What do you think?
Rate this book
New Studies in Biblical Theology #20
Shepherds After My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the Bible
Scripture says, "I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding" (Jeremiah 3:15). Most of Israel's pastoral imagery is grounded in two Moses as God's under-shepherd and David as shepherd-king. These traditions, explains author Timothy S. Laniak, provided prototypes for leaders that followed, and formed the background for the ministry of Jesus, the good shepherd. The pastoral role was central to the ongoing life of local churches in the Christian movement, and today's pastors are still called to be shepherds after God's own heart, to lead his people, living on the margins of settled society, to their eternal home. In this excellent study, Laniak draws on a wide range of Old and New Testament texts to develop the biblical theology of "shepherd" imagery, and concludes with some principles and implications for contemporary pastoral ministry. A wonderful resource for pastors, teachers and seminary students, as well as readers interested in the study of biblical imagery.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2006
54 people are currently reading
378 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 26, 2019
Amazing resource. Despite the academic language, the work is eminently practical. It masterfully shapes the imagery of shepherd along the whole biblical narrative. Pastors and laymen aspiring to understand the theme in Scripture will be delighted to read this.
February 29, 2020
This is a focused look into the practice of "shepherding" drawn from ancient information and Scripture. Laniak spends most of his time interacting with Moses (the Pentateuch) and David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, the four Gospel accounts, 1 Peter and Revelation. The author's approach was helpful in gaining a healthy perspective on how YHWH shepherds his people (and what it means), how our Lord Jesus addressed it, and then it's applications to the ministerial shepherds of God's people today (in contrast with bad shepherds who fleece and fracture God's people).
This book is both a corrective and a directive. It's corrective nature is seen in how the author faces the misuse of ministerial-shepherds: "Abusing others was an expression of the arrogant assumption that power is primarily privilege rather than responsibility" (149). It is directive in reminding us that shepherding is derived from God's shepherding his people. This is not our role that we can do with as we like, but a contingent role in caring for God's flock, for "human leadership is derivative of divine leadership and dependent on God's own Spirit for its effectiveness...Biblically speaking, a human leader is none other than God leading his own people through an anointed servant" (92). This final statement may raise a few eyebrows because of how the concept gets mishandled and mangled. But in the context of the book, it has everything to do with becoming a shepherd after God's own heart who will care for God's sheep, feeding them with knowledge and understanding - not fleecing or fracturing them (Jeremiah 3:15).
"Shepherds After My Own Heart" is a good study of Scripture on a pinpointed subject. Fellow ministers, this is worth your money and time to delve into. But also, if you and your congregation are between pastors and searching, this would be a good resource to discuss as you look, pray and listen. And if you found yourself in a situation where the leadership was abusive, maybe even downright narcissistic, and you're hurting, I think you will be aided by this volume. That abuse was not a display of God's heart. There are others out there who will deeply care for you, and spending time in this book will give you a criteria for discerning who they are. I highly recommend the book.
This book is both a corrective and a directive. It's corrective nature is seen in how the author faces the misuse of ministerial-shepherds: "Abusing others was an expression of the arrogant assumption that power is primarily privilege rather than responsibility" (149). It is directive in reminding us that shepherding is derived from God's shepherding his people. This is not our role that we can do with as we like, but a contingent role in caring for God's flock, for "human leadership is derivative of divine leadership and dependent on God's own Spirit for its effectiveness...Biblically speaking, a human leader is none other than God leading his own people through an anointed servant" (92). This final statement may raise a few eyebrows because of how the concept gets mishandled and mangled. But in the context of the book, it has everything to do with becoming a shepherd after God's own heart who will care for God's sheep, feeding them with knowledge and understanding - not fleecing or fracturing them (Jeremiah 3:15).
"Shepherds After My Own Heart" is a good study of Scripture on a pinpointed subject. Fellow ministers, this is worth your money and time to delve into. But also, if you and your congregation are between pastors and searching, this would be a good resource to discuss as you look, pray and listen. And if you found yourself in a situation where the leadership was abusive, maybe even downright narcissistic, and you're hurting, I think you will be aided by this volume. That abuse was not a display of God's heart. There are others out there who will deeply care for you, and spending time in this book will give you a criteria for discerning who they are. I highly recommend the book.
February 12, 2022
Maybe I came in to this book with the wrong expectations, but I had a hard time engaging with this book. Thankfully, the conclusion was helpful summarizing the biblical idea of a shepherd.
October 9, 2012
Shepherds after My own Heart is a wonderful, rich overview of the shepherding tradition in the Scriptures. The author begins by discussing the nature of metaphors and how they work. He then looks at what shepherding was like in the ancient world and how leaders, both human and divine, were described in shepherd language. The rest of the book is spent looking at the shepherding motif in various books of the Bible. He looks at the Pentateuch and David in a broad way. He then looks in depth at Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, the four Gospels, I Peter, and Revelation. Throughout he keeps his eye on the theme of shepherding, but also takes necessary tangents that help the reader. Here were the points I particularly enjoyed.
First, God and His Son Jesus Christ are the ultimate shepherds. It is His flock, not my flock. The repetition of this theme creates a sense of humility and accountability in under shepherds, such as pastors, elders, fathers, mothers, and government officials. We will give account (Hebrews 13:17)
Second, he weaves together the theme of sacrifice and authority very nicely. This is true throughout the book, but is most clear in his look at Revelation. Christ is both sacrificed Lamb and Shepherd. Again those in leadership are called to imitate Him by leading and dying.
Third, his chapters on the New Testament showed the heavy dependence the authors had on the Old Testament. I was particularly struck by his comments on Luke, which I have always taken to be the Gospel least tied to the Old Testament.
Finally, he shows that shepherding is a comprehensive task. He uses the terms “protection, provision, and guidance” to describe the shepherd’s task. A shepherd has to be ready to do anything the sheep need. He must have vision, courage, compassion, skills to find food, skills to heal the sheep, skills to defeat enemies, etc. I am a pastor and I was struck by the enormity of the pastor/shepherd's job. Prayers for strength, faithfulness, and wisdom were uttered often as I read.
There were a couple things I did not like. There is almost no application. I think this is common in “Biblical Theology” studies. I could draw applications as I read, but if he had drawn some himself it would have helped. Second, there are just too many footnotes. A lot of them lead you down wonderful rabbit trails, but they were still too much. Third, I wish he had touched on Paul’s use of shepherding ideas and language. He does not discuss any of the Pauline epistles. Maybe this was for the sake of space, but it was still a drawback.
I would highly recommend the book for any pastor or leader.
First, God and His Son Jesus Christ are the ultimate shepherds. It is His flock, not my flock. The repetition of this theme creates a sense of humility and accountability in under shepherds, such as pastors, elders, fathers, mothers, and government officials. We will give account (Hebrews 13:17)
Second, he weaves together the theme of sacrifice and authority very nicely. This is true throughout the book, but is most clear in his look at Revelation. Christ is both sacrificed Lamb and Shepherd. Again those in leadership are called to imitate Him by leading and dying.
Third, his chapters on the New Testament showed the heavy dependence the authors had on the Old Testament. I was particularly struck by his comments on Luke, which I have always taken to be the Gospel least tied to the Old Testament.
Finally, he shows that shepherding is a comprehensive task. He uses the terms “protection, provision, and guidance” to describe the shepherd’s task. A shepherd has to be ready to do anything the sheep need. He must have vision, courage, compassion, skills to find food, skills to heal the sheep, skills to defeat enemies, etc. I am a pastor and I was struck by the enormity of the pastor/shepherd's job. Prayers for strength, faithfulness, and wisdom were uttered often as I read.
There were a couple things I did not like. There is almost no application. I think this is common in “Biblical Theology” studies. I could draw applications as I read, but if he had drawn some himself it would have helped. Second, there are just too many footnotes. A lot of them lead you down wonderful rabbit trails, but they were still too much. Third, I wish he had touched on Paul’s use of shepherding ideas and language. He does not discuss any of the Pauline epistles. Maybe this was for the sake of space, but it was still a drawback.
I would highly recommend the book for any pastor or leader.
October 28, 2022
Great book - I read through it with my Gospel Reformation Network Company of Pastors group, and I prepared study questions focusing on the main themes/applications of shepherd leadership and pastoral care. Very well written. Thoroughly researched. Though Laniak explains why he did not give an in-depth treatment of Paul’s letters, I wish he had! And a treatment of Hebrews and John’s letters would have been very useful as well. But the OT material (mostly Torah and Prophets) is so thorough that it more than makes up for whatever might have been included from epistolary and wisdom literature.
January 17, 2021
I enjoyed the book but was disappointed that it did not provide as much application to the contemporary setting of the church. It is, as one would expect, a biblical theological investigation of the Shepherd metaphor. It is quite thorough in its investigation of the biblical use of “Shepherd” in both the OT and NT. However, it most often speaks of the term in reference to God and/or Christ as the true Shepherd of God’s people without drawing out further application of how this now applies to the modern Pastor in his role as Shepherd.
I would recommend this book for its biblical investigation of the Shepherd metaphor, but it is not the book on Leadership that I believed it would be.
I would recommend this book for its biblical investigation of the Shepherd metaphor, but it is not the book on Leadership that I believed it would be.
November 20, 2023
2.5/5
This was a pretty uneven read for me. The first few chapters were quite dry and, in my opinion, did not merit such an extended discussion. Once Laniak began working through the biblical canon, I enjoyed the book more, but his chapters were still a bit hit-or-miss. His work in the Old Testament was quite helpful and insightful. The New Testament section left me feeling rather disappointed though. In particular, I was baffled that Laniak neglected to include a chapter on the pastoral epistles, especially given the subject matter of this book. I did, however, find his summary/concluding remarks segment at the end to be profitable.
This was a pretty uneven read for me. The first few chapters were quite dry and, in my opinion, did not merit such an extended discussion. Once Laniak began working through the biblical canon, I enjoyed the book more, but his chapters were still a bit hit-or-miss. His work in the Old Testament was quite helpful and insightful. The New Testament section left me feeling rather disappointed though. In particular, I was baffled that Laniak neglected to include a chapter on the pastoral epistles, especially given the subject matter of this book. I did, however, find his summary/concluding remarks segment at the end to be profitable.
September 10, 2019
A little too academic for a Cretan like me. But the cumulative effect of thinking through the shepherd metaphor throughout Scripture, practically book-by-book, along with the final six pages of application, brought together the importance of the role of the undershepherd and the beauty of God’s plan to use them to accomplish his purpose in his people.
January 9, 2023
Interesting read if you want to know what the Bible says about shepherding. Could have included a little longer section on application, but still an excellent book for pastors.
November 18, 2022
Normally I love books from this series, but I had a hard time with this one. I think it is a book that needed to be written, but it just was written the best way. The author clearly knows what he is talking about and makes great insights from the use of "shepherd" throughout the Bible, but it was too academic and with too few conclusions/applications for me to really get into it. The whole first part about the history of shepherds in the middle east was not really necessary and if it wasn't in the book, the metaphor of shepherd would have still been well understood. Also, I wish conclusions on how shepherding relates to pastoral ministry at the end of each chapter would have really made the book better.
Am I glad I read it? Yes. Would I read it again? No.
Am I glad I read it? Yes. Would I read it again? No.
May 29, 2024
The conclusion is worth the book.
January 26, 2019
This was a stimulating study and rich exploration into the Biblical theme of shepherds and The Shepherd in the Scriptures.
Laniak carefully and adroitly unpacked the theme of God as Shepherd of his people throughout the Bible. He judiciously highlights how the theme of Shepherd is prevalent in the wilderness and (second) exodus passages, especially in how the Prophets appropriate the theme to interpret God's dealing with his people. This book should enrich and deepen your understanding of the Bible and its own coherent narrative and progressive revelation.
A few asides. The description, in the introduction, of Biblical Theology is one of the best that I have ever read. The concluding chapter on what this means for leadership in the church was fantastic but brief and left me wanting much more.
I'll be surprised if I read a better Biblical Theology book this year.
Laniak carefully and adroitly unpacked the theme of God as Shepherd of his people throughout the Bible. He judiciously highlights how the theme of Shepherd is prevalent in the wilderness and (second) exodus passages, especially in how the Prophets appropriate the theme to interpret God's dealing with his people. This book should enrich and deepen your understanding of the Bible and its own coherent narrative and progressive revelation.
A few asides. The description, in the introduction, of Biblical Theology is one of the best that I have ever read. The concluding chapter on what this means for leadership in the church was fantastic but brief and left me wanting much more.
I'll be surprised if I read a better Biblical Theology book this year.
January 4, 2021
As the subtitle indicates, this is a biblical theology of "pastoral traditions and leadership in the Bible." Beginning with a study of shepherds and shepherd rulers in the ancient world, the author moves on to provide a thorough study of the shepherd motif through the Bible.
This is an excellent technical study of the biblical pastoral tradition. The author has done extensive research and draws on a wide array of resources. The weakness of this work is its application to real-life pastoral ministry. Although the author does conclude with several "observations," one could wish for a more nuanced application to the realities of ministerial leadership. Laniak's book is an excellent biblical theology and well worth careful study.
This is an excellent technical study of the biblical pastoral tradition. The author has done extensive research and draws on a wide array of resources. The weakness of this work is its application to real-life pastoral ministry. Although the author does conclude with several "observations," one could wish for a more nuanced application to the realities of ministerial leadership. Laniak's book is an excellent biblical theology and well worth careful study.
February 25, 2022
Read this because it was an assigned text in a biblical leadership PhD program. Thought I’d pick a few texts up to read. While at times this books seemed to plod along, I could never skim… because at a random moment, the author would bring such a profound, underline-able insight that I just didn’t want to miss it. It’s a wonderful text for theological and biblical reflection on the role of pastors as shepherds and what that entails. It also calls us to be sheep as we ultimately all follow together the Good Shepherd.
February 1, 2020
Laniak doesnt have a super relaxing writing style. The first 80 pages of the book was grueling as he described every in and out of Shepherds while using extra-biblical literature as proof text primarily. He maintains a focus on Second Exodus prophecy in scripture throughout the book but doesn't do very well of showing how this pertains to the Shepherd motif of the book. The best takeaway is his enlightenment on how prevalent the shepherding theme is in scripture.
February 8, 2021
Excellent exposition of the biblical model of the shepherd and how it impacts leadership. The work was really well-researched and presented. It was concise and helpful. I especially found his chapter on the shepherd motif in Ezekiel really helpful. In that chapter, he talks about the failure of leaders to shepherd people. In a day and age when many Christian leaders look at themselves as the CEO of an organization instead of a shepherd, this section was refreshing.
August 27, 2022
Laying out a comprehensive exegesis of God’s chosen metaphor for leadership throughout the biblical narrative (and being scholarly in nature rather than anecdotal), I consider this book the best book on leadership I’ve read yet, even though it’s not a “leadership book” per se. Whether it’s leadership in ministry, business, or family, the rich metaphor of shepherd has significant implications for us.
November 21, 2022
A great work of biblical theology concerning God’s commissioning human undershepherds to follow His heart for His flock. Laniak helps place shepherds and shepherding in the context of ancient near eastern cultures that the biblical authors wrote in, which helps illuminate the metaphor. Helpful for me to consider as I train for Pastoral ministry. A but technical with many language evaluations of Hebrew and Greek, but a valuable study for the interested, especially pastors.
April 15, 2019
This is a very unique work, but certainly a well-written one. Although certainly not your average pastoral reference, this book is full of solid and impactful instruction on what God requires of those entrusted with his sheep. I expect to refer to this one many times in the future.
November 17, 2021
Like its series counterpart "Slave of Christ," this book does a thorough job of exploring the concept of Shepherds in the Bible. It is a tad repetitive at times, and not the most readable volume, but a good, exegetical treatment nonetheless. Good to have in one's library.
February 4, 2022
This book is eye opening the leadership tradition of the NT is founded in the OT. It shows the beautiful picture of God shepherding his people through the sacrifice of his son and that believers are called to step into that sacrificial shepherding role after the example of Christ
February 19, 2019
Helpful book that develops a Biblical Theology of shepherd imagery. It naturally helps you to understand Biblical leadership more clearly.
June 5, 2020
More like 3.5. A wonderful survey of a central metaphor in scripture. The overall effect was stronger than any particular moment of insight.
February 12, 2021
Every pastor should read this and meditate on it.
August 13, 2021
I really, really like this book. It does a wonderful job of unpacking the shepherding language of the Bible from Exodus to Revelation.
March 16, 2022
I haven't read much in this style before. It was a joy to study.
June 4, 2022
More academic than devotional in nature, but still meaningful and worth the read.
April 9, 2025
Honestly, as others have stated in reviews - I found the book hard to maintain any sort of interest. I gave up after I found myself bypassing whole portions of chapters.
April 30, 2008
Wonderful book. God as Shepherd and God's men as under-shepherds are traced throughout biblical history in this great work on pastoral leadership. Shepherd in most cases in current Christian culture seems very maternal, touch-feeling, etc. Now there is no doubt that God as a Shepherd carrying and providing for his sheep is very clear, but what this book does so well at is showing the fullness of shepherding. It is carrying, guiding, protecting, feeding and its enduring the elements, dealing with sick sheep, fighting off ravenous wolves, watching out for shepherding thieves, facing brutal weather, not just guiding the sheep but at times driving the sheep forward. Shepherding is rugged and tender. God carries a rod and staff that comfort and defend and discipline. I am and will continue to be encouraged and challenged by this book in the picture of God as Shepherd and the calling of under-shepherd.
July 27, 2011
This is an excellent book and strongly recommended reading for pastors and elders, who ought to be well-acquainted with Scripture’s portrayal of the shepherd-leader. Everyone else can probably skip it, but should buy it for their pastor and ask him to read it! See a fuller review at http://twog.wordpress.com/2008/03/29/...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews