The Minister-Elder Relationship within “Churches That Work”

Authors

Steve CloerFollow

Abstract

This essay is the summary of a research project focused on how the minister-elder relationship in Churches of Christ can facilitate missional transformation in an established church. Twenty-five reputable congregations of Churches of Christ were researched that were profiled as “Churches That Work” by The Christian Chronicle from 2006-2013. A survey was conducted of these congregations’ elders and ministers assessing their leadership practices and perspectives. Four congregations were selected based on results of the survey and qualitative strategies of interviewing, focus groups, observation, and document gathering were used. Five patterns of a missional polity developed: elders as nurturing pastors, ministers as missional catalysts, elders and ministers as team, the wilderness, and a missional identity.

Author Bio

Steve Cloer has been the preaching minister at Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth, TX since 2006. Before that, he worked in youth and campus ministry. He and his wife, Lindsay, currently have three children, Joshua, Bethany, and Lydia. Steve graduated from Harding University with two B.A. degrees in Bible and Math. He received his MDiv in New Testament from Harding School of Theology and graduated with his DMin in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Cloer, Steve (2016) "The Minister-Elder Relationship within “Churches That Work”," Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/discernment/vol2/iss2/1