Like the Shepherd: Leading Your Marriage with Love and Grace

by Robert Wolgemuth

A husband's God-given responsibility to his wife is to be her shepherd: to love her, serve her, comfort her, protect her, provide for her, sacrifice for her, and lead her. Like the Shepherd guides men on how to embrace the role of shepherd, drawing on the wisdom of the Bible to give men practical, powerful advice on how to take responsibility for their relationships and realize the Christian ideal of a healthy, happy marriage.

Genres: Marriage, Family, Christian

Kindle Edition

Published March 27, 2017

About the author

Robert Wolgemuth (1948-2026) was an American author who was the chairman of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Wolgemuth authored over 20 books and was in the publishing business for more than 40 years. Five of his books have received Silver Medallion Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. His best-selling books include She Calls Me Daddy and The Most Important Place on Earth.

Wolgemuth headed the literary agency Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc., which represents over 100 authors. He graduated with a degree in Biblical Literature from Taylor University in 1969, and received an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Humane Letters) from Taylor in 2005.

Reviews

[Jonathan Jang]

some might call it outdated or archaic. I thought it was refreshing compared to some other marriage books. Written specifically for men, Robert gives much practical and scriptural advice on how to actually love one’s wife well in a complementary marriage that is contrary to the Moscow patriarchy. A scary book realizing how much responsibility one has…

[Andy Scott]

In this book the author recounts some of the lessons he has learned from being married for over 40 years, and then remarrying after his first wife passed away from cancer. The outline of the book is compelling, looking at the different aspects of being a shepherd to one’s wife (A Shepherd Knows His Sheep, Speaks to His Sheep, Satisfies His Sheep, etc.). The storytelling is good as well. But I put it down feeling like I didn’t really have anything to really put my finger on to do differently. The chapters seemed to be ill-focused, seemingly a collection of various thoughts loosely based on the theme for each chapter. As a result the key ideas didn’t seem clear to me at the end of each chapter. I question whether it was the dullness of my brain having read most of it right before I went to sleep, or the dullness of my heart in not understanding the true needs of my wife. So perhaps I need to read it again with more reflection, but this first read didn’t really do much for me. A little bit disappointed since the chapter titles seemed so good.

[Andrew Wolgemuth]

This is a great book for the husband (or soon-to-be-husband) who wants to lead his marriage in a complementarian fashion. Using the biblical metaphor of a shepherd, Wolgemuth highlights the Good and Perfect Shepherd and draws lessons and encouragement for the lesser and imperfect "shepherds" in marriage. Lots of important ideas, lots of practical wisdom, and some laughs.

(full disclosure: the agency I work for represents this author and book)

[C.H. Cobb]

Great book. It's a cross between a personal memoir, and a book on marriage for husbands. Wolgemuth shares details from his own life, including the loss of his wife Bobbi to illness, and his marriage to Nancy L. Demoss, as he uses the metaphor of a shepherd and sheep to describe the calling of a husband to minister to his wife. Great book, theologically on target, includes an excellent presentation of the Gospel in the appendix. Easy book to read. Highly recommended.

[MaryAnne Hommel]

The style of writing in this book was difficult for me to follow-never a fan of the endless use of illustrations, I found the lack of thread connecting the illustrations to his chapter topics to make for a confusing read. Many good nuggets are here, but not enough for me to recommend.

[Andy Anderson]

Leading your wife like a shepherd leads the sheep. Ok read. Good pointers on his experiences with his wife (s). The shepherd leads, feeds, protects and comfort his sheep.

[Jim Maxwell]

An easy read with great lessons.

[Glenn]

Married or getting married…. Must read!!!!