I have had quite a few requests for a complete copy of my dissertation, The Authority of Church Elders in the New Testament. You can now download a pdf of the whole work here: The Authority of Church Elders in the New Testament

The following letter is written by my brother-in-law Sean Gossett to his church. It is explanation of how his changing understanding of church leadership and ministry is the basis for seeking to be bi-vocational. It is my conviction that it is important for the church today to seriously compare its current practices with New Testament [...]

I recently read this article: “Crazy Passion: Francis Chan Keeps Pushing and Pushing to Make More and More Disciples” by John Brandon in Christianity Today, Oct 2009. I like some of the things I hear about what he is doing. Here are some snippets of the article: “In church, rather than rehab people, we just [...]

“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others. To make a start, it would give away all its property to those in need. The clergy must live solely on the free-will offerings of their congregations, or possibly engage in some secular calling. The Church must share in the secular problems of ordinary [...]

Alan Knox recently described how his church is attempting to recognize elders. We recognized the elders in our church in a very similar fashion. I believe the overall health of local churches would change drastically if we followed the biblical practice of recognizing elders who are actually known by the congregation, have proven their quality, [...]

Here is a link to the conclusion of my dissertation, The Authority of Church Elders in the NT. Aside from the readers on the committee at school, I have not received much in the way of critical feedback. I am anxious for my conclusions to be challenged and improved. I also pray that where ever [...]