After many years of experience with churches, I observed that the maturing of the churches in general was being thwarted by the lack of genuine apostolic and five fold ministry. The book was written to illustrate the need for genuine fatherly leadership from the heart of maturity. Most books about apostolic leadership, although good and helpful, were more or less written from the point of view of application and performance of ministry rather than from the aspect of heart. Key editorial points are: Why we need leaders to be fathers. Why fathers should be honored and the results in the church when they are not. Why true blessing depends on fathers. The marks of a true apostle and how to recognize them The need for a team spirit. Passing the baton to future leaders. This book will throw great light on the understanding of those who want to see true oversight work in churches and the blessing it will bring to all concerned.

Many believe Jesus taught little about the Church during his earthly ministry. However, this is not entirely true. While the word "church" only appears a few times in the gospels, Jesus taught much about what life together would be like after his redeeming death and glorious resurrection. Many of the parables provide a beautiful glimpse into this new way of life. Perhaps none says more about church life than the parable of the Good Shepherd found in the tenth chapter of John. In this new book, Neil Silverberg deals extensively with this parable drawing on the rich history of the Old Testament account of the relationship between Jehovah and his sheep (Psalm 23), Jesus uses this story to illustrate what life with him and other sheep would look like in the new covenant age. As the great Shepherd, he had come to take the sheep out of the fold of Judaism and bring them into the freedom and liberty of true church life. The application couldn't be clearer. Many modern churches are much like ancient folds that hold people in and restrict them from experiencing all that God desired for the new covenant community. Today people everywhere hunger for a real experience of the church. As they come alive to the grace of the Gospel, they are also seeking a simpler expression of life together and kingdom reality. This new work will definitely serve to shed much light on the glorious freedom that God intended all his people to experience together in the church.