Meet the Author
Leonard Sweet is the E. Stanley Jones professor of evangelism atDrew University and visiting distinguished professor of Evangelism at George Fox University, was voted one of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America, and continues to write and speak prophetically about the church. An ordained United Methodist pastor, Sweet has authored over 20 books and 600 articles, and is perhaps best known for his forward thinking ideas about the church. For more information, check out my reviews of some of his recent books: So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church (2009), Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There (2010), and Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ – co-authored with Frank Viola (2010).
Book Basics
In recent years it seems as though there are more books written about leadership than any other aspect of church life. Leonard Sweet steps outside almost everyone’s conceptual box to suggest followership rather than leadership is the role to which all should aspire. In constructing a pragmatic and theologically sound approach, Sweet begins with an eye opening assertion: “Following is the most underrated form of leadership in existence” (p.14). Sweet proposes that life is led by a single leader (Jesus) who invites disciples to follow in their belonging (way), then believing (truth), then behaving (life)” (p.47).
Recommendation
While this volume offers more of the forward thinking Sweet is known for, it failed to portray a more beautiful and possible future in the way So Beautiful did or to nudge me to further refine my understanding of what Sweet calls “evangelism” in Nudge (2010). I suggest would-be readers struggle with the idea rather than invest the time to read this book from cover to cover. If Sweet turns this material into an article, I would readily recommend that shorter consideration.
So What?
The early twenty-first century American church is in the midst of radical change. The traditional leadership structures and widely accepted views on church leadership are either crumbling or being significantly reshaped depending upon one’s perspective. How might that conversation be enriched by conversation focused on followership rather than leadership?
Leonard Sweet. I Am a Follower: The Way, Truth and Life of Following Jesus (Thomas Nelson, 2012). ISBN: 9780849946387.