Episode description

This is one of those episodes that could be boring or interesting, depending on what you like to learn about. That’s because in this episode, Dad and I “nerd out” on church leadership. We start by talking about how closely leadership organization and practice in the church of Christ in 21st century America resembles church organization and leadership in the first century. Then we talk about the classic leadership structure of most Church of Christ congregations in America, a structure that revolves around ministers, elders, and deacons. On this point, Dad teaches me an old Church of Christ joke that actually makes a lot of sense. Finally, Dad talks about his experience working with the elders at the Steele Avenue Church of Christ in Ashland, Ohio, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. How did decisions get made and how did things get done? Dad talks about some things he wishes the elders of the Steele Avenue Church of Christ did different and how he wishes he did some things differently, too.