Book Review

Written by Henry and Richard Blackaby

Review by Mike Allen

I have recently read another book on leadership. I have read several of these kinds of books, as I am sure many of us in any kind of leadership position have. This one is different. There are no lists of “how I achieved success.” There is not a pragmatic line of thought being presented. It is a refreshing, provocative, and encouraging book on leadership. Leadership is presented as something God desires to do through me rather than an objective that I must achieve.

The book Spiritual Leadership by Henry and Richard Blackaby published by Broadman and Holman demonstrates that spiritual leadership is defined as “moving people on to God’s agenda.” There is ample teaching based upon the revelation of Scripture with an emphasis on the work and power of the Spirit both in our lives and the lives of those that we are leading. The Blackaby brothers, who are both involved in Christian and secular leadership, make the case that spiritual leadership is not just for the church and not just for leading Christians. They emphasize that spiritual leadership is for every leadership situation in which we find ourselves.

This book is well worth the time to read it. The chapters do seem to be longer than I would desire, but each chapter is loaded with stimulating thought. There are concepts and Scripture references for review in each chapter. This book is excellent, and I highly recommend it for personal reading and for any leadership team or group.

Review by Walt Brock

I found Spiritual Leadership by Henry and Richard Blackaby to be helpful in balancing out secular books on leadership. The authors use Scripture to offset popular and pragmatic approaches to management thought and theory. I have long believed that one of the great dangers of learning management from the “pros” is that what they teach actually works—most of the time. Because it works, it is very tempting to use the methodology of the world, instead of biblical principles, to run our ministries. I do glean much from secular books on management, but such books as this one will help me to remember that the One we serve is vitally concerned with how we serve Him. (This would be a good book to read in conjunction with Jim Collins’ book Good to Great.)

The book is not an easy read, but a chapter a day over two weeks would give one time to think over and digest what has been read. The authors’ new-evangelical positions surface in stories and illustrations, but I found nothing objectionable for mature, Christian leaders in the basic interpretations of Scripture. I plan on recommending it to my friends as a must read within its subject perimeters.