They Smell Like Sheep.

Book Review.
Anderson, Lynn. They Smell Like Sheep. Leading with a heart of a shepherd. Howard Books. 2007.
L.A.- president of Hope Network. Lynn has been in ministry for thirty five years.
Comment. Henry.
The analogy of the shepherd and the sheep is a classical illustration in Scripture to demonstrate servant leadership. Christ referred to himself as the Good Shepherd. There are many lessons and principles taught in this analogy. A concern that I have had in processing lessons from this analogy has to do with the reality that the ‘shepherd’ (spiritual leader) is also a sheep and therefore has needs that need ‘shepherding’. There tends to be view of shepherds as a group that considers themselves apart from the sheep. This all has to do with servant leadership. When the author puts the heart at the centre of effective shepherding he identifies the key of the topic.
Shepherd leadership is all about the heart. “God’s glory is the object of, the motive for, and the measure of ministry.” (25) Jesus modelled such ministry. Not all can lead but all can pray. Prayer releases the Holy Spirit for ministry. Pray the Psalms.
Faith develops through stages; infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, aka, “experienced, affiliative, searching, and owned”. (58) This journey of faith comes at a price. The standards of holiness cannot be violated without consequence. Accountability, transparency, and reflection are marks of purity.
“It’s all about people.” (95) Shepherds must have a priority for needy sheep (people). This calls for serious feeding on the Word, for sheep and shepherd. A loving heart is a serving heart. A serving heart is often a broken heart. In our change driven culture seniors and their contributions often becomes a casualty.
We live in a world that is dominated by the “rational, informational, and linear/sequential” (181) Many other good and necessary things, mystery, majesty, etc., are being crowded out. ‘Shepherding’ is indeed a noble calling.
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