Healthy Plurality = Durable Church: "How-To" Build and Maintain a Healthy Plurality of Elders

by Dave Harvey

Have you ever wonder what separates a healthy church from an unhealthy church when they have the same doctrine and even methods on paper? The long-term health and durability of a church simply cannot exceed the health of her elders who lead, teach, shepherd, and pray the church forward. Therefore, building and maintaining a healthy plurality of elders is the key to durability. Yet a healthy plurality is a delicate thing working through hardship and the difficulties of relationship while pursuing the noble task of eldership. If you wish to grow deeper in your theology of eldership to lead with a healthy biblical vision plurality, then this is your “How-To” guide.

Genres: Leadership

108 pages, Paperback

Published March 16, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Dave Harvey is senior pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (Glen Mills, PA), part of a family of churches called Sovereign Grace Ministries. He received his Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Care from Westminster Theological Seminary. Dave lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Kimm, and their four children.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way Dave Harvey thinks and writes. This is a helpful resource for any pastor or elder team.

[Harbor Network · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Sojourn Network how-to ebooks are a great combination of biblical theology and practical advice, driven by a commitment to the gospel and the local congregation. Written by the local church for the local church - just the job!"
-- Tim Chester
Pastor of Grace Church Boroughbridge, faculty member of Crosslands Training, and author of over 40 books

"This series brings pastoral wisdom for every day life in the church of Jesus Christ. Think of these short, practical books as the equivalent of a healthy breakfast, a sandwich and apple for lunch, and a family enjoying dinner together. The foundational theology is nutritious, and the practical applications will keep the body strong."
-- Dr. David Powlison
Executive Director of CCEF; senior editor, Journal of Biblical Counseling; author of Good and Angry: Redeeming Anger and Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken

"Most leaders don't need another abstract book on leadership; we need help with the "how-to's." And my friends in the Sojourn Network excel in this area. I've been well served by their practical ministry wisdom, and I know you will be too."
-- Bob Thune
Founding Pastor of Coram Deo Church, Omaha, NE, Author of "Gospel Eldership" and co-author of "The Gospel-Centered Life"


"I've sat in those elder meetings and wondered, How are we supposed to know what to do in this situation? In those cases we've looked to help from our friends in the Sojourn Network, whose experience, wisdom, zeal for the gospel, and love for the Lord has been a great encouragement. I'm thankful for this series because I know how many pastors and other church leaders will benefit from such biblically informed guidance on a host of topics."
-- Collin Hansen
Editorial Director, The Gospel Coalition

"I cannot express strong enough what a valuable resource this is for church planters, church planting teams and young churches. The topics that are addressed in these ebooks are so needed in young churches. I have been in ministry and missions for over 30 years and I learned a lot from reading. Very engaging and very practical!"
-- Larry McCrary
Co-Founder and Director of The Upstream Collective

"There are many aspects of pastoral ministry that aren't (and simply can't) be taught in seminary. Even further, many pastors simply don't have the benefit of a brotherhood of pastors that they can lean on to help them navigate topics such as building a healthy plurality of elders or working with artists in the church. I'm thankful for the men and women who labored to produce this series, which is both theologically-driven and practically-minded. The Sojourn Network "How-To" series is a great resource for pastors and church planters alike."
-- Jamaal Williams
Lead Pastor of Sojourn Midtown, Louisville, KY

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful and practical resource that I will be going back to time and time again, especially in this season of our church.

[Dustin Tramel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and concise. The most helpful content is the diagnostic questions that help assess the unity, trajectory, and health of the elder team.

[Jraulston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading Dave Harvey's new book and LOVED IT!! This is a must read for all church leadership teams. In an age where we seem to be moving into a solitary leader model in so many areas, Harvey not only calls the church to have healthy plurality in their leadership, he lays out the convincing case from Scripture of this not being just the "best" model, but the Biblical one, and it is spot on!
Harvey does a masterful job of weaving in Biblical truth, teaching on what healthy plurality looks like and great illustrative stories to help drive the point home.
This book would be great not only for leadership teams to go through in the local church, but also effective for leadership teams in the non-profit, para-church sector as well. This should be on the short-list of required readings for undergrad and seminary classes in the area of church leadership. At only 33 pages it packs all the information in it that is needed, but does it in a succinct way that makes it easy for a variety of leaders to go through and commit to reading together.
Harvey gives great teaching in the book and breaks it down into memorable points of emphasis that are easy for leaders to take in, and reproduce in their leadership lives.
After almost 20 years of ministry experience, I wholeheartedly affirm Harvey's thesis: "Pastors, the quality of your elder plurality determines the health of your church."
If you want a healthy church, you need healthy elders (or whatever the "titles" of your leaders are in your context), and if you want healthy elders you need to have them on the same page, working together and sharing leadership, and if you want that, you should read this book!
Great read, extremely helpful, and I can't wait to see what else the "Sojourn Network" coin this series!

[PJ Wenzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but helpful dive into the a subject that is pretty specialized, and likely not something a wide audience has given much consideration. Thoughtfulness and circumspection are the watchwords of this latest book by my friend Dave Harvey. Largely based on a combination of decades of personal experience, and faithful biblical interpretation, this short volume will cause you to think about how a church is ought to be managed, and the difference between poor management and godly management. If you're a Christian, and especially if you're in church leadership, this would be a very handy and thought-provoking book to get a hold of.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, strong read about the necessity of churches establishing a healthy plurality of elders, not merely have one strong pastor or leader. It's basically a booklet, and worth your time if you are trying to develop an understanding of what a healthy church government looks like.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource on the heart and purpose of elders-as-shepherds and how they work in plurality guarding against unhealthy leadership either in disconnected silos or top-down dominance. Thank you Dave Harvey for this short but significant read.

[Jeff Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read! Gets right to the point.

5 Stars. A must read for those who are involved in church planting. EXCELLENT as well in leadership training.

A real gem.

[Hopson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good, but it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Less practical and more theoretical I guess. Still, being a short book it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

[Ben Connelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro to plurality; I wish he would have played out the 'co-equal' & team nature more, but an overall good, quick read.

[Ricardo Daglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente!

Creo que Dave Harvey nos provee una serie de preguntas importantes para evaluar la forma en que podemos desarrollar una pluralidad bíblica de ancianos