By My Own Reckoning: a review by Brian Hughes

My mentor in seminary was Cecil Sherman. Throughout my masters degree and my doctorate, during my venture into ministry and the planting of our church, and through the many stages of staffing and leadership, Dr. Sherman has been a coach, a confident, and a supporter. He has helped me navigate difficult decisions and uncertain situations. He was way ahead of his time and is one of the most important and formative people in my life.

He was also a major figure in the war that happened during the 1980's in the Southern Baptist Convention, which culminated in the Convention's split.

Dr. Sherman's book is not a strict autobiography, but rather intends to recount his perspective on that conflict. It begins with a brief history of his ancestry which is only interesting to us who know him. However, once the second chapter begins and you begin to see his journey, his leadership, the lessons he learned, the race wars in his church, his experience and growth as a pastor and leader - you can hardly put the book down. Even for folks who are not Baptist, this book is a wealth of good lessons in church leadership, and I recommend it to you.