Learning. Loving. Serving. Praying. Reaching.

The Shepherd Leader at Home

Timothy Witmer’s book The Shepherd Leader at Home (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012) is an engaging and challenging read for the Christian husband and father seeking to lead his family as a man of God. Witmer’s own motivation for writing the book is a concern over the lack of Biblical direction on the part of many Christian men when it comes to family leadership. Witmer offers the solution in no uncertain terms – a settled conviction regarding how God calls a man to nurture his family, coupled with the willingness to live that out, by the grace of God. This call, argues Witmer, is one that is informed by the Shepherding metaphor, so richly scattered throughout Scripture.

In Part One, Witmer shows why and how the shepherd leader is to know his family. Drawing on Jesus’ own words that He knows His own sheep (John 10:14), the author sets down the shepherding motif of knowing as the foundation of the other three. The shepherd knows both his wife and his children. He knows their strengths along with their weaknesses. He knows that one of their greatest fears – as human beings – is that of transparency, and he will therefore seek to allay those fears through his deep knowledge of them coupled with unconditional acceptance.

In Part Two, Witmer deals with leadership in the family. Drawing on Psalm 23, he notes how the Good Shepherd is always leading His people for their good. Witmer sees a major breakdown in the stability of the family when this basic need is not met. He also draws on Ephesians 5 with its teaching on Biblical headship and submission. Witmer challenges the husband by holding Christ forth as the ultimate example of loving leadership. He drops the penetrating question: “Does your [own] life remind your wife of Christ?” (p. 82). Of course, children must be led as well. Witmer reminds us that true leadership involves understanding one’s goals and determining how to arrive at them. In the case of raising children for God, a father’s goal is to lead his children to come to know Christ and follow Him all their lives. In sum, true leadership must involve leading according to principle and leading by example.

In Part Three, Witmer deals with a man’s obligation to provide for his family. Drawing again on Psalm 23, he points out that the Good Shepherd sees to it that his sheep are not wanting. The shepherd leader is to provide for his family materially as well as spiritually. He must lead by setting a Biblical example of childlike dependence on the true Giver, along with thankfulness and contentment. In this way, children are led and taught by example to be good stewards of God’s abundant provision for His children. Spiritual provision is to come from the Word of God.

In Part Four, Witmer addresses the need for the shepherd leader to protect his family. Once again drawing on Psalm 23 (and John 10), he highlights that the Good Shepherd protects His sheep from threats and enemies. The first area a man must be vigilant about is his own heart. He must protect his marriage from the intrusion of such things as inappropriate sexual desire. A shepherd must also be vigilant in protecting his children, watching carefully for such “wolves” as relativism and materialism. A father’s protection will involve discipline, and Witmer lays down some principles as well as applications.

Timothy Witmer has written a very accessible book for Christian men. His style is engaging, his experience is enlightening, and his gentleness is encouraging. But most importantly, Witmer’s model of shepherd leadership in the home is thoroughly BiblicalTolle lege!

By Pastor Dan (January 2022)