Next Generation Leader: Five Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

Andy Stanley is a pastor that some will seek to emulate as his success is without dispute from a numbers point of view, not to mention the sales of his books and his demand as a speaker. Others, like me, wouldn’t necessarily follow his lead in how to run a church as our philosophy of ministry may run in a different direction. It is not a surprise that he reveals in this book that Bill Hybels is a role model for him. However, that is not to say that Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley isn’t a book with some very practical advice. Unlike another book that I read by a mega-church pastor and for which I provided a review, Andy Stanley is not someone who disparages small churches or the pastors who lead them. This book has wisdom that transcends the size of your church, philosophies of ministry, worship styles, etc. There is something in it for everyone. Whether the reader comes from a very liberal or a very conservative background or somewhere in between, there is invaluable advice contained therein. I would recommend this book for that reason. One of the things that make this book an excellent one to keep on your shelf is the design of its chapters. Each has boxes in gray with a word of wisdom repeated from the reading. Also, at the end of each chapter is a summary of the principles contained from that section. This means that the pastor or layperson can take this book off of the shelf, flip through and remind himself or herself of what was read and learned. As you can imagine, such a format makes these easier to remember and therefore easier to implement. This is yet another reason that I recommend Andy Stanley’s Next Generation Leader. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and by no means influenced by Multnomah.