Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. -- Proverbs 4:23

They Smell like Sheep, Volume 2: Leading with the Heart of a Shepherd is about more than gimmicks and techniques of leadership. It speaks to the character and heart of the leader. After all, heart makes the difference in an effective Sunday-school teacher, youth minister, elder, small-group leader, parent, grandparent, or Christian school teacher.

Spiritual sheep, stray sheep, and searching sheep aren't nearly as concerned about the knowledge and skill of the shepherd as they are about his heart. When finding their way -- at weddings, at funerals, during family crises, and in the hospital -- sheep go to a shepherd in whom they discern God's own heart, like King David of old.

Jesus said sheep would know their shepherd's voice and be drawn to it. It is the heart behind the voice that soothes and comforts God's people.

How do you measure the influence of a godly shepherd? Without doubt, it's the heart of the shepherd that most powerfully shapes lives and souls in our flocks.

If you want your own heart shaped and molded into the likeness of Christ, this book is an excellent place to begin.

Be shepherds of God's flock under your care... as God wants you to be.

Heeding the call to be a leader is an awesome responsibility. Whether you have been called to serve as a minister or you're teaching an adult Bible study group or you're a teen leading the youth group in song, most assuredly from time to time you question your abilities and look for support and example.

Author Lynn Anderson addresses the starting and ending place of true leadership among God's people: the heart of a shepherd. He presents Jesus, the Head Shepherd, as our only reliable model of godly leadership; he guides us through the Scriptures and gives us practical exercises to strengthen our hearts as we do the difficult yet rewarding work of shepherding people of God with love and grace.

Enter the book's pages with the confidence that you are being led by someone who has the heart of a shepherd and who sees himself first as a smelly sheep, dearly loved and led by the Good Shepherd.

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory. -- 1 Peter 5:4