Scriptural Elders And Deacons

I have the original hardback from a later printing. This is a very good study to some insight from by gone days. Written the the50's the material is dated but answers some question of today.

To me it is the best book on the subject. I had it years ago and lost it in a fire and it is one of the first bought again.

This is the best book on this particular subject there is on the market. I have bought and given away a good number of the to younger families. I am hopeful that these families will work toward having an elder in their home as head of household.

I first read Scriptural Elders & Deacons many years ago & have returned to it as a reference work often through the years. In addition to carefully reading brother Phillips' book, I have also researched and outlined much of the material to use in sermons and classes. The book is saturated in Old Testament background material which is a treasure mine. I have many books on elders and deacons but this one tops them all for thoroughness, accuracy, and balanced consideration of difficult points. The three chapters on deacons and the one on the wives of officer holders are very helpful. Only the Bible can be recommended without any reservation, but this book rates high among all the uninspired material I have read on this topic in over 50 years of preaching.

I have used brother Phillips’ book throughout my preaching career. I thought so much of it as a young preacher that I prepared a 30-35 single-spaced outline of his work which has been the primary material I have used throughout my life’s work as a gospel preacher. His fair and even-handed manner of addressing difficult issues attracted me to the work from the beginning. Through the years, I have yet to find a more comprehensive book on the subject.

Bro. Phillips gets entirely too complicated in his presentation and I found several errors in just a cursory review (about an hour in length.) I intended to use this work to help me prepare to teach a class on the subject but, I have set it aside due to too much information. Example: Bro. Phillips emphatically declares the seven men chosen in Acts 6 to be deacons. Such an affirmation is preposterous and he does not give scripture to support his stand. It is far from being the "very best material on the subject" as CEI Bookstore claims it to be. Sorry.