Stephen Cottrell (1) (1958–)

I really, really like Stephen Cottrell's work--his books and his lectures both. I have used his material in congregational study groups in very different sorts of parishes with excellent results. This is a good book, and probably a great book for some people. It just so happens that I probably need the opposite sort of self-improvement advice, so I didn't finish it.

Brief, personal, and insightful meditations on five of the paintings in Spencer's Christ in the Wilderness series.

I'm considering offering this as an Advent study suggestion at my parish, but wavering a bit. The author is probably right that this makes a better subject for a single-meeting discussion than it does for a week-by-week group. A valuable question for each chapter might be, "how I am like this person?" (i.e., how am I like the narrator of this chapter?).

This short but eminently readable book is a must for all those in leadership who wish to question and challenge many of the common statements that are so often quoted in the ‘how to be a great leader’ genre. The author challenges these in the light of the Christian faith and Christian perspectives on leadership. With an engaging style Stephen Cottrell gives us food for thought and suggests alternatives with much turning upside down of taken for granted assumptions. He uses the phrase show more ‘upside down wisdom’ and concludes that true leadership means to serve. A thought provoking book for leaders – highly recommended. show less