It’s not unusual for me to be contacted about reading resources, and typically it’s not too difficult to recommend some appropriate text(s). Today, I was asked what resources there are for elders serving in the Presbyterian/Reformed tradition. After a quick scramble, here’s what I came up with:

• Joan S. Gray, Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers: A Handbook (Louisville: Geneva Press, 2009).
• Ken Lawson and Stewart Matthew, Caring for God’s People: A Handbook for Elders and Ministers on Pastoral Care (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1995).
• Ted A. Lester, ‘So, You’ve Been Elected an Elder …’ (Louisville: Congregational Ministries Publishing, 2001). This is a video/DVD.
• Phil A. Newton, Elders in Congregational Life: Rediscovering the Biblical Model for Church Leadership (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2005). This is a Baptist perspective on eldership.
• Colin H. Ray, ed., A Guide for Elders (Melbourne: Uniting Church Press, 1994).
• Lester J. Reid, A Resource for Elders, Sessions & Parish Councils (Wellington: Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Department of Parish Development and Mission, 1997).
• Sheila Stephens, ‘Why Me?’ (Edinburgh: The Church of Scotland). This is a video and it comes with an accompanying 36 page handbook.
• Thomas F. Torrance, ‘The Eldership in the Reformed Church’, Scottish Journal of Theology 37 (1984): 503–18.
• Thomas F. Torrance, The Eldership in the Reformed Church (Edinburgh: Handsel Press, 1984).
• Thomas F. Torrance, Royal Priesthood: A Theology of Ordained Ministry (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993).
• Tony Tucker, Reformed Ministry: Traditions of Ministry and Ordination in the United Reformed Church (London: United Reformed Church, 2003).
• Lukas Vischer, ed., Eldership in the Reformed Churches Today: Report of an International Consultation held at John Knox Centre in Geneva from August 26–31, 1990 (Geneva: World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 1991).
• Lukas Vischer, ed., The Ministry of the Elders in the Reformed Churches: Papers Presented at a Consultation held in Geneva in August 1990 (Berne: Evangelische Arbeitsstelle Oekumene Schweiz, 1992).
• D. Newell Williams, ‘Consultation on the significance of Eldership in the Reformed Tradition’, Mid-Stream 30 (1991): 353–55.

Now the concerning thing is that I may have discovered today that my inkling is confirmed: that the pickings really are slim in this area. Of course, I’ve love to have my inkling swiftly murdered by others who know more about this stuff than I do. In other words, I would be really excited to hear of some other resources (booklets/videos/books/tapestries/etc.) that people have found helpful in this area (and those not only from the Pressie/Reformed tribe).

Of course, there’s also a serious book or two that it would be great for such elders to read. Among these I would include:

• Ray S. Anderson, Minding God’s Business (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1986).
• Ray S. Anderson, Ministry on the Fireline: A Practical Theology for an Empowered Church (Pasadena: Fuller Seminary Press, 1998).
• Andrew Purves, The Crucifixion of Ministry: Surrendering Our Ambitions to the Service of Christ (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007).
• Andrew Purves, Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation (Louisville/London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004).
• Lukas Vischer, ed., Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Past and Present (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003). This is an excellent collection of essays.
• Walter C. Wright Jr., Relational Leadership: A Biblical Model for Leadership Service (Carlisle: Paternoster, 2000). A revised edition of this came out this year but I’ve yet to see a copy.
• Walter C. Wright Jr., ‘The Ministry of Leadership: Empowering People’ in Incarnational Ministry: The Presence of Christ in Church, Society, and Family: Essays in Honor of Ray S. Anderson (ed. Christian D. Kettler and Todd H. Speidell; Colorado Springs: Helmers & Howard, 1990), 204–15.