The Shepherd Leader is a book that strives to bring the importance of shepherding to the forefront of our thinking about what church leaders should do and, therefore, what they should be. Too many church leaders perceive of themselves as a board of directors when the Bible is clear that they are to know, feed, lead, and protect the flock entrusted to their care.
Shepherd Leader
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Tim Witmer is the faithful shepherd of a growing, urban, multi-ethnic church. In this useful and important book, he explains a biblical, practical model for shepherding ministry in a local church. We plan to use The Shepherd Leader as a primary resource for all of our candidates, interns, elders, and pastors -- our shepherds and shepherds-in-training. --Philip G Ryken
About the Author
Tim Witmer is currently Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary where he is Coordinator of the Practical Theology Department, Director of Mentored Ministry and Master of Divinity Programs. He is also the Minister of Preaching at Crossroads Community Church (PCA) in Upper Darby, PA.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For Historical-biblical Accuracy,
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This review is from: The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church (Paperback)
C. S. Lewis, in his introduction to a translation of Athanasius "On the Incarnation," made the fundamental assertion that reading the "old books" provides the best education. To do so opens one's vision past the interpreters and leads one into the ideas of the past that have been so easily forgotten. I think of this every time I look at a theological that finds its foundation, not simply in history, but in an exegesis of the Word, and then is built-upon with a sound history. The situation become even more enjoyable when the document is thorough in its approach to the subject at hand.
Back in my undergrad days at Grace in Omaha, Dr. Charles Nichols ("Chuck"), along with the staff at then Westbrook Evangelical Free Church, taught and put in place a leadership model based on multiple elders working in parity. Our education in this was good, but, as one would expect in the undergraduate world, not as thorough as one would receive at higher levels of academic rigor. That's just the nature of undergraduate studies - there just is not the same focus as in seminary and post-graduate work. Recently our local church pastor picked up Timothy Witmer's The Shepherd Leader as a study for church leadership. This is the first, that I have come across, serious Biblical and historical treatment of the structural context of shepherding. Several chapters of this work deserve to exist as components in a larger systematic theology of ecclesiology. What Dr. Witmer does not create is an elitist group of leaders that take from the local church whatever suits them, just as so many strong leaders have been (and may still be today) observed to do, raping the local church of resources in exchange for power, prestige, and status. Nor does Dr. Witmer seek to establish a passive leadership that exists as either figurehead yes-men to the senior pastor or as hard demagogues who rule the church multiple iron fists, imitating the power of the solo pastor. What Dr. Witmer does emphasize is service, ministry, active engagement, and a clear set of Biblical principles for this course. There are no easy solutions when one counters 1800 years of error in church structure. But for those who wish to be as Biblical as possible, start here.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Relearning The Importance of Shepherding,
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This review is from: The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church (Paperback)
As a pastor, sheperding is one of those things that I often intend to do well, but find that I can let it slip through the cracks. The tyranny of the urgent can often times drive sheperding to the bottom of the list. In my seminary days and beyond, I have read many books that spoke to the issue of shpeherding. Often times shepherding can be one of those things that is easy to plan, but hard to practice. Then, I read Dr. Witmer's book...
The style in which this book is written is clear and to the point. That is, a seminarian can read and be fed, but also those who are lay leaders can read the book and not feel overwhelmed. The book is essentially laid out in three distinct parts. The first part is the Biblical foundation for shpeherding. The second part is the philosophy for shepherding. The third part is how to practice sound shepherding. Whether this style of Biblical leadership is foreign or you have done it all your life, this book speaks in such a way that is convincing to those who have never tried this model and convicting for those who have assumed that they have always done it correctly. Dr. Witmer gives helpful insights on how to implement a good shepherding plan that is consistent with a 21st century lifestyle. I think this book should be required reading for all elders and pastors. Even if you don't agree with some of its conculsions, there is enough in the book to make you rethink how you are leading your church. I loved this book and have asked my fellow elders to read it with me. I greatly encourage anyone who seeks to lead in their church or ministry to read it. If you are like me, you won't be able to put it down.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must Read for Pastors,
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This review is from: The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church (Paperback)
Every now and then a book comes your way that seems to weigh about 30 lbs. more than its peers. A couple of years ago The Shepherd Leader by Timothy Witmer was that book.
I should say at the outset, in a manner that I'm sure Witmer would appreciate, the book's great impact is not due to the author's creativity with words or concepts. It was quite the opposite actually. Witmer dusts off the biblical concept of shepherding and provides a very helpful guide to ministry. When I say shepherding I am not saying anything that pastors, or people who have been around Christianity very long, aren't already familiar with. We know that pastors are shepherds and elders are pastors. This is drilled into our minds. However, what Witmer so helpfully does is remind us that pastor/shepherd/elder is not just a noun-but a verb! Along these lines, the author writes in the introduction: Therefore, this book is designed to be a practical guide 1) to convince you that shepherding provides a comprehensive framework for what you need to be doing as a church leaders and 2) to provide a practical guide to help you start a shepherding ministry among your people, or to improve the one you already have. And this is pretty much what we have in The Shepherd Leader. In Part 1 we see the biblical and historical foundations for shepherding or leading the people of God. Here Witmer helpfully draws some lines of continuity between our day and both the Old Testament as well as the Apostolic era. This he does with helpful interaction with the contemporary resistence to the concept of authority in general and the church in particular. In Part 2 Witmer identifies what Shepherds are to do. This is where he gets very practical. It becomes convicting and affirming depending upon where you are. But regardless, it is helpful, refreshing and instructive. The chapter titles explain what you are getting here. Each chapter is represented in italics: Shepherds Know, Feed, Lead, Protect, the sheep. In Part 3 the author helps you to put it all together, or implement an effective shepherding stategy for the local church. One of the recurring lenses that Witmer uses is the Macro and Micro concept. That is what the shepherd leader does on the large scale and what he does on the small scale. I found this to be very helpful. It helped to united the too often estranged elements of pastoral ministry. What I mean is, often times churches are really good on the individual level but then lack in the public ministry of the Word. Others do a lot of preaching and teaching but neglect discipleship. Witmer won't have that (because the Bible won't have that imbalance). He helps to show the better way of active shepherding via relationships, visitation, preaching, leading, small group discipleship and general communication. As a church planter who is working to establish leaders this book is gold. My copy is dog eared and highlighted all over the place. It is what we use to talk through pastoral ministry with any potential elders or interns. Our other elders and I rarely reference Witmer but are very often dropping Shepherd Leader references in our conversations. Thankfully, it has permeated ministry. If you are a pastor let me give you a few more reasons to give this book a serious look. He hits these perennail pastoral burdens: How do you handle your back door issue? Lots of people come but not as many as you'd like get plugged in and serve. What do you do about that? How do you handle fluid membership role? Is there a way to anticipate counseling needs so that they don't always have to go to triage? At the end of the day, what is my real responsibility before God for these people? How can I develop an effective shepherding plan? How do I develop more leaders? What do I look for in these leaders? I could go on and on. The book is great. It's under 300 pages so it's not exhaustive, however, it's what is needed.
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