The Man Who’s Reaching the Next Gen with Horses! 

Horse /Leadership Demo 

Dr. Lew Sterrett describes his leadership demonstration using two horses this way: “My topic will be on the Life Journey that all people are called to take. It will touch on four topics briefly here referred to as; BOUNDARIES, BROKENNESS, BLESSING, & BOLDNESS.  These stages parallel the four stages of both horse and of leadership development. Every major leader from Old to New Testaments went from Egypt to the Wilderness to Galilee or Jordan and eventually to Canaan, the promised land.  They reflect stages of growth, influence and maturity.  I will have one simple little horse illustration for each of the four.”

About Dr. Lew Sterrett

From growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania and getting involved in 4-H at age eight, to attending Penn State University and majoring in the animal industry field, Dr. Lew had many opportunities to learn from qualified trainers and educators. During his university years he was confronted with his need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  After his graduation, he later went to earn his master’s degree in Divinity and his doctorate in Leadership Training.

While Dr. Lew was a student at Penn State, he came to Christ and worked at a camp.  It was then that he made the connection between horses and humans, seeing that it was necessary to get to the heart of both in order to achieve any real, lasting change in behavior.  He started doing demonstrations with horses primarily as a way to share the gospel.  Before long, he says, coaches came to him asking how they might better train their athletes in leadership qualities.  Over time, Dr. Lew developed a horse demonstration about basic leadership.   “I began to see the avenues of counseling and discipling parallel that of needing to train and to capture the heart of the horse instead of just conquering the horse physically,” he says.  “And, of course from a biblical background, we’ve often seen that abuse, too, where we give mandates to people spiritually but we can’t win their hearts.  So (there was) this evolution of seeing my own ideas and a better way to win the heart of the horse and turn 1200 pounds into your ally, and winning the heart of a child rather than build fences between or not deal with a wounded spirit.  And then in family relationships, and so forth, I began to realize a different form of servant leadership, and that was the foundation.”  

Throughout his lifetime Dr. Lew has expressed his concern for Biblical leadership development as a former director of a major camp and conference center, a founder of a discipleship school in PA, a former president of CHA (an instructor safety certification program) and as a certified youth, marriage, and family counselor. He has received many prestigious national awards for his influence in leadership such as the National Leadership Award from the National Republican Congressional Committee Business Advisory Council and the Moody Bible Institute-Most Influential People.

To learn more about Dr. Lew Sterrett, click the LINK! 

CREDITS

Professional horse trainer and certified youth, marriage, and family counselor, 30+ years / event speaker / former director of a camp and conference center / founder of a discipleship school / former president of CHA (an instructor safety certification program) / given the National Leadership Award from the National Republican Congressional Committee Business Advisory Council and the Moody Bible Institute-Most Influential People/ B.A., Penn State, M.Div and Ph.D., Leadership Training, Florida Bible Seminary / Married to Melodie, two sons