The Shepherd Leader at Home: Knowing, Leading, Protecting, and Providing for Your Family by Timothy Witmer. Crossway. 167 pages. 2012
*** ½
Timothy Witmer follows up his excellent book The Shepherd Leader, which was focused on the church, with a volume for the shepherd leader at home. He tells us that the purpose of the book is to help families by helping husbands and dads become loving shepherds of their families. The strategy is to apply the biblical shepherding categories of knowing, leading, providing, and protecting to leadership in the home. These shepherding functions represent four of the most fundamental human needs that God meets through those who lead families. Each of the four parts begins with an introduction showing its biblical rationale.
The focus is on all men who are called to lead their families at home. Throughout the book, the author shares many examples to illustrate the points he makes. The book is intentionally practical, personal, and heart-to-heart.
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BOOK CLUB ~ Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Matt Smethurst
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Each chapter includes reflection questions that can be used either in individual study or in the “iron sharpening iron” context of men’s discipleship groups. The book includes an appendix containing resources for family devotions.
Among the many topics addressed in the book are marriage, communication, parenting, knowing your wife and children, practice of participation, leadership, commitment, submission, contentment, temptation, lust, discipline, and leading your family spiritually. I found the chapter on protecting your marriage to be particularly important for men today.
This is a well-written and helpful book on leading your family as a shepherd leader.
Here are a few helpful quotes from the book:
- Knowing your wife in the comprehensive biblical sense includes a relational union that implies physical, spiritual, and emotional oneness.
- God’s design for your marriage is that you leverage your mutual and complementary gifts and strengths in his service.
- The number-one problem in marriage is communication.
- Perhaps the most significant way of growing in mutual knowledge as husband and wife is to develop a regular time of prayer together.
- Knowing your children is foundational to all the other shepherding functions as you seek to raise and nurture them in the Lord.
- When you show your children that they are a priority, you are setting a good example for them when they have families of their own.
- Shepherds of households will be held accountable for the care of their flocks at home.
- Your leadership must be motivated by a desire to see your wife grow in holiness and to assist her in fulfilling her God-given roles of wife and mother.
- The goal toward which we lead our children is that they come to know the Lord and follow him.
- As shepherd leader, you must take the lead in nourishing your family spiritually.
- We are all just one generation away from unbelief. It is our responsibility to pass the truth along to our children.
- Protecting your children is a major responsibility you have as a shepherd leader at home. The other shepherding functions lay the foundation for protecting your children.
- Our goal as we lead our families is to glorify God and to help them understand what it means to glorify the Lord in their lives. We do this by instructing them in the paths of righteousness.
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- Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold. My wife Tammy has published a book about HOW to study the Bible. The book is available on Amazon in both a Kindle and paperback edition. She writes “Maybe you have read the Bible but want to dig deeper and know God and know yourself better. Throughout the book I use the analogy of making a quilt to show how the Bible is telling one big story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Quilting takes much patience and precision, just like studying the Bible, but the end result is well worth it.”
Won’t you read along with us?
Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Matt Smethurst
Pastor and author Timothy Keller (1950–2023) built a lasting legacy in Christian ministry, planting Redeemer Presbyterian Church and cofounding the Gospel Coalition. With sharp biblical insight that has shaped countless church leaders, along with counsel on the Christian life that has stirred and strengthened audiences worldwide, Keller’s teaching promises to influence generations to come.
Synthesizing Keller’s work topic by topic, each chapter of this book highlights a key aspect of the Christian life—covering his views on prayer, suffering, friendship, vocation, intimacy with God, and more. Written by pastor Matt Smethurst, Tim Keller on the Christian Life draws from Keller’s nearly 50 years of sermons, conference messages, and books to share practical theological insight that will galvanize leaders and laypeople alike.
As we complete our reading of this book, we finish up by looking at Chapter 8: The Painful Gift How Suffering Drives Us into God’s Heart and the Conclusion. Here are a few quotes from these sections that I found helpful:
- When the subject matter is darkest, Keller’s teaching shines brightest.
- Suffering isn’t natural. It’s normal, but it’s not natural. It’s not the way things were originally designed to be.
- Even when we cannot fathom any good reasons for our pain, we rest in the arms of the only Savior who has scars. For us.
- The book of Psalms is an unparalleled resource for worshiping God through pain, for pressing divine truths deep into the heart “until they catch fire there.”
- Of all the things sufferers need, nothing is more essential than hope.
- Keller’s most eloquent testimony to God’s all-sufficient grace in suffering wasn’t a sermon or an essay, a seminar or a book. It was his death. He faced it with bravery and hope, and it was the most powerful message he ever delivered.
- Tim Keller was far from perfect. But he loved nothing more than pointing people to the Savior who is, and to the gospel that can transform your life.
