About
Dawn Walker
In a recent PublishU Podcast interview, Dawn Walker — author of Sheepdog to Shepherd — spoke with Matt Bird about her latest book, her leadership journey and how God has been shaping her for pastoral ministry in ways she never anticipated. The conversation offers deep insight into faith, leadership, personal transformation, and the often-unseen ways God prepares people for their calling.
Dawn Walker is no stranger to responsibility. By day, she works full-time in banking and change management, a field that requires efficiency, strategy, and decisive action. By night — and often into the early hours — she writes, pastors, mothers, and serves in her church community. What makes her story compelling is not simply her productivity, but how her professional life has intersected with her spiritual formation.
In the interview, Dawn reflects on her identity as both a corporate leader and a church shepherd. Rather than seeing these roles as separate, she explains how one has shaped the other. Her corporate background trained her to be results-driven, structured, and problem-focused — qualities that serve her well in business but required refinement when stepping into pastoral leadership. This tension lies at the heart of Sheepdog to Shepherd.
The book’s title emerged from a moment of self-awareness. When Dawn was unexpectedly invited to take on the pastoral care of her church, her immediate reaction was that she felt more like a “sheepdog” than a shepherd. Sheepdogs, she explains, are excellent at moving people — barking, directing, pushing, and keeping things in order. Shepherds, on the other hand, walk with people, listen, nurture, and lead through presence rather than pressure.
This metaphor captures the essence of her transformation. Dawn realised that while her sheepdog instincts were valuable in the workplace, they were not always suitable for pastoral care. In ministry, leadership requires patience, vulnerability, and deep relational engagement. Her book explores how God has been reshaping her heart and leadership style over time.
One of the most insightful parts of the interview is Dawn’s reflection on how her pastoral journey has influenced her corporate leadership. She explains that learning to shepherd people has made her more attentive to their emotional and spiritual well-being in the workplace.
Rather than reacting quickly to performance issues, she now seeks to understand what might be going on beneath the surface. People, like sheep, may appear difficult or resistant, but often they are wounded, overwhelmed, or misunderstood. This perspective has helped her lead with greater compassion and wisdom, both in church and in business.
Colleagues have even commented that they can see “the pastor coming out” in her leadership style — a sign that her spiritual growth is positively shaping her professional interactions.
When asked to share a key lesson from the book, Dawn highlights one of her biggest leadership challenges: how to handle difficult people within a church community. Drawing from biblical imagery in Ezekiel, she discusses how some sheep trample the pasture or muddy the waters, negatively affecting others.
Rather than seeing such individuals as problems to be eliminated, Dawn explains that true shepherding requires discernment. Some people act out because they are hurting, insecure, or lacking proper discipleship. Her book explores how leaders can respond with both grace and appropriate boundaries — sometimes through coaching, mentoring, or even necessary discipline.
This insight forms a crucial part of her pastoral philosophy: leadership is not about control, but about understanding, guiding, and restoring people in a Christlike way.
Although Dawn is an experienced preacher, she admits that transitioning from speaking to writing was not easy. Public speaking relies on tone, presence, and emotional delivery, whereas writing demands clarity, structure, and precision.
Through the support of PublishU’s training and editorial process, she learned how to craft her message effectively on the page. She describes writing as a discipline that required patience, revision, and intentionality — but also one that deepened her own understanding of her message.
Her growing confidence as an author has enabled her to share her insights more widely, with Sheepdog to Shepherd being the fourth book in what is now becoming a substantial body of work.
Perhaps the most powerful theme of the interview is Dawn’s belief in what she calls “sovereign serendipity” — the idea that God weaves a golden thread through every person’s life, preparing them for purposes they may not yet see.
Looking back, Dawn can recognise how her childhood experiences, professional career, and church involvement all played a role in shaping her for pastoral leadership. What once seemed random or disconnected now appears intentional and meaningful.
Her hope for readers is that they will begin to see God’s hand at work in their own lives. She encourages people not to dismiss unexpected invitations or opportunities, as they may be part of God’s preparation for something greater.
Sheepdog to Shepherd is more than a leadership book — it is a testimony of transformation, faith, and obedience. It speaks to pastors, business leaders, church members, and anyone wrestling with their calling.
Dawn’s journey reminds readers that true leadership is not about authority, efficiency, or control, but about humility, compassion, and walking closely with Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
Through her honest storytelling and biblical reflection, Dawn invites readers to consider how God might be shaping them — often in unseen ways — for a role they have yet to imagine.
For anyone seeking deeper understanding of leadership, discipleship, or personal calling, Sheepdog to Shepherd offers wisdom, encouragement, and a powerful reminder that God is always at work behind the scenes.
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