Joe Holland

First of all, if you haven’t read Tim Witmer’s book, The Shepherd Leader, you need to.  Seriously, you really need to. 

I had the privilege of listening to Tim give a brief overview of the book at the Twin Lakes Fellowship a few weeks ago.  The audio for that talk is posted over at the TLF site.  

I also had the added privilege of spotting Tim in the airport as we were both leaving the conference… er, fellowship.  And like the brazen church planter I sat down and started asking him questions.  After all, if you write a book, you naturally give up your right to sit in a airport terminal in peace and quiet.  

So here are the questions I asked him and my summary of his answers—which were almost as helpful as the book. 

First, I asked him what recommendation he had for a church planter who would begin formal elder training in 6 to 12 months.  

He had two recommendations. 

First, train them head and heart.  Reflecting on his knowledge of most PCA elder training he saw a major flaw in only treating elder training as the delivery of a certain tome of theological education.  Men who are sensing the call to be elders in Jesus’s church, need to be trained intensively in piety as much as they need to be trained intensively in orthodoxy.  

His second piece of advice was to spend time with them, personally.  There is a place for classes and meetings.  But you have to spend time with them, hanging out, talking, praying, and just plain old being together.  

My second question for him, was how to avoid the lay/ruling-elder-as-board-memeber problem prevalent in the church today.  

His recommendation, which should come as no surprise if you’ve read his book, was to call them shepherds.  Any elder, biblically defined, is a shepherd.  So as you train men make sure they know what they’re getting into and what God has called and equipped them to be.  They are under-shepherds and will be expected to shepherd the souls of the people that God entrusts to their care. 

My third question was a follow up both on that answer and from what he had written in his book.  I asked him, “How helpful do you think the ruling-teaching elder distinction is within a denomination like the PCA?”  

He thought it was helpful but not primary.  Again, if you haven’t read Tim’s book, you’ll find the single best description of the biblical difference between ruling and teaching elders I’ve ever read.  But Tim again emphasized that you want elders to get into their head—no matter what their specific gifting—that they are shepherds.  

My fourth question was simple.  Should I train elders and deacons together or separate? 

He recommended that that elders and deacons be trained together.  He also recommends in his book a very close collusion between elders and deacons as they serve a local church.

My fifth question was whether or not he saw deacons primarily as pastoral assistants or as officers of mercy and service.  If you’re unfamiliar with the distinction, both are argued but sometimes to the exclusion of the other.  

Tim spoke appreciatively of the PCA Book of Church Order’s definition of the role and office of deacon.  They are both, but Tim thought the emphasis lay on a specific office rather than a catch all assistant.  

And it was at that point that my plane miraculously boarded on time.  Hopefully my questions and Tim’s answers are helpful to you.  If you’ve read the book, feel free to reflect on it in the comments below.