30 books a year
X 10 hours to read = 300 hours a year  Glean more wisdom with Solomon Summaries!
|
Home  Book Reviews Spiritual Leadership
|
J. Oswald Sanders' book Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer is many things at once. It’s an examination of Christ-centered leadership that is often convicting and inspiring, but at the same time it’s a book dependent heavily on checklists. It asks hard questions of perhaps lazy Christians, but at the same time focuses so much on practices and behaviors that it seems unaware of the inner workings of the human heart. It’s a book passionate for God’s glory, Christ’s character and the Holy Spirit’s reign, but at the same time riddled with the admonishments that seem little more than advise about working ever harder in the flesh.
It seems strange that one book contains both this timeless gem:
Spiritual leadership transcends the power of personality and all other natural gifts. The personality of the spiritual leader influences others because it is penetrated, saturated, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. As the leader gives control of his life to the Spirit, the Spirit’s power flows through him to others. (p. 28)
and this example for young people that seems encapsulated within a by-gone era:
Throughout his life [he] rose at four in the morning and retired each night at ten. When that hour struck, he would rise from his seat, no matter who his visitors or what the conversation, and say good-naturedly to his friends, “Come, gentlemen, it is time for all good folks to be at home.” (p. 54)
Spiritual Leadership is a wonderful and biblically sound book written during a modern era. Sanders' heart is passionate for Christ, but his methods are rooted in a time that valued orderliness above authenticity and structure above intuition and that viewed outward behaviors as authoritative representations of inward inclinations. These values aren’t necessarily wrong nor should people who see the nuances of life differently toss them out as invalid, but the power of this book isn’t the same as when it was first published forty years ago.
Today it should be discussed—especially with young people—in light of its esoteric cultural bent. Powerful discussions could be had both about the material presented and the prescribed methods of implementing its message. While young people today may not be convinced that a rigorously kept bedtime is more important than the conversation they are having or the visitors they are entertaining, they would do well to examine what motivated other Christians to behave this way. In doing so, they may find that some of the beliefs held today are not as timeless as they imagine, and discover anew the true timelessness of scripture’s message and Jesus’ methods. Review by Mickie Courtney |
|
|
Claim Your FREE summary of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis:
|
|
It's like CliffsNotes for Christian books:
