Elders: Developing Elders & Revitalizing Teams

by P.J. Smyth, Andrew Wilson (Foreword)

In Elders, PJ shares how to build healthy, happy and effective eldership teams that get the best out of the leader and the team. This book is ideal for training potential elders and revitalizing existing teams of elders.




PJ has been developing elders for many years. He has planted and led churches in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the USA, and leads the Advance Movement of churches. He is the author of Crossing the Line of Faith, Through the waters of Baptism and How the Gospel Moves from Friend to Friend. He lives in the greater Washington D.C. area with his wife Ashleigh, and three sons.




This is the best book on eldership I have ever read.

Andrew Wilson, Author of Spirit and Sacrament.




Theologically rigorous. Eminently practical. Incisive and persuasive.

Sam Storms, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma.




A book built on scripture and honed in the trenches of real-life ministry.

Larry Osborne, Author of Sticky Church.




A treasure trove of practical wisdom. Truly a gift to the church.

Brett McCracken, Senior editor, The Gospel Coalition.




This is one of the best books I've read on eldership in the local church.

Josh Kouri, Frontline Church, Oklahoma.




Brave, timely and reorienting. This feels like the book PJ was born to write.

Joel Virgo, Leader of Newday Youth Festival.




A solid and inspiring workbook to help you build wisely.

Terry Virgo, Founder of the Newfrontiers movement of Churches.

Genres: Leadership, Christian, Church

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 4, 2020

Reviews

[Jonathan Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good alliterations and sentences. But the overall emphasis lacks historical perspective, theological depth & safety.
I guess it is written for a very specific polity and personality type. Just not mine.

[Jack Skett · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the whole this is a really helpful book. Where it falls down is that Smyth (in my view) doesn't adequately justify his position that eldership is for men only. The crux of his argument is that Paul talks about elders as being fathers - something a woman can never be. However, Smyth makes a concession that single men can be elders even though they are not fathers. Why then cannot women be elders? This is the one point of weakness in an otherwise incredibly helpful book.

[Alastair Gooderham · Rating 5 out of 5]

P J Smyth has served the church well with an excellent book on eldership that is biblically founded as it challenges existing eldership teams and tackles key issues. It also helpfully does so with an eye on the congregation and the role of the pastor and deacon and their interactions with elders. Well worth working through with existing elders and those aspiring too.

[shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s a book for “eldering” that is both robust theologically but also practical. (In the States, where everyone casually applies the word “pastor” or elder to anyone who works on a staff, we need a book like this.) One of our elders who just finished it said, “I wish I had this book when I started as a pastor 35 years ago!” I agree. The section on “First among Equals” is gold!

Most of PJ’s experience has been in South Africa and Zimbabwe until the last few years but all that experience as a Lead Elder makes the book extremely helpful.

[Andrew Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly recommend this book. Most books on elders provide great expositions of the biblical requirements to be an elder, but I’m not aware of any that get into the practical aspects of how to operate as a healthy team of elders... until now.