NEWS PROVIDED BY
Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
April 7, 2021

LANCASTER, Penn., April 7, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (alliancenet.org) announces two newly published books: "Vital Churches," a book teaching church leaders their responsibilities to their pastors and churches by Dr. Wendell Faris McBurney, and a devotional on "Genesis" by the late Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse (founder of the Alliance).

"I once helped a pastor drive a U-Haul truck filled with his family's possessions as he moved many hundreds of miles to a new congregation, essentially an escape from an unhappy pastorate," writes McBurney in "Vital Churches: Elder Responsibility for Their Pastors and Congregational Planning" (paperback, 232 pp.).

With five decades of ordained eldership experience, McBurney shares how such " ... observations have underscored my conviction that there is much to be done that can be helpful to our pastors and the Church." His book guides ruling elders in understanding and performing their responsibility to plan for their pastor's personal and professional well-being, explaining that, "A vital pastor is not the only requirement, but it is an essential ingredient of a vital church."

McBurney addresses his main concern that many Christians see supporting professional standards in the "real" world as not applicable in the spiritual world. He contends that careful development and diligent follow-through are "not at odds with trusting God," and instructs on elder responsibility to plan in the Church both with and for the pastor as well as for future pastors. The book includes relevant testimony from a seasoned minister and a pastor's wife. A member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, McBurney also served for eight years as a church deacon prior to being an elder.

"Genesis: A Devotional Exposition" (paperback, 425 pp.). Through the donation of an Alliance member this book is a re-release after decades being out of print. The late Donald Barnhouse provides a verse-by-verse exposition of the Bible's opening book. Its devotional theme offers ministerial care with a focus on God as "the God of New Beginnings."

Alliance Executive Director Bob Brady says of the book: "Drawing on rich and pithy treasures from pages of Scripture, the wisdom and insight of this study will provide hours of profitable reading and worthwhile commentary for all who love the Word of God." He highlights these pastoral words from the book: "God does not dehumanize us when we are saved. He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust... [in our sorrows] the heart turns more eagerly to the homeland of heaven, and lodges there." Barnhouse was an influential twentieth century American preacher who, seeking to spread God's Word to a vast audience, began a national radio broadcast and magazine under the name of Evangelical Ministries, the predecessor of the Alliance.

About the Alliance:
Headquartered in Lancaster, Pa., the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is a national coalition of pastors, scholars, and churchmen who hold to the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed faith and who proclaim biblical doctrine in order to foster a Reformed awakening in today's Church. It primarily does so through broadcasting, printed and online publishing, and special events. It began in 1949 as Evangelical Ministries, which broadcast The Bible Study Hour radio program and published "Eternity" magazine. It also played a strategic role in the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, the Cambridge Declaration, and the establishment of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology. For more information, visit alliancenet.org.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Review copies of each book are available for media staff upon request. Dr. McBurney is available for interview.)

SOURCE Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

CONTACT: Grant Van Leuven, Community Engagement Coordinator, 619-616-9484, gvanleuven@alliancenet.org