Spiritual Leadership
By J. Oswald Sanders
Reviewed by John Hasler
If you are looking for a broad, sober look at Christian leadership, this is a pretty good place to start. J. Oswald Sanders writes a very straight forward book on the qualifications of a leader in the church with Spiritual Leadership.
In looking at the style of writing, one first notices the short chapters. This definitely allows for the book to become a very quick read. His tone is very bare bones and direct, and there are many cut and dry statements about qualifications for leadership; some drawing from biblical examples, others from personal.
I particularly enjoyed the beginning of the book, which talks a little bit in an abstract way about the spirit of leadership and how God has set it up within His church. The talk about natural and spiritual leadership is quite helpful and something that I was expecting out of the book. Through the investigation of God’s mission on earth, Sanders explores the role and purpose of leaders in the faith, constantly reminding us of the uttermost centrality of God’s will. Moving on then to the biblical examples of leadership in Paul and Peter, the characteristics and qualities of a leader are firmly rooted. It is here that the book shifts to a more practical survey of leadership qualities and responsibilities.
The initial overview of characteristics of leaders such as discipline, vision, humility, etc. is a helpful list of guidelines and reminders. I found however, the list to become quite exhaustive, which in turn took a bit of the momentum out of his message. The “Above All Else†chapter, which focuses on the importance of leaders being filled with the Holy Spirit, was a bit disappointing. It was here that I was anticipating the culmination of the teaching, fulfilling the expectation one might have from the book title. Unfortunately the chapter fell quite flat.
In Sander’s very good and noble effort to present some of the more difficult and rigorous qualifications of leadership in the church, he takes the reader to a challenging place of self-introspection. Where I feel the book fails a little, is that he then almost immediately gives you what he considers to be a shining example of someone who embodies that very quality that you just spent time wrestling through. Perhaps some will see this subsequent example as motivation for success; I found it however to be at times shallow and discouraging.
With an original copyright of 1967, the book is written from a very modernist point of view. The idea that there are clear lines of good and evil is a prevalent attitude. This is evident in some of his leadership examples, which are often drawn from glorious World War II heroes, or those who have been brave in the big bad world of the missionary field. One quoted individual is presented as a communist who converted to Christianity; as if the two states of being compromised a polar dichotomy. Additionally, certain ‘heroes’ of the faith are presented over and over in a redundancy that leaves one at times uninspired.
In spite of some of these negative critiques, I believe that this book can be very challenging and beneficial to leaders at any stage of the game. It can certainly serve as a basis for reflection and self-examination, which can help clue you into areas where you might improve as a leader in the Kingdom. The book is well rounded in looking at the positives and negatives of leadership. It explores challenges, yet attempts to motivate individuals to continue to seek God and carry on the work that He has ordained every leader in the faith to accomplish
Thanks for the thoughful review, John! This is the first book that we read through with our zone team. I really like its emphasis on and explanation of “servant leadership”. I think it’s a great book because it challenges leaders to have Christlike character and gives practical ideas on how to accomplish it.
Leslie
May 22nd, 2007