The Work Of The Church Officer

Previously published as: Church officers at work. 1977.

Churches of all kinds and sizes will value these time-tested, practical, and contemporary ideas for efficient church management. Especially useful for lay persons.

This book offers a model for selecting and training church officers that is grounded in spiritual discernment and development. The book begins with a biblical understanding of leadership, moves into consideration for how to train a Nominating Committee to select leaders according to the biblical vision, and then offers a step-by-step plan for a training event with three components. The training plan is designed to build up the church leaders spiritually and to set their work in the context of discipleship, as well as to teach them some of the fundamentals of the rules of governance of their denomination. The book concludes with concrete suggestions for how future work of the church board can be structured to reflect the emphasis highlighted in the training session.

This timely new leadership guide for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is written for church officers who are looking for a deepened relationship with God. Joan Gray challenges elders and deacons to see themselves as spiritual leaders and equips them to lead alongside their pastors. Gray lays out a variety of leadership styles and helps leaders understand when each is appropriate. She also provides resources for dealing with relationships in the church and identifies ways churches can be supportive of the spiritual leadership of elders and deacons.