Chris Goodman is the Director of Ministry Development for the global internet ministry of bible.org. He is also the Director of Business Development for bible.org's publishing ministry, NET Bible Press. Chris' skills do not include speeling, grammar, or biosciences. He does however have a passion for being faithfully submitted to Jesus Christ, seeking effective models for ministry in the 21st century and partnering with others in the journey.
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The NET Bible, of course. Along with the Message, NLT, HCSB and the NKJV |
| Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading By Eugene H. Peterson |
| The Shack By William P. Young |
| Pocket History of the Church By D. Jeffrey Bingham |
| The Indwelling Life of Christ By W. Ian Thomas |
I asked a couple of people to weigh in on your question and here are their responses:
1. One question needs to be answered first: “What is the function of the
‘trustees’ (an office not found in Scripture). If by trustee one means “elder”
(in biblical terms) than they are to shepherd the flock (e.g. Acts 20:28). The
reasonable question, then, is “How many people can we expect an elder to
shepherd?” (This will probably differ a bit from one individual to another.)
That will set you up to do the math.
If, however,
“trustee” really means “deacon” (the pastor is the elder, the elders are the
deacons, and the trustees are the deacons – I suspect this is what is meant)
then I think we find our guidance in Acts 6. You appoint the number of deacons
necessary to carry out the tasks you are doing. Thus, you identify the
ministries that need leadership, determine how many are needed in each, and add
up to find the total number needed. That’s as close to the Scriptures as I can
get.
2. You might look at the Willow Creek Association. The have a number of resources that might be of assistance.