Many church leaders juggle full-time (secular) jobs, families, and various ministries. Leadership conferences and books are great but take a lot of time and are quickly forgotten. Full-time pastors have had the advantage of Bible college or seminary training. Still, even then, there is sadly inadequate leadership training provided for wisely shepherding the congregations of God.

The distinction between pastoral staff and lay leadership is biblically unsustainable and fosters a clergy-laity-like division that sets a ceiling on the leadership level a person can aspire to. The result is a loss of the gifting that God may be providing to the church. This failure is exacerbated by the lack of accessible training for learning authentic spiritual leadership, the kind that J. Oswald Sanders writes about in his classic book, Spiritual Leadership.

Much of the teaching on the practical side of pastoral leadership is contained in resources geared more toward a traditional full-time pastor than a working elder. That was the motive behind starting the ministry called “Elders’ ShopNotes” (affectionately called ESN), which began in 1999.

The goals for ESN were to provide:
1. “Bite-sized” teaching for the working elder or church leader whose time is a premium
2. How-to’s for shepherding a congregation
3. Basic biblical leadership principles
4. Teaching to help elders’ wives support their husbands

For Whom?
This ministry aimed at supporting, encouraging, and building up secularly employed elders to become more effective spiritual shepherds of God’s people.=

Biblical Leadership

The Bible presents a plurality of elders as the norm for church government. The general tenor of the pastoral teaching in Scripture and the record of the beginning of the church supports this conclusion. While some give their time vocationally to pastoral work, we believe all elders should share in the responsibility of the ministry. They are not just “board” elders but should be pastoral, shepherding elders.

From Modest Beginnings
Originally, ESN was developed as a bi-monthly ministry letter, four pages long, featuring short articles (about 1,000 words each) covering practical teaching on the “how-to’s,” such as visiting the sick, conducting funerals, etc. This expanded into general principles of spiritual leadership, working as a team of equal but differently gifted individuals, the biblical characteristics of elders, conflict resolution, and studies in Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus, with particular attention on the biblical qualifications or characteristics of elders, etc.

The articles are designed to be read in short time segments (what I call throne room reading!) to provide a steady diet of consistent teaching helpful for those wishing to grow in their leadership abilities. This resonated with many, as our circulation grew to more than a thousand subscribers with translation also into Spanish.

What is the ministry of ESN Now?

Now, you can access the entire database of our past issues, including fifteen years of articles (totaling more than 90 issues). These are archived here and can be read online or downloaded in their original form, free of charge.

Additionally, we have the “best of” ESN book series, highlighting 1) Biblical Foundations, 2) Leadership Qualities & Studies in 1 Timothy, 3) Leadership Principles, 4) Practical Ministry & Studies in 2 Timothy, 5) Wives’ Corner. To get your copy, order online here.

If you or someone you know could benefit from this resource, please pass along this information; you will help your church leaders improve the quality of their spiritual leadership.

NOTE: for more recent issues and ongoing publication of ESN, click here.