Leaders in the Making: A Workbook for Discovering and Developing Church Leaders. By Paul N. Benware and Brian Harris. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. 120 pp. Paper, $8.99.

As the subtitle indicates, this is a workbook designed to be used by churches to discover and develop church leaders.

The book is divided into four major study areas: (1) The Inner Life of Church Leaders, (2) The Biblical Ideals for Church Leaders, (3) The Evangelistic Work of Church Leaders, and (4) The Shepherding Ministries of Church Leaders. Each of these major areas is then subdivided into between three and seven sessions. All together there are a total of twenty sessions, averaging about five pages each.

Each session contains teaching followed by questions designed to make the reader think through what he has read. The questions are not the simple fill-in-the-blank variety (like: “In the Sermon on the Mount, who is the speaker?). The following are some representative questions: “What are several contrasts between [the Holy Spirit’s] filling and baptizing?” “What are your greatest hindrances to prayer?” “Do you have a Bible reading plan?” “What is it?” “What results in a church when the biblical list [of requirements for an elder] is not consciously followed in leadership selection?” “What happens when a church focuses on just a few of the qualifications and neglects the others?” “What is the biblical expression for what a sinner must do to be saved?”

Of special interest to our readers is that this book takes a solid Free Grace stand. In fact, several of the twenty sessions deal with the message of evangelism.

I find this to be a helpful workbook and I recommend it for use by church boards.

Robert N. Wilkin
Associate Editor
Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Roanoke, TX