Leonard Sweet
Thomas Nelson, 2012, 240 pp., $15.99
What is the proper preposition for the title of a youth worker? Minister of…Minister with… Minister for…Each preposition suggests a slightly different approach to the leadership task of ministry. In I Am a Follower, Leonard Sweet offers an insightful look at the concept of “followership” among our people rather than traditional forms of leadership over our people.
Sweet suggests that during the past 50 years we have become obsessed with leadership and forgotten the biblical teaching of following. “We have changed Paul’s words, ‘Follow me as I follow Christ’ to ‘Follow me as I lead for Christ'” (p.19). In youth ministry, we often talk about leading students to Christ rather than accompanying students as they become followers of Christ. Sweet’s perspective challenges us to re-think our views of leadership in the church at all levels, from pastors to volunteer leaders to student’s leadership. He offers a compelling corrective to our cultural obsession with leadership.
