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Title: The Elder-Led Church: How an Eldership Team Shepherds a Healthy Flock

Author: Murray Capill

Publisher: Presbyterian & Reformed

Year: 2024

Reviewed by Mark Powell

Every now and again a book is published which proves something of a “game-changer” on a particular topic. The Elder-Led Church by Murray Capill is a prime example of what I am referring to. Douglas Sean O’Donnell writes the following glowing endorsement on the back cover:

An amazing achievement on eldership—a true gift to the church! This Christ-centered, gospel-focused, biblically-grounded, theologically clear, exegetically thorough, well-researched, and immensely practical book should find its home in every church and seminary library and the hands of every man called to lead, oversee, shepherd, protect, and teach God’s church.

I would wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. Capill is the dean of ministry development at the Reformed Theological College in Melbourne, Australia, where he has been for over twenty years. He also previously served as the college’s principal from 2008 to 2019 as well as serving before that as both a teaching elder and ruling elder in various seasons. All of which is to say, Capill brings to the table a wealth of knowledge and experience.

The book itself is divided into four parts: 1) Elders as Leaders 2) Big-Picture Leadership 3) Leading Signature Ministries 4) Leading Well. What is evident throughout is Capill’s faithfulness to Scripture, personal experience of what eldership entails, and most of all, an earnest desire to see the church truly reformed, not just theologically but also spiritually.

Part 1: Elders as Leaders

In the first section Capill gives an excellent overview of the Biblical material regarding eldership. There are 160 references to ‘elders’ in the Bible—as a teaching elder myself, why didn’t I know this?—with most of those are found in the Old Testament. Capill makes a strong case for the continuity of this leadership position between the covenants. What’s more, central to his thesis, Capill argues that eldership should be viewed as a body of leaders rather than as a group of individuals because the eldership is to function as a pastoral team. As Capill states:

It is also worth noting that pastor is never used as a title but is used to refer to a task or ministry. We have no biblical precedent for calling someone Pastor Jack. Rather, if Jack is the pastor of a local church, he is one of a team of men called to shepherd the flock of Christ.[1]

Based on Ezekiel 34, Capill also argues that elders in a local church are to perform three main roles:

First, they should be searching for lost sheep, rescuing straying sheep and gathering them into one flock (Ezek. 34:11-13).

Second, they should be finding the sheep good pasture to feed them, giving them rest and binding up their wounds (Ezek. 34:13-16).

Third, the shepherds should arbitrate between the strong and the weak, protecting the vulnerable and ensuring a fair and loving community (Ezek. 34:16-24).

Capill further affirms the fourfold shepherding functions of Timothy Witmer of “knowing, feeding, leading and protecting the sheep”. It was good to see that Capill openly acknowledges the different positions regarding polity which various reformed denominations take. As Capill helpfully explains:

John Calvin and the Westminster Assembly both identified four offices: pastor/minister, doctor / teacher, church governor / elder, and deacon. More commonly, Reformed theology has advocated for three offices: minister, elder, and deacon. Some Reformed theologians, however, strongly advocate for just two, elder and deacon, with the office of elder further divided into teaching elders (ministers) and ruling elders.

Regardless of what position one takes upon this issue, The Elder-Led Church outlines a model of church government which all Reformed Christians would agree with, namely, “…that the New Testament lays on elders in every church the responsibilities of shepherding and overseeing the flock, and it requires that they be apt to teach.”

The Elder-Led Church has a lot of ‘zinger’ quotes, and I was constantly highlighting sentences, or entire paragraphs. For example:

The senior pastor is called to build a team, not a personal ministry. His effectiveness should be measured by the maturity of his plurality, not his social media following.

I also appreciated Capill’s teaching that the senior pastor is not a CEO and the elders his board. This is what Capill refers to as the “corporate” view of governance, and while it is quite popular in some churches, it fails to acknowledge the key role of shepherding which all of the elders together are to perform. As Capill states:

The Biblical model is really very beautiful. Those with ultimate authority are deeply involved in the lives of those whom they are overseeing. They love and care for them. They know them by name. They aren’t just business directors; they are shepherds.

Finally, Capill also has an excellent section on how to identify and most of all train up new leaders. This is a perennial challenge for churches run by elders. Capill wisely outlines a four-step “pathway for leadership”: 1) Lead a Ministry Activity 2) Lead a Ministry Team 3) Lead a Key Ministry Area 4) Lead a Church. I was constantly challenged by how practical The Elder-Led Church was. Capill is not content to simply discuss issues theoretically but has thought through what this will look like in practice.

Part 2: Big-Picture Leadership

In the second section Capill addresses the theological convictions which are important to keep a ministry on track. These are addressed in chapter 5 to 6 and involve leading with theological clarity, leading with Gospel vision, and leading with effective structures.

There is much to learn and take away from here, especially in how one functions within a group of fellow elders. For instance, Capill argues that it’s important to distinguish between primary and secondary issues. Not every hill is a hill to die on. What’s crucial though, is that all of the elders need to be on the same page.

I also appreciated how Capill acknowledges that simply having right theology is not enough. We also need to be prepared to think through how our Gospel vision in going to be applied in practice. As Capill states:

The eldership team can’t presume that if the theology is right, everything else will be right. Nor can the elders assume that their church’s ministry practice will automatically grow out of their theology.

Most of all, Capill argues that elders need to have a “gospel agenda”. Sadly, this can easily be circumvented by other competing agendas – such as, upholding tradition, keeping people happy, maintaining order, micromanaging church life, running the church business, survival, or even being big and successful. But as Capill rightly says:

One way or another, the elders will talk about all these things. They will interact on tradition, gatekeepers, order, management, business, survival, and growth. But in each of these conversations, we need to come back to our gospel vision. The emphases and priorities of the gospel must be the driving force of church life.

There was also a really helpful section here on leadership structures. This is because, as Craig Hamilton notes, “Numbers matter not because bigger is better or smaller is better but because bigger and smaller are very different.” This is a key insight because as churches grow numerically, they need to change how their leadership structures. In this regard, Capill brings some surprising statistical research to the table.

• The most common church size (47%) in Australia is a gathering of under 50 people. Hence, most churches are actually quite small and lends itself to the model of the paid pastor functioning as something of a ‘chaplain’ to the members of the congregation.

• The second most common church size (37%) in Australia is a gathering of between 50 and 200 people, with the average weekly attendance being 128 people. Again, the paid pastor become a key figure to the success or decline of the congregation.

• There are not that many churches (11%) which have between 200 to 400 people. And the numerical figure of 200 is seen as something of a sociological barrier because of the massive change in leadership structure which is required to manage it. The paid pastor becomes more removed from the congregation and the church’s ministries start to become more and more specialised.

• Churches between 400 to 1,000 people in Australia are the rarest of all. While Capill doesn’t give the exact figure, according to the National Church Life Survey, only 5% of churches in Australia have over 500 people in weekly church services.

Capill is not contending for one particular church size. Instead, he wants to see gospel growth and effective elder leadership in each one. He does seem to support the popular “Five M” model of ministry, as first developed by Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church. The five ‘M’s’ shaping the overall structure of the church are as follows: Magnify, Mission, Membership, Maturity, Ministry. Capill outlines the strength of this approach as being:

This approach enables the overall structure to focus on why we do what we do. For example, instead of simply running a children’s ministry that is focused on providing a great service for parents and keeping kids happy, it reminds us that within that ministry, the five main purposes of the church should be advanced. The approach also cultivates pathways to growth for each member. Having been reaching by the church’s outward mission, they move toward membership, which moves them toward maturity, which moves them toward ministry. Pathway thinking is valuable because it means that we are not running programs as ends in themselves but see everything as a means of helping people grow in Christ.

Part 3: Leading Signature Ministries

Section three deals with what does it mean to lead ‘signature’ ministries. Once again, Capill divides this section into 3 chapters: Leading the Mission, Leading on Sunday and Leading as Shepherds. I particularly appreciated how Capill keeps the evangelistic mission of the church front and centre. Indeed, he uses the analogy that mission is not just a box being carried on the back of the flatbed truck—which can easily bounce off—but is the engine which drives the whole thing. For Capill, mission is rightly central to the purpose of everything the church does. As such, The Elder-Led Church is encompassed with Gospel fervency. For example, Capill writes:

The church needs to be saturated not in a narrow, therapeutic gospel about a God who promises to make our life better, but in an expansive “salvation to the ends of the earth” gospel that casts a huge vision of who God is and what he is doing in this world. That large gospel must be pressed on our hearts week by week. We need a renewed picture of God’s power, holiness, and glory that demands the allegiance of all people. We need to hear the urgent truth about God’s righteousness, justice, and coming judgment. We need to be faced with the realities of heaven and hell as the only two eternal destinies of all people. We need to hear about God’s astounding grace in sending his Son to bear the sin and take the punishment of all who trust in him. We need to be reminded that this world will soon be passing away and that eternity is forever.

Capill argues that evangelistic zeal must permeate everything else we do. It’s not about an extra program to which a few talented individuals in the church are committed. Mission is an all-encompassing passion which should mould and motivate everything.

The section on worship has an excellent assessment of the question as to whether Sunday gatherings are also corporate acts of worship. Unfortunately, many evangelicals in Australia over the past 20-30 years have rejected this, but Capill rightly points out that this is reductionistic.

Capill also wants to see the regulative principle of worship govern everything we do. I found his historical summaries and conclusions here really helpful. Capill always avoids extreme positions while maintaining a reformed theological centre. He also has some wise words on how the preacher sets the ‘tone’ and ‘emphasis’ of the church and that it is the elder’s role to give feedback and ensure that both of these remain right. As Capill states:

Whereas a young preacher needs feedback on individual sermons, it is generally more helpful for a seasoned preacher to receive feedback on his ministry as a whole. The elders can do this by periodically scheduling a preaching review. They may seek input from the congregation and can adopt a structured approach to reviewing the impact of the preaching in church life.

Capill goes on to further explain that this feedback should include: content, craft, connection and communication. In the same way, the elders should be especially mindful of the song selection a church uses because this is often the “second sermon” a congregation hears. Capill also has some wise words to say about service leading, the question of women’s involvement in church services, and also the setting and aesthetics of church buildings.

In the chapter on pastoral care Capill helpfully distinguishes between that which he describes as being “little more than palliative care” and the Biblical model which is that which involves discipleship. What’s more, he also has some helpful, practical things to say about the important of food and drink in facilitating fellowship.

That said, Capill’s goal is to equip the congregation to pastorally care for one another. The New Testament epistles point out forty-seven times “what we are or are not to do for one another.” Once again, he outlines a practical ministry pathway for elders to develop this – namely, to Enlist, Equip, Engage and Evaluate,

Part 4: Leading Well

In the fourth and final section Capill brings all that he has been saying to the fore, outlining what it means to lead on the ground as well as advice on what to do when leaders meet. This is where the “rubber hits the road”. Many books on eldership can avoid such practicalities but Capill offers much wisdom concerning what leading a church looks like in practice.

Capill rightly acknowledges that different elders will have different personalities, as well as giftings and strengths. This is helpful because not every elder performs the same role. For instance, some are gifted in administration and others more upfront speaking roles.

I especially appreciated his approach to seeing elders’ meetings as places where godly, but robust discussion can take place. Quoting from Lencioni, Capill acknowledges that the reasons why meeting are often boring is because “they lack conflict and drama”. As a result, Capill argues that elders’ meetings need to be characterised by godly but “lively and honest conversation”. What’s more, there needs to be multiple types of meetings with different formats, purposes and times.

Conclusion: A Great Resource

The Elder-Led Church is a book that is full of practical wisdom and biblical insight. Each chapter contains a number of discussion questions which could easily be used in an elders’ meeting. It is a book which every elder needs to read, you will be the richer for it personally, and the church in which you serve will be blessed.

[1] Later on in the book Capill observes, “Only in the second and third centuries did a bishop become a single person with higher authority within a church or group of churches. In the New Testament, all the elders are shepherds and all the elder-shepherds are overseers.”