Mark Dever and Paul Alexander, The Deliberate Church: Building Your Church on the Gospel. Crossway Books, 2005.
Referenced in: Plural-Elder Congregational Leadership
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is part of the popular Nine Marks Series on church development. The essential purpose is to provide a practical guide for activating each of the nine marks of a healthy church, and conveys Dever’s philosophy on a church that operates according to the “regulative principle.” The “regulative principle” forbids anything not commanded by Scripture and requires all that is commanded, vs. the “Normative Principle” that allows anything not forbidden by Scripture.
This book also contains an extensive practical section (nine chapters, 63 pages) on how churches that follow the Nine Marks philosophy appoint and operate under a plurality of elders (a similar and more participatory process from a Church of Christ perspective may be found in the final chapters of Ian Fair’s Leadership in the Kingdom). Section 3 discusses how to gather and appoint elders. Section 4 discusses how the elders function in their meeting and decision-making roles.
Dever reflects a very conservative perspective that emphasizes the positional/structural authority of elders. In this respect, he is similar to Benjamin Merkle and Phil Newton (among Southern Baptists) and Alexander Strauch. A view of elders that is more participatory, is built on relational authority and moral suasion, and is focused on empowering others for ministry may be found in volumes by Lynn Anderson, Ian Fair, and Rick Thompson. All are featured in the Ministry Resource Guide on Plural-Elder Congregational Leadership.
From the Publisher
Mark Dever and Paul Alexander provide a model of a biblical church in this resource for pastors, elders, and others interested in the vitality of their church. This highly practical book proposes an attitude of complete reliance on and submission to the Gospel in building a healthy church.
About the Authors
Mark Dever is Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and Executive Director for 9Marks Ministries. Dr. Dever has written and contributed to several books on church health and church leadership.
Paul Alexander holds a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., and currently serves as Contributing Editor for 9Marks Ministries.
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