Pedestrian presbyter
The four exhortations to shepherds (know/feed/lead/protect the flock) are all sound and tackled at both a macro and micro level. As I said, all useful. But it does all feel a little pedestrian and, at times, formulaic (‘matrix for ministry’, ‘four fundamental functions’, ‘seven steps’). As a church leader you may well find this book both helpful and insightful, just not particularly exciting.
Adrian Reynolds
THE SHEPHERD LEADER
Achieving effective shepherding in your church
By Timothy Z. Witmer
P&R Publishing (distributed in the UK by Evangelical Press). 268 pages. £13.99
ISBN 978-1-59638-131-5
What’s not to like and praise about a book which is solid, biblical and thorough on the subject of church leadership? On the face of it, nothing: I didn’t read anything with which I disagreed (though there is an emphasis on Presbyterian forms of church government, as you might expect); I read plenty that warmed my heart and challenged my own thinking about leadership in church.
It begins with a detailed survey of leadership from biblical principles through church history culminating in a long chapter answering the question, ‘Where have all the shepherds gone?’ Good question, and well answered, but this first section does not necessarily help the book — is it a survey of church leadership or a church leadership help guide? I wonder whether focusing on one or the other might have helped?
