Shepherding is a book for pastors, or those heading into the ministry, written by a pastor. Unlike most books of this type, Hebert focuses not so much on what to do or even how to build a successful ministry. Instead, the heart of this book is that character matters. Each chapter in this book is based around one of the Beatitudes found in Matthew chapter 5. While there is nothing radical or new in this book, it is a great reminder that the most important part of ministry is fostering and guarding a heart like Jesus had.

Some quotes:

"I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages." - Charles Spurgeon

"You are never more like Jesus than when you give and when you forgive."

"Sadly, Christians are very often persecuted not for their Christianity, but for their lack of it. Sometimes they are rejected simply because they have unpleasing personalities. They are rude, insensitive, thoughtless, or piously obnoxious. Sometimes they are rejected because they are discerned as proud and judgmental. Others are disliked because they are lazy and irresponsible. Incompetence mixed with piety is sure to bring rejection."

Shepherding Like Jesus is an excellent resource. The primary audience is to pastors and church leaders. This resource is truly a gift to pastors and church leaders. The past two years have been extremely difficult for a lot of folks, but especially pastors. They have been on the front line of ministry amid the pandemic and cultural upheaval. Shepherding Like Jesus is a call to serve the people of God as an under shepherd of the Chief Shepherd. Yet there is much that can be gleaned from the book for others who are not serving as a pastor. Each of the beatitudes applies to all believers alike, because we are all called to follow Jesus.

Continue reading the full review here: http://readingfortheglory.com/2022/07/26/shepherding-like-the-good-shepherd/

An excellent, challenging book.

So many books on pastoral ministry focus on leadership skills, but this book focuses on pastoral character as defined by the Beatitudes.

This book will probe and heal your heart.

Highly recommend!

"Shepherding like Jesus" by Andrew Hébert provides an important balance to the plethora of task and function-based books written on Pastoral Leadership. The author's focus is firmly on the character of the Pastor and he capably uses the framework of the beatitudes to teach this. The true value of this book is as a corrective to our western church cultural bias that attributes success based purely on numbers and image. Character is a non-negotiable qualifier for Pastoral leadership and the number of high profile mega-church ministers who have fallen due to catastrophic character failure should be warning enough of the consequences of its absence!

I particularly enjoyed the sections at the end of each chapter written by contributing Pastors sharing their own personal stories and experiences in life and ministry. This is a book that should be read by all who aspire to pastoral ministry. It is also a "heart-check" for those of us who have been in pastoral ministry for any length of time. Recommended.

My husband is a pastor so this book brings him to mind. I loved the approach of this book and how in so many ways it is counterintuitive to cultural Christianity in the US and the movement of celebrity pastors. This is one I would definitely pass on to him and other church leaders.