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Abstract

The continent of Africa has an enduring Christian legacy; both in what has been penned in the annals of history, and in the future that has yet to be written. Writing as an observer from the West, it is my hope that the Church in Africa can build on recent progress and overcome the errors of history to build a strong church on the foundation of the historic biblical faith she helped foster in the early centuries of Christianity. The African Church can grow stronger through the establishment oflocal congregations founded on shared leadership (more than one man leading the church), the equality of every believer functioning as spiritual-siblings, and a plurality of elders-which is the tradition given to us in the Scripture. Embracing a shared leadership structures using multiple elders in local churches can help the African Church reach two important goals. First, embracing biblical shared leadership will help each congregation overcome the abuse of power reflected in the "Pastor as CEO" model, where the church is run more like a business, and replace it with a biblical model of family-leadership. Second, building local churches on a family-model of shared leadership will position the African Church as a world influencer.

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