The Shepherd Forge
Forged to Guard the Flock
A rigorous, Spirit-led process for identifying, testing, training, and affirming the men whom Christ is calling to be pastors and elders in your church — offered free to pastors who want to raise up faithful elders and won't settle for a checkbox process.
Why it exists
Too many churches raise elders on nothing more than availability, likability, and a quick statement of faith. Too many pastors know it and don't know what to do about it. Scripture asks for more — men above reproach, tested, faithful at home, able to teach and defend the Word, gladly submitted to a plurality of fellow elders (1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Peter 5:1–4).
The Shepherd Forge is a six-phase pathway that takes a man from private inquiry to public affirmation over roughly twenty to twenty-four months. It is designed to be run by the existing pastor and elders of a local church, without a seminary and without a subscription.
Twenty to twenty-four months is not caution for its own sake. Paul told Timothy: “Do not lay hands upon anyone hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others” (1 Timothy 5:22).
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A baseline conversation. Is he even a candidate?
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Formal onboarding. Questionnaires for the man and his wife, a Scripture Knowledge Test, three books, private references.
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The heart of the process. Doctrinal formation, pastoral formation, ministry apprenticeship, and ongoing character and household examination — all under the plurality of current elders.
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After unanimous elder affirmation, his name goes public. The church is given time to pray and to bring biblical concerns.
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Public doctrinal and pastoral examination before the congregation. Character testimony from spouse, long-standing members, and outside references.
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Members' vote, a week of prayer and fasting, and ordination by prayer and the laying on of hands.
What you get, free
The Shepherd Forge Overview — the whole six-phase process in one Word document.
The Inquiry Form (Phase 1) and the three Phase 2 forms (Candidate Questionnaire, Wife Questionnaire, Scripture Knowledge Test with Answer Key).
Phase 3 tools — a Doctrinal Reading List and discussion template, a Pastoral Reading Schedule with reflection prompts, a Quarterly Milestone Rubric grounded in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, a Preaching and Teaching Evaluation Form, and a Semiannual Home Visit Guide.
Phase 4–6 tools — a Capstone Interview Guide, a Recommendation Document Template, a Public Examination Question Bank, an Ordination Service Order with vows, an Elder Covenant, and an Elder Restoration and Removal Protocol.
Every document comes as a Word file so you can adapt it, and a PDF so you can hand it out — plus a START HERE guide explaining how to make the packet your own church's.
What this is not
It is not a franchise. I am not planting your elders. The Spirit of God does that.
It is not a seminary. The Forge assumes and reinforces theological training; it does not substitute for it.
It is not a personality test or a leadership pipeline. It is a Scripture-shaped process for confirming Christ's calling on qualified men.
It is not tied to any one confession. It was formed in Baptist, congregational, and elder-led context — but it works for any church willing to test its elders against 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
How to use it
Start with the Overview. It is one document, it explains the whole road, and it downloads below with nothing asked of you. Read it before you decide anything.
If you mean to run the Forge, the complete packet — every form, rubric, guide and template, in editable Word files — comes by email. Tell me where to send it. Confirm the email that arrives, and it's yours.
Then, before you adopt any of it: walk the current pastors/elders of your church through the whole thing, adapt the language to your church, and take the process to your congregation before you take a candidate through it. The Forge begins working the moment the whole plurality has read it and agreed to it.
Read the Overview
Get the complete packet
About the letters
The same email that brings you the packet puts you on my letters list. It's a letter, not a network — most weeks, from one pastor to another: something I'm learning, something I'm wrestling with, something to help you keep going. Some men write back. A few I get to meet. That's the whole thing, and you can leave the list whenever you like.
About the author
David Rhoades has served in pastoral ministry since 1995, and as a pastor/elder at Broadview Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas since 2018. He built The Shepherd Forge out of the ordinary work of raising up elders at Broadview and is making it freely available to any pastor who would put it to use in his own church, for the good of Christ's flock.
Contact
Questions, corrections, or stories from your own use of the Forge? Write to forge@davidrhoades.org — I read everything and I write back.
The Shepherd Forge documents are offered free of charge for use in local church elder training. You may adapt them for your own church without permission. You may not resell them.