They Smell Like Sheep (Paperback)

The premise is startling in its simplicity -- The true shepherd spends a lot of time in the field with his sheep -- so much time that he smells like them. The true leader who models his life after Christ spends a great deal of time wherever his people are.

Shepherding, according to Dr. Anderson, includes the dust and sweat and smell of the field.

This is an easy book to read, a difficult and challenging book to implement.

Anderson divides his book into two main sections: "A Biblical Look at Spiritual Leadership Principles (The Sort of Things Leaders Do)" and "A Biblical Look at Elders (The Sort of People They Are)."

The first section of the book is the strongest and presents church leaders (particularly elders) as Shepherds, Mentors, and Equippers. He is to be commended for advocating leadership based upon relationship and earned influence, not a chain of command emphasis. Although much of this material can be found elsewhere, Anderson makes this material palatable to the average layman, especially those who have never been taught principles of spiritual leadership (as opposed to corporate leadership). This section is a great primer for elders and other church leaders and worth the price of the book.

The second section is weaker. The author addresses some of the texts regarding the qualification of elders, but does so in an unsatisfying way, leaving a mountain of unanswered questions. For example, he assumes that the word "elder" must mean an older man, but words change meaning and he does not even acknowledge the existence of diversity among evangelical opinion (for example, Timothy oversaw the elders and appointed them, even though he was a mere 30 or 35 years old). Anderson does not demonstrate a serious grappling with the meaning of the text.

If the book is weak in particulars, the overall strength is its broad themes. His final few chapters address the meaning of authority and the words used to express this authority in the New Testament.

Although his attempt to prove elders should not pull rank through retranslating the Greek words is suspect, his point is well taken. Elders should not pull rank and play the authority game -- not because the Greek words have been mistranslated all these centuries -- but because I Peter 5:1-4 tells us not to do so. So Anderson gets us to the right point, yet not because of his exegesis, but in spite of it. His argument of leading through moral suasion is right on target! This is an absolutely key thought.

As a primer book for getting the feel of the right attitude toward serving as an elder, this book is great. But if you are looking for a scholarly book that addresses all the issues and evaluates a number of interpretations, you might be disappointed. This volume is definitely worth reading and sharing with fellow board members.