Review for "I Am A Follower: The Way, Truth and Life of Following Jesus" by Leonard Sweet, Published by Thomas Nelson, 2012

First and foremost let me say that I loved this book. It’s the fourth book I’ve read by Dr. Sweet and each one gets better than the last.

I Am A Follower challenged everything in me. It challenged my own nature, it challenged my training, and it challenged some of my practices over the years. After reading these words by Dr. Sweet, I know it’s time for some changes in thinking and in doing.

For many years I’ve felt that we never really did away with the separation of clergy and laity. I realize some folks think the Reformation did that…and in some ways I’m sure it did. But from my own experiences it has never really been anything but “us and them” when it came to folks in the church those leading the church.

Pastors have been trained over the years to not be vulnerable to the laity; to keep themselves separate. After all, laity are sheep…..pastors are leaders. WRONG! We are all followers. There is one shepherd. We are all sheep.

Dr. Sweet introduces us to the phrase, “First Follower” in lieu of Senior Pastor, Lead Pastor, or whatever title is used to denote that someone is in charge and it’s not you.

This is not a ploy to eliminate leaders; nor is it a plan to do away with leadership training. It is a call though to always being a follower of Jesus Christ. This should always be first and foremost for each and every one of us. One of the great quotes from this book is, “Leadership is a function. Followership is an identity.”

We are also introduced to the idea that leadership is relationship. Another way to put this is that we do life together. It’s not so much “do what I say” instead it is “do life the way I am doing life as I follow Jesus. This reminded me of how the Apostle Paul frequently instructed his spiritual sons, Timothy and Titus about how to handle difficult situations. It wasn’t do what I told you to do rather it was do what you saw me do.

The book is laid in a very easy to read manner. The footnotes for each chapter serve as a great resource for further reading and study. Each section of the book paints a picture of what it looks like to be a follower of Christ in how we live, the Way; and in what we believe, the Truth; and also what’s on the inside, the Life.

I want to thank Nelson Publishing and the folks at Book Sneeze for the opportunity to read and review this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a desire to be more effective in following after the Great Shepherd.