Customer Reviews

Leading With Love

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Like Alex's other books, sound biblical scholarship is combined with a heart for real people with real challenges. The first half of the book made me weep. It's a wonderful treatment of the source and motivation of love. Love that endures and ultimately blesses has to come from a well deeper than the one in my heart. Alex presents Jesus clearly and how both he and those who knew him, loved others with strength, sincere emotion and purpose.
The second half of the book is very practical as Alex discusses the many facets of love. I especially appreciated his treatment of the disciplinary aspect of love. This is rarely done well in the church and it is to our harm that it is so. I also enjoyed the anecdotes of love and particularly those about Robert Chapman, who seems to have had a rare ability to love well.
Although the book is addressed to leaders, it would be a shame if people chose not to read it for that reason. Its message, though of particular importance to Christian leadership, is needed throughout Christ's kingdom.

Alexander Strauch hits the nail on the head. He expounds on the Scriptures and teaches on the great need for Christian love in the local church and for Christian leaders, teachers, pastors, Sunday School teachers, etc to display the "still more excellent way" of love in their lives and in their ministries. The book was incredibly practical and very clear. As a pastor I was inspired to love my flock better and lead with love. It would be perfect for any pastor, elder, or deacon, or for any Christian leader wanting to study and apply the great doctrine of love. This was honestly one of the best books I have ever read and it has just become required reading for all leaders at our church.

I would say that this book is a very helpful reminder to everyone who would claim to lead others. It is common today (and one only has to look at presidential campaigns) to lead with arrogance and claim superiority while deriding opponents. But that is far from the biblical picture of leadership. All leadership is to be characterized by love, and love should pervade our every action. Strauch does a good job of showing the qualities necessary for any leader, but especially a leader in the Christian community (be it church or the larger Evangelical world). He uses vivid examples to convey the truth of Scripture in everyday life. The book is relatively short, but is definitely worth reading. I was convicted of lovelessness even in my own life, and I understand better the biblical mandate to love others as I lead them.

Strauch divides the book into three sections:
1.) Love is Indispensable to Christian Leadership
2.) The Character and Behavior of a Loving Leader
3.) The Works of a Loving Leader

In the first section, he shows how pervasive the idea of love is throughout the Bible, especially in leadership contexts. In the second, he spends much time on what a Christian leader should look like and what things should concern him. In the final section, he devotes discussion to very practical ways to exhibit love as a leader.

It becomes clear through reading that Strauch himself is a humble man who is truly concerned with leading others into loving leadership.