To kick off the first book review post, based on the criteria found in the Book Review post, I will submit my opinion on what has been declared a very popular book among church leadership (i.e., Pastors and Elders), Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda by Henry and Richard Blackaby.

I just started this book yesterday in an attempt to catch up with my Classmates at Phoenix Seminary in my 'Developing Leaders who Develop Leaders' class with Professor Ball, the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church Tempe. This class has been one of the most educational classes I've ever taken! I have learned and changed positively so much this semester from the teachings of Prof. Ball. This book is one of the 4 required readings for the class and is probably been my favorite so far - and I'm only in the first chapter. It has been my experience that it is difficult to judge a good book by the first chapter and easy to judge a bad book. Usually, if I can get through the first chapter, the rest of the book picks up and things start moving along with a much higher level of enjoyment and satisfaction. However, as I stated in the Book Review post, I'm only reviewing bits and pieces at a time.

The first chapter proved to be a bit daunting at first as it delved into a bit of a dry description of three main types of leadership areas: Leadership in politics, business and the church. But after dashing through this part of the first chapter, the rest quickly made up for it. The part I want to really dig into now is about why the church as taken an approach to secular leadership.

Here is an excerpt from the first chapter to get started with:

"[Acceptance] of secular approaches by Christian leaders can be observed in numerous places. The shift in the traditional nomenclature from the pastor's study to the pastor's office is one consequence. In times past, churches focused on the Great Commission. Today's churches adopt mission statements. In earlier times, churches spoke of building fellowship. Contemporary Christian leaders build teams and lead their people through team-building exercises. Churches used to put church signs in front of their buildings in hopes of attracting people to their services. Today's churches use state-of-the-art marketing principles to reach their communities. Pastors of large churches (and some not so large) are beginning to act more like CEOs than shepherds. The pastor's offices is located in the Executive Suite, next to the boardroom where the leadership team meets."

What we have here sounds like these adaptations are negative to the church as it evolves. I do not wish that you, Reader, take a frame of mind that I'm extreme to one degree or another. In fact, I see positives and negatives to each. However, one red flag that screams to the sky on my horizon is in regard to the Blackaby's commentary on 1 Samuel 8:10-22.

"The world measured a kingdom's success by its grand palaces and magnificent armies. The glittering trappings of such monarchies dazzled the Israelites. But citizenship in such a kingdom came with a stiff price. Sustaining a monarchy required opporessive taxes from its citizens. The Israelites wanted a mighty army, but a royal army would require even heavier taxation as well as a draft of young Israelite men for the king's purposes. A monarchy could not function without a legion of servants; this would require the people's children to be conscripted to serve the king. God could not have been more clear about the consequences of choosing worldly leadership over divine leadership. Yet the Israelites stubbornly persisted in their pleas, so God granted them a perfect specimen of a worldly leader. Saul was handsome and physically impressive - yet was insecure and incredibly vain. He was decisive, sometimes making on-the-spot pronouncements - but many of these had to be rescinded later because they were foolhardy. He was a passionate man - but he was also prone to violent temper tantrums. Saul was a hands-on general - who spent the bulk of his time chasing after his own citizens. The Israelites clamored for a leader who would lead them by worldly principles. God gave them one, and the results were disastrous."

What was being forgotten by the Israelites was that God was not only satisfying their spiritual needs, but that God was also leading them divinely. He was responsible for their wars waged and won. Not a human king! It seems that the secular realm, being the part of the world outside of church however not without God, seems to have grasped this idea that spiritual leadership is for the pastors or missionaries only. This just invites trouble. Look at the direction America is going after all. There is this song that one of my favorite groups, Alison Krauss & Union Station, sings. It's called Bright Sunny South and is an old song that sings of civil war times. A piece of the lyrics goes like this:

In my bag theres a bible
to show me the way.
 
Through my tirals here on earth
and to heaven one day.

I will shoulder my musket
and brandish my sword.
 
In defense of this land
and the Word of the LORD.

What I find so interesting as I read this book is how it points out so poignantly how allowing secularism to creep into the foundations on which we establish our church in America AND the unacceptable dismissing of some mighty doctrines in our churchs' foundations have, over time, corrupted the way we worship, live and lead in every aspect of our lives. Is it really any wonder why the pledge, prayer, the ten commandments and nearly every other Christian thing we've established this nation on are being stripped from our schools?

Overall (although only one chapter in, so far), I highly recommend this book. It has proven to take a strong start and will likely pick up a pace that will leave me not wanting to put it down.

Selah.

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