Book Reviews -- By: Anonymous

Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 05:2 (Winter 1996)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous


Book Reviews

Editor
Kenneth Alan Daughters

Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership By Alexander Strauch. 3d ed., revised and expanded, Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth Publishers, 1995. 337 pages. $14.99, paperback.

Study Guide to Biblical Eldership By Alexander Strauch and Richard Swartley. Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth Publishers, 1996. 12 lessons of approximately 12 pages each, with index. $23.99, three-ring binder.

The Mentor’s Guide to Biblical Eldership By Alexander Strauch and Richard Swartley. Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth Publishers, 1996. 12 lessons of approximately 12 pages each, with index. $23.99, three-ring binder.

When he was in his late fifties my father became an elder in an assembly on the East Coast. Dad had received no training (formal or informal) for this work. The previous generation of elders had died, and Dad with a group of other brethren — generally viewed as the leading men of the assembly — were encouraged to carry out the work of oversight. I recently asked Dad what training he had had for this work, and he said, “None.” One of the previous elders had told him that the Holy Spirit raised up elders and training by men was unbiblical.1 Happily my father is a man of real integrity, has a wife who loves people, and greatly enjoyed the work of pastoral visitation. Although he is not a Bible teacher, he and the other men sought to provide for the assembly by inviting a variety of gifted men to expound the Scriptures.

I thought of Dad as I began to read Alexander Strauch’s masterful book, Biblical Eldership. Here is a volume that I wish Dad and his fellow elders had mastered back years ago when they began their work of oversight. Having carefully read Strauch’s book in its various editions, I can safely say that assembly life would be greatly helped if every elder in every local church would read it, digest it, and give it to the younger men in their churches who show promise as future elders.

Alexander Strauch is an alumnus of Emmaus Bible College. After graduating from Emmaus he attended Colorado Christian University, where he served on the faculty for a number of years. He is also a graduate of Denver Seminary. Mr. Strauch has served for many years as an elder at Littleton Bible Chapel in metropolitan Denver, and he is widely respected as a Bible teacher among the Open Brethren assemblies. For many years he has studied the Scriptures with a special interest in the doctrine of the church. The results of his research are a number of definitive works on church government.

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