Alexander Strauch

Very popular. Mr. Strauch means well. I read it twice in my studies. Not a fan. Sort of like all church curriculum it is replacing the very thing the book is calling for - qualified elders. If a church has qualified elders "apt to teach" a curriculum of this sort is actually second rate. Similar to couples reading marriage curriculum - or families reading family books - the fact that a church is using this book is a clear sign that all is not well and potential dysfunction looms on the horizon.

How is it that I can agree with most of Strauch's conclusions but think his exegesis, logic, and assumptions are mostly wrong? The last half of the book is somewhat better than the first, but the whole thing is a good 100 pages too long. He goes out of his way, and outside the Biblical text to make points. He makes unprovable assumptions and then basis policies on these. He is fond of quoting old commentators, but he does not seem to have dealt with any recent scholarship on issues of Jewish show more or Greek culture. All of that said, he brings up many worthwhile issues regarding churches and elders and gives a good corrective to those churches which have abandoned the seriousness with which the NT deals with church elders and their appointment. show less

How is it that I can agree with most of Strauch's conclusions but think his exegesis, logic, and assumptions are mostly wrong? The last half of the book is somewhat better than the first, but the whole thing is a good 100 pages too long. He goes out of his way, and outside the Biblical text to make points. He makes unprovable assumptions and then basis policies on these. He is fond of quoting old commentators, but he does not seem to have dealt with any recent scholarship on issues of Jewish show more or Greek culture. All of that said, he brings up many worthwhile issues regarding churches and elders and gives a good corrective to those churches which have abandoned the seriousness with which the NT deals with church elders and their appointment. show less

Though a bit hagiographic at points, this is a wonderful little book. Convicting in many ways, a sweet example of what loving, pastoral leadership should look like. Chapman clearly let the gospel get deep in his soul and lived out of that reality. I will no doubt come back to it many times to learn from his humbling example.