Mending the Nets: Rethinking Church Leadership

by Phil A. Newton, Rich C Shadden

Despite the good intentions of a hardworking fishing boat crew, if their large and strong nets have gaping holes, they will lose some of the catch. It's not time to get rid of the crew and the nets. Rather, torn nets, when mended, can accomplish much. Similarly, a good church with faithful members and devoted pastors has potential for much kingdom-usefulness, but when the leadership structure has gaping holes, ministry diminishes. The answer to the problem is not to remove the members or pastoral team, but to mend the nets in their leadership structure. 



Mending the Rethinking Church Leadership seeks to take a biblical look at church leadership structures, while identifying ways to mend the holes for more effective ministry. 



By walking through the New Testament's explanation of healthy church polity, experienced pastors, authors and professors Phil A. Newton and Rich C. Shadden make complex concepts accessible. Years of shepherding congregations have enabled them to see things from pastoral and ecclesiological angles that help churches toward effective leadership. They tell some of the pastoral story they've lived in to put life into the applications they recommend.



Writing from Southern Baptist (SBC) pastoral roots, Newton and Shadden explain the Baptist heritage in church leadership, how it slipped from regular practice, and how to restore it to more effectiveness in ministry. They're realistic about traditions, timing, and challenges of moving toward healthy polity, offering strategies for teaching, training, and equipping local congregations to mirror New Testament leadership patterns.



Pastors, pastoral staff, lay leaders, and ministers-in-training will profit from reading Mending the Rethinking Church Leadership. The book gives congregational leaders a roadmap for developing effective, biblical structures that lead toward strengthening church health.

182 pages, Hardcover

Published June 10, 2024

About the author

Phil A. Newton (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) is senior pastor at South Woods Baptist Church in Memphis. In pastoral ministry for over thirty-five years, he also serves as an adjunct professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Equip Center.

Reviews

[Cameron Adkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have been reading 9 marks on elders and deacons, or anything by Phil Newton on church leadership, there is nothing here that will be new for you. However, it’s a nice blend of biblical exposition and practical application. I think it would be a great book for a pastor to read with his elders and deacons.

[Tanner Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly exceptional. Historical, wise, and a careful yet bold work on plural eldership.

This book is a knife that cuts through the disobedience of many SBC churches.

[Tim Warke · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book is clearly written for a situation that must be prevalent in the Southern Baptist Convention whereby churches don't actually have elders but a pastor and a deacon board. I wasn't aware of this and found it very surprising, having been used to and almost taking for granted the essential presence of a plurality of elders within the local church.

Nonetheless there is much helpful material in here about the Biblical basis for the two church offices - elders and deacons. Good material on what makes suitable candidates and how the two offices should work together.

[Pat Baird · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was short, concise, and extremely informative! This book is one that I will pass out to future lay elders in the Southern Baptist church that I get the chance to serve with.

My favorite chapter in this whole book is the historical analysis of how we got to a place where Southern Baptist neglect, the biblical prescription of a plurality of elders!

Love that this book was published by SC Baptists! And glad I read it!

[Deyling Machado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very informative and precise on what biblical church leadership is. I appreciate the gradual process of this book. It explains what church polity is, the history of it, why it matters, and how you apply it to your context.

I highly recommend reading this book if you want to know more about church leadership and how to apply it to your church as a pastor.