Understanding Church Leadership

Church Basics

by Jonathan Leeman, Mark Dever

Who leads a church? Why is this important to God? God cares about his glory, and he means to display his glory through the church. For this very end, God has established elders and deacons, members, and congregational authority. This primer on church structure connects the different offices of the church to one another and to the glory of God.

Genres: Church, Ecclesiology, Christian, Leadership, Theology, Nonfiction, Christianity

66 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

JONATHAN LEEMAN is the editorial director of 9Marks, which involves him in editing the 9Marks series of books as well as the 9Marks Journal. He has written a number of books on the church, including Reverberation, and he teaches theology at several seminaries. Jonathan lives with his wife and four daughters in a suburb of Washington, DC and serves as an elder at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington. You can learn more about him and his writing at www.9Marks.org.

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bon petit livre pour mieux comprendre comment s'organise la direction au sein de l'Eglise locale, d'un point de vue baptiste (anciens et diacres, ainsi que leur relation entre eux et avec le reste de l'assemblée).

[Todd Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Read

While I have not bought into the argument for female deacons (which the authors put forth) this is still an outstanding read. I understand their argument that deacons are servants rather than leaders. However, I see deacons more as servant leaders of other servants.

Still, this is a marvelous read for elders, deacons and lay people alike—and well worth the time, especially for Baptists.

[Mark Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic booklet on church leadership.

Covers a lot of ground in a few short pages. Helpfully presents a picture of the church (with particular attention on the offices in the church; elders, deacons, and the congregation) and how it is designed and called to be a display of the holiness, unity, and love of God to a lost world.

Read with interns (2020-21).

[Hannah McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, clear, and informative.

[Benjamin Aurich · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful overview of the "elder-led, congregational ruled" model.

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise. Clear. Encouraging. Thoroughly biblical!

[Kyle Rapinchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dever, as usual, provides clear and wise advice for the church as he grounds his positions in the text of Scripture. He gives helpful distinctions between the role of deacons and elders and also has an excellent section on the importance of church membership. This is a great, short text for any in the church to learn more about church leadership.

[Jeremy Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, practical read for those wanting to know how Baptist organize their leadership.

[Leandro Alves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curto, objetivo, prático e aplicável. Entendendo a liderança da Igreja é um excelente livro sobre a forma de organização de uma congregação. Pautado no congregacionalismo, o livro foca as funções, responsabilidades e interações entre pastores e diáconos. Mostra a dinâmica de trabalho de diáconos em diversas áreas de suporte da igreja, sobre a supervisão de pastores.

Pastores são vocacionados para o ministério da palavra e se dedicam à pregação, ensino, oração e cuidado da congregação. Eles também supervisionam, auxiliam e orientam trabalho dos diáconos, por meio do ensino, aconselhamento e treinamento. Os diáconos, por sua vez, são responsáveis pelas atividades de suporte à palavra, sendo facilitadores do trabalho pastoral, isto é, tornando possível a realização das atividades dos pastores, por exemplo, som, recepção, crianças, biblioteca, etc.

No apêndice, Mark mostra exemplos das responsabilidades e atividades desempenhadas por diáconos nas sua congregação. É um excelente livro para treinamento e pode ser usado por toda a igreja.

[Ryan Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent through and through; what a great resource to have! He succinctly yet thoroughly biblically defines deacons, elders, and members of the church. Each chapter is well organized, argued, and again, it’s so succinct that it’s a very helpful resource to give and go through with people.

Of all this, what I appreciated the most was how he was so careful to not go beyond the bounds of the Bible. For example, he defined deacon rightly, and then he showed how there technically is not scriptural ground for having a deacon group—although one could, it isn’t necessarily biblical. Furthermore, he balanced the whole idea of having a lead pastor well, showing that it isn’t explicitly biblical, but that some biblical texts/ideas lead us there.

For all this and more, it’s totally worth your time, especially if you are a leader in a church. But even if you’re not, it’s good to see how the Bible truly puts forward church leadership. Again, an excellent resource!

[Sean Nemecek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, BASIC overview of church leadership from a Baptist perspective. Overall it is quite good. The imtentional brevity of the work creates some problems. The section on the prayer of the Elders is very weak. Also, more should be said about the congregation's obedience to their Elders and when it is right or wrong to disagree with them. The section on church membership is good but it too suffers from being overly simple.
This book is a good starting point for the topic but it is not sufficient to be the complete guide for the church (nor does it claim to be).

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short, simple book clearly sets out what the biblical offices are and their roles. The qualifications, definitions, and duties of elders and deacons are helpfully distinguished.

The book concludes with a helpful reflection on the role of the congregation in church decisions, in relation to the elders. This also includes meditation on why God has given us the church, and the good of joining yourself to the church as a follower of Jesus.

Very accessible and encouraging.

[Taylor Sines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for training church leaders.

It’s brevity provides a foundation for good discussions among leadership.

It gives liberty where the Scriptures give liberty while maintaining firm convictions where Scripture is clear.

Lastly, despite its short length, it has quite a bit of practical application.

[Kyle Bueermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short, but immensely helpful book on biblical church leadership. Don’t let its size (just over 50 pages, plus appendix) fool you. There is a lot of meat in this small book. I recommend it to pastors and church members alike. Read it. Search the Scriptures that Dever mentions. Then examine your own church in light of what the Bible says about church leadership.

[Justin Likens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Leeman presents a balanced view of where many churches are versus what Scripture teaches. I believe churches would do well to get back to the way God intended the church to be organized as revealed in Scripture.

[Hopson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, simple read that clearly and helpfully explains the offices of elder and deacon in the local church. This book is one that would greatly benefit those desiring to understand what the Bible teaches about leadership in the local church.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read explaining deacons, elders, members, and the way the church body works to honor and love leadership. The gospel is central in this book on church polity, and reminds the reader that the church ought to be centered on God's word and Jesus' love!

[Graham L Baggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, concise guide on Church Leadership

Excellent explanation of church leadership, the roles of deacons and elders, and why Christians should love the church and join a local church.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dever gives a quick overview of church leadership, specifically elders and deacons, from a Baptist congregationalist perspective. There is not as much averment for the roles themselves as there is for what those roles should accomplish in a typical church.

[Lendl Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief (almost a pamphlet) summary of the roles of elders, deacons, and the congregation in the church. I preferred their slightly longer versions in another series. The example deacon duties shared at the end were very helpful though.

[Alejandro Ramírez Badillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro cortito
Básico
Sencillo
Pero bien nutrido

Es como una barra energética
Es breve pero el contenido es valioso

Finalmente
Si este libro se diera a todo nuevo cristiano
Muchas dudas serían resueltas desde el principio

Buen libro

[Peter Krol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, helpful introduction to the topic from a congregationalist perspective.

[Geoff Petrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and to the point. Good concise description of church leadership.

[Kyle McC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book that explains about deacons, elders, and pastors. It also goes into Congregationalism and membership process. I liked it 1 day read.

[Jónatas Rafael Lopes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livro bem resumido sobre os presbíteros e diáconos. No fim, tem um excelente resumo daquilo que os diáconos ou diaconisas fazem em cada área.

[Don Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, clear, concise. We’re using this for training new deacons.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really quick read that summarizes the main components of healthy church leadership. Lots more to say on the subject but this book is a great place to start.

[Nicholas Abraham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful primer on the topic of church leadership. Something you can give to someone at nearly any place in their walk with the Lord to grow in their understanding of these things.

[Jordan Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other then Dever’s inconsistent and incorrect view of female deacons the rest of the book is really good.

[Mike Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short summary of what the Bible teaches about the offices of deacon and elder and how those offices relate to the congregation.