Elders don’t have to be—well, elderly. Just ask David Anderson, who became an elder at his church in Colorado when he was in his late 20s, having been mentored by Alex Strauch. Find out how David, a husband and a dad of three, balances full-time eldership with family life.
How did you come to faith in Christ?
I was raised in a godly home and heard the gospel as a kid. I believe I came to saving faith around the age of 7 at a camp in northern Minnesota.
Who had the biggest influence on you growing up?
My parents were models of a good, godly, balanced Christian life. My older brother, Lars, was also a big influence. Also a missionary from Kenya our family hosted when I was 17 years old. His name is Sammy Wanyonyi.
When did you become an elder, and can you share how that process unfolded?
I sensed a strong call to serve the Lord and preach the gospel during my college years. The Lord seemed to make it clear that full time ministry was what He called me to.
When I began to get more involved at Littleton Bible Chapel and was given the opportunity to preach, that’s when Alex Strauch really encouraged me to invest into the local church and focus on Bible exposition. During this time, there was a local church looking for a pastor. With Alex’s encouragement, I took that position and it was a great opportunity to be baptized into church life in a fairly dysfunctional church setting. I served at that church for about four years, preaching every week, shepherding that flock, and it was great training. Alex continued to mentor me, and we began to pray about what it would look like for me to transition to Littleton Bible Chapel to work into the role I have now.
The whole transition took a number of years. When I came over, I did not come on as an elder, but as a full-time worker, doing roughly 50 percent of the preaching, along with Alex. After two years, the church recognized me as an elder. That whole process was about 15 years ago, when I was in my late 20s.
Tell us about your family, the recent sabbatical you took, and the spiritual habits you’ve incorporated into your family life.
My wife, Lonnalee, and I have been married just over 15 years. We have three kids: Mollie, age 13; Ryle, age 12; and Georgia (“Peach”), age 8.
Our church graciously gave me a sabbatical a few months ago. We had implemented a three-year cycle for all of our elders to rotate off for three months, and this past May was my turn. It was such a blessing, it’s hard to put into words. We want our elders to last for the long haul. We don’t want to churn and burn our leaders out. I’d encourage elderships to consider implementing a sabbatical program—and I think wives of elders need a sabbatical as much as, if not more than, the elders.
On our sabbatical we discovered we love the beach. My kids learned to surf, and I think the beach will be part of our family DNA from now on.
As far as spiritual habits, I wish I could say we were paragons of consistency, but we have tried to maintain a fairly regular family worship where we read some scripture, pray, and sometimes sing. This setting has provided the context for great conversations and worship of the Lord together. (It should also be said that we have failed more times than we have succeeded at this.)
As a dad of young kids, how do you balance the needs of the people you’re shepherding with the needs of your family?
My wife has always been very gracious towards ministry time. Never once in all of our marriage has she lamented my time away for the church or service to the Lord. I realize that’s not normal, but I don’t feel pressure from her in that way.
We also enjoy the tremendous blessing of plurality at the church. Responsibilities are delegated so it doesn’t all fall on me. The elders have also strongly encouraged a “family first” type approach. We never want our families to lament the ministry or have ministry take precedence to the detriment of the family.
That said, we do strive to keep our evenings for our family as much as possible. I try to schedule as much as possible during normal work hours to protect our family time.
If you could give one piece of advice to a young Christian dad about raising kids, what would you say?
It’s advice I heard John MacArthur give at a Shepherd’s Conference. As it relates to dads who are elders, I would say to never disparage the church or lament its problems to your kids. I am very careful never to bring up negative or frustrating aspects of church to my kids. I try to consistently talk about the blessing of our church and the privilege of being part of it.
As far as I can tell, this has shaped my kids. They have the highest view of church and can’t wait to be with the church body.
Share about some of the places you’ve traveled in ministry. Which ones stand out to you most?
I have had the privilege of preaching in England, Hungary, Poland, Mexico, India, Canada, Austria, Botswana, Kenya, and Rwanda. East Africa (Kenya and Rwanda) were my favorite places to preach. I just love the people of East Africa. So enjoyable. So delightful.
How do you spend your free time?
Here’s what I’d like to do in my free time 🙂 I love motorcycles and dirt-biking/adventure riding. Motorcycle camping. Bow hunting. Traditional archery. Fly-fishing. Any kind of fishing. Camping.
What is the best book you’ve read this year?
I read three different books by David Paul Tripp on my sabbatical (all of them excellent), but his book called Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments Every Couple Needs to Make was off the charts.
What is your favorite book you’ve read with your kids?
This relates to family worship, but our family is a huge fan of The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos. I have never been a great reader to my kids, but we do a lot of audio books; I think our family favorite is Anne of Green Gables or The Adventures of Tom Sawyer read by Nick Offerman.
What spiritual discipline has made the biggest difference in your life?
Bible intake. In addition to that, missionary biographies have always been a great source of inspiration, encouragement, and rebuke.