Church Elders (9Marks: Building Healthy Churches) [eBook]

How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus

What does effective church leadership look like?

In this conversational book, Pastor Jeramie Rinne sets forth an easy-to-understand “job description” for elders drawn from the Bible’s teaching on church leadership.

Offering practical guidance for new elders and helping church members better understand and support their spiritual leaders, this succinct volume will encourage elders to embrace their calling with grace, wisdom, and clarity of vision.

Jeramie Rinne (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) serves as senior pastor of South Shore Baptist Church in Hingham, Massachusetts. He has been a regular contributor to the 9Marks Journal, a devotional writer for the Good Book Company, and an instructor for the Simeon Trust Workshops on biblical exposition. Rinne lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their four children on the south shore of Boston.

“Leadership, like the other gifts of the Spirit, is for the edifying of the body of Christ. Paul made it plain to Titus that things were not in order in a church until proper leadership was established. Most unsolved problems in church life can be traced back to defective leadership. Jeramie Rinne unpacks what the Bible has to say about the identity and activity of the local church elder with a freshness and clarity that is profoundly helpful. This is a book that elders can read together to their profit and one that will help a congregation to pray for and support its leaders so that their work will be a joy and not a burden.”
—Alistair Begg, Senior Pastor, Parkside Church, Cleveland, Ohio

“Jeramie Rinne proves it’s possible to write both comprehensively and concisely about the office and ministry of church elders. And what a valuable book this is! I found it not simply informative but devotional, helpful to me as a pastor in my love for Jesus and, by extension, his church. I am hard-pressed to think of another book on this subject that is so readily shareable.”
—Jared C. Wilson, Pastor, Middletown Springs Community Church, Middletown Springs, Vermont; author, Gospel Wakefulness and The Pastor’s Justification

“Do you long to see a growing, godly group of mature men in your church who work alongside the full-time pastors to shepherd, teach, and train the congregation for disciple-making? Biblically sharp, wise and, warmly written, this little book is about the essentially collegial nature of church ministry and leadership. Regardless of your view as to how “elders” should be appointed, organized, or named, you will find much here to challenge, encourage, and guide.”
—Tony Payne, Publishing Director, Matthias Media; co-author, The Trellis and the Vine