The Plurality Principle: How to Build and Maintain a Thriving Church Leadership Team

by Dave Harvey

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2021

Overview

Foundational to a healthy church is a biblical model of church leadership. In the New Testament, church leadership is rarely a one-person endeavor—it is built around a plurality of elders working together, each bringing their own unique skills and gifts to the cause of shepherding the flock God has entrusted to them. There are many benefits to this model of leadership: being part of a team helps a church leader know his role, submit to authority, learn humility, and think about his gifts and position through the lens of what serves the church rather than his personal agenda. This argument in favor of elder plurality focuses both on how churches can build a healthy elder plurality and thrive as congregations once plurality is established.

Key Features

• Examines the biblical model of church leadership
• Provides tools to diagnose local church plurality
• Gives practical advice on how to build a healthy plurality

Contents

Part 1: Building a Plurality

• A Plurality Primer
• A Case for a “First Among Equals”
• Dressing for Leadership Storms: Five Hats Senior Pastors Wear
• Counterfeit Pluralities

Part 2: Thriving as a Plurality

• Building a Culture of Care and Accountability
• Acknowledging and Sharing Power
• The Plurality Tune-Up
• The Joy-Jamming Delight of Shared Ministry
• Appendix 1: Elders, Care for Your Senior Pastor
• Appendix 2: Your Wife Is Not Your Plurality: How Much Should a Pastor Tell His Wife?
• Appendix 3: What’s the Best Way for a Pastor to Negotiate His Salary?
• Appendix 4: Term Limits for Elders (Jeff Robinson)

Top Highlights

“key truth: The quality of your elder plurality determines the health of your church.” (Page 18)

“Third, a plurality with no senior pastor denies a legitimate avenue of service to elders with a distinct gift of leadership and a godly desire to bear this responsibility.” (Page 45)

“First, a plurality without a senior pastor seemed to be structured better for protection than for expansion.” (Page 44)

“God had entrusted this leader with enormous power. The only question was whether he’d deny it or see it as a gift to be used for God’s glory.” (Page 106)

“Second, a plurality with no senior pastor often results in churches within a church.” (Page 44)

Product Details

• Title: The Plurality Principle: How to Build and Maintain a Thriving Church Leadership Team
• Author: Dave Harvey
• Series: The Gospel Coalition
• Publisher: Crossway
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Pages: 179
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Christian leadership; Elders (Church officers); Group ministry
• ISBNs: 9781433571541, 9781433571572, 9781433571558, 9781433571565, 1433571544, 1433571579, 1433571552, 1433571560
• Resource ID: LLS:PLURALITYPRINCIPLE
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:16:06Z

About Dave Harvey

Dave Harvey (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) serves as the president of Great Commission Collective, a church planting ministry in the US, Canada, and abroad. Dave founded AmICalled.com, pastored for thirty-three years, serves on the board of CCEF, and travels widely across networks and denominations as a popular conference speaker. He is the author of When Sinners Say "I Do," Am I Called?, and Rescuing Ambition, and a coauthor of Letting Go: Rugged Love for Wayward Souls. He and his wife, Kimm, have four kids and four grandchildren and live in southwest Florida. For videos, articles, or to book an event, visit www.revdaveharvey.com.