They Smell Like Sheep: Spiritual Leadership for the 21st Century

Good read

My son and I were browsing at a used book store when we ran across this book "They Smell Like Sheep". The title itself jumped off the shelf at us so we put it in the cart to take home. The next morning I woke up around 4:30am thinking about that title and decided to pick up the book to really find out what it was about. By 11am I was still reading, I had cried, laughed, prayed but was hungry to read more. At 1pm (still in my pj's) I finished the book, I cried some more and prayed off and on the rest of the afternoon. That evening I took the book to a holiday gathering for our worship team and gave it to our worship leader. I told him my experience with the book and felt that it would bless him as it had blessed me. The short of it is, anyone who is called to Ministry: pastor, evangelist, missionary, youth, worship, women's, men's, children's, etc - should not only read this book but live it if they want to be successful in the eyes of the King of Kings. This is Biblical Leadership spelled out in today's English that encourages me to Lead Like Jesus Lead as I move forward serving the Ultimate Shepherd Jesus Christ.

Mr. Anderson is right on target as for the overall direction he takes on what qualities an elder should have. Most churches I am associated with seem to pick elders based on their secular professions. This is not to say that men in positions of authority or leadership in their jobs aren't qualified to be elders. A lot of times it seems that men who are CEO's, lawyers, doctors, and such are not people oriented and they seem distant. What Mr. Anderson does in his book is to direct us to such attributes as loving, feeling, sympathizing, and nurturing versus dictating, directing, and otherwise bossing folks around. There must be a delicate balance in all of these attributes. There will be times when elders must make decisions and dictate direction but also they must be a group of men that the people they serve can go to when they are hurting, sick, or weak. Elders need to serve as the Lord would have them do according to scripture. Mr. Anderson's book helps us to better understand the scriptures and apply them.

As a relational based Christian going through some tough times in a "hurt" church, this made a lot of sense to me and helped me understand the leadership roles we all play and what each of them truly means and how to achieve effective leadership.

The strength of "They Smell Like Sheep" is the general direction of the book. Dr. Lynn Anderson's theme is that elders should focus upon knowing, loving, serving, and nurturing a number of Christians (first and foremost) rather than attending endless board meetings. Although Andersons' arguments are compelling, he leaves us with a number of unanswered questions, including: "Who will make the decisions necessary for a church to advance?" Anderson is right to encourage elders not to get wrapped up in micromanaging or getting out of their domain, thus freeing up boards to focus upon more, if not completely, hands-on ministry.Anderson divides his book into two main sections: "A Biblical Look at Spiritual Leadership Principles (The Sort of Things Leaders Do)" and "A Biblical Look at Elders (The Sort of People They Are)."The first section of the book is the strongest and presents church leaders (particularly elders) as Shepherds, Mentors, and Equippers. He is to be commended for advocating leadership based upon relationship and earned influence, not a chain of command emphasis. Although much of this material can be found elsewhere, Anderson makes this material palatable to the average layman, especially those who have never been taught principles of spiritual leadership (as opposed to corporate leadership). This section is a great primer for elders and other church leaders and worth the price of the book.The second section is weaker. The author addresses some of the texts regarding the qualification of elders, but does so in an unsatisfying way, leaving a mountain of unanswered questions. For example, he assumes that the word "elder" must mean an older man, but words change meaning and he does not even acknowledge the existence of diversity among evangelical opinion (for example, Timothy oversaw the elders and appointed them, even though he was a mere 30 or 35 years old). Anderson does not demonstrate a serious grappling with the meaning of the text.If the book is weak in particulars, the overall strength is its broad themes. His final few chapters address the meaning of authority and the words used to express this authority in the New Testament.Although his attempt to prove elders should not pull rank through retranslating the Greek words is suspect, his point is well taken. Elders should not pull rank and play the authority game -- not because the Greek words have been mistranslated all these centuries -- but because I Peter 5:1-4 tells us not to do so. So Anderson gets us to the right point, yet not because of his exegesis, but in spite of it. His argument of leading through moral suasion is right on target! This is an absolutely key thought.As a primer book for getting the feel of the right attitude toward serving as an elder, this book is great. But if you are looking for a scholarly book that addresses all the issues and evaluates a number of interpretations, you might be disappointed. This volume is definitely worth reading and sharing with fellow board members.

This should be in all church library’s and anyone interested in being a deacon or elder it should be required reading before taking office.

This book packs a powerful punch! It offers an insightful view of what it means to lead in the local church. It provides simple imagery and an easily understandable explanation of Biblical doctrine. I highly recommend this book for anyone involved in ministry or church leadership.

Think you know about pastoring? Read this!!! I use this book to train ministry leaders!

The product arrived on time and was accurately described with regards to condition

I just got it today, great shape and the first taste is promising.