one you want.

This booklet is a good concise overview of the importance of understanding what the Bible says about being an elder in your place of worship, as well as defining what an "elder lead church" means. A worthwhile and quick read.

Our church (Wellsprings Church in Middleton, ID) gives out a copy to all of our men. It's our high recommendation to all of our men that they read it, and it is our prayer that each man develops a desire from the Lord to become an elder of our church. At least our hope is that it helps each man to shepherd their own family.

I received this book during the Christmas season. The book came damaged from the Post Office. That wasn't the fault of the shipper but the book was dirty and in fair condition not "good" as advertised. Everything else was fine.
Tery Post

Great book. To the point and biblical. A short must read. Perfect for those who want to know what the Bible has to say on the topic of Biblical Eldership whether you agree or disagree, this book is very convincing.

This book is a condensed version of the larger 300+ page Biblical Eldership book. It is very eye-opening and extremely well done. My favorite part is Strauch does not fill this book with a bunch of stories. It is packed full of Scripture references and over 20 book references. Strauch does a fabulous job of defining the problem, then Explaining what a true Biblical Eldership is..what are the tasks an elder is responsible for, their qualifications, etc. All backed up by scripture after scripture. It is only 46 pages and well worth the investment even if no other reason than to have a solid understanding of what an eldership is. The only warning I would tell you is be ready to start longing for an eldership in your church.

This is a wonderful booklet on the need and reasoning of Biblical Eldership, from a Biblical standpoint. Having not read his original book Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, this does a good job of telling a complete story, it doesn't seem to be like a film trailer where its job is to get you to read the book. Instead it presents a full host of reasons that a church should practice Eldership, and gives lots of Bible verses to support this.
The one thing that he does touch on lightly in this booklet, that I hope he does more so of in the book, is to address the arguments and reasonings against the Eldership structure he recommends.

As an elder in a large (1200+) new testament style church, I believe this is an excellent summary of his larger volume on the same topic. Every local church that desires to be (or continue to be) a "new testament church", as laid out for us in the scriptures, should take note of Strauch's commentary and learn to apply its principals. Every elder (past, present, future) should purchase his larger volume. Another similar "elder-lead church" guidebook that is a must read is: Elders and Leaders, by Gene Getz.

Before you order this, be sure to check out the page length. This is a 47-page abridgment of Strauch's larger work. So you'll be disappointed if you're expecting the original book, or something not already included in it.

Having said that, this is a very effective summary of Strauch's "Biblical Eldership." He covers the core points, lists the relevant Scripture passages, handles common objections, etc. He demonstrates very well that the consistent NT model for church leadership is by a team of pastoral elders with no "senior pastor." This is a perfect resource for someone new to this subject, or as an introduction before reading the longer book. Highly recommended for those uses.