Mark #9 of a Healthy Church: Biblical Church Leadership

In the 18 years we spent at our former church, we witnessed first hand the turmoil that being without proper leadership brings. Each time we were without a pastor, chaos ensued. Relationships and ministries suffered because the church had no clear leader. Perhaps that's why the church government of a different denomination appealed to us so strongly. We didn't set out to move to another denomination but when our pastor introduced the leadership model during our new members' class, my husband and I were thrilled.

The last mark of a healthy church is biblical church leadership. Mark Dever spends this final chapter discussing five facets of church leadership: congregational context, biblical qualifications, charismatic nature, Christlikeness, and relationship to God's nature and character.

I've spent this summer blogging through Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, and I've realized that, as much as we church members want to put the responsibility of the church's health on its leaders, we bear equal responsibility. Instead of dissecting the qualifications of biblical church leadership, I want to leave this series with Dever's charge to congregants:

...you are to take an active part in your church not simply by attending, by praying, and by giving (though you should do all those things); more than such things, you should actively be getting to know your church family. You should be praying through the list of those other people with whom you have covenanted to serve God. You should listen as other members of the body tell about what God is doing in their lives or about their concerns - and then pray with them. You must realize that part of your obligation and privilege as a member of the church is to get to know other believers and to make yourself known to them. Study God's Word together. Learn to think as a church about God's Word. You should be growing in grace yourself, and in the knowledge of God's Word, in the knowledge of your own heart and of the hearts of your brothers and sisters, and in awareness of the opportunities God is putting in front of your church. (p. 227)

Finding a healthy church was not an easy task. We suffered heartbreak and frustration. We argued and prayed. As hard as it was, God was good. It is in obedience to Him by His grace, that my husband and I will seek to be healthy members of the church He has brought us to.



For further reading, check out What Is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile.