Beautiful, simple, profound.
In characteristic Nouwen style, this wise priest defines theology as union with God in prayer. True leadership comes out of intimately knowing God's heart, not out of power and relevance.
This little booklet is a speech Nouwen gave to the Center of Human Development and deserves to be mulled a long time.

Appreciated his reflections and notes on servant leadership

1. The Christian leader eagerly enters into mutually transforming relationships of co-suffering love with those she leads. This relational model is distinctly Christian, because it would otherwise be inappropriate for, say, a psychologist and her client to have this sort of mutual vulnerability—even though both the Christian minister and psychologist intend to provide forms of healing.

2. The Christian leader actively resists the temptations of becoming relevant, spectacular, and powerful. She resists these temptations by contemplative prayer, confession and forgiveness, and theological reflection.

3. The Christian leader does not minister alone, though she may hold a distinct, singular office. Jesus always sends us to minister “two by two” (Luke 10:1), which ensures mutual accountability and encouragement. Take Jesus at his word, Nouwen says: if you have a speaking engagement, or your presence is requested in any way — try to invite a friend to accompany you. You may be surprised at the fruit it bears.

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My two takeaways:

- Jesus asks us to be fruitful, not successful (to borrow from Nouwen)

When my affections are sanctified and properly aligned, I do not desire notoriety or power, though both may come, as was Nouwen’s case. My task is to actively resist the seductions of the world—which are now only exasperated by social media. I have no doubt that Nouwen would not be on Twitter. It is only getting harder to follow Jesus faithfully and to establish Christian credibility.

- Water seeks the lowest place (to borrow from Rohr)

When my affections are sanctified and properly aligned, my life will tend toward the poor in spirit. Poverty, to Nouwen, is a fruit of Christian leadership. The Christian leader carries only a staff — for in Christ she forfeits all of her bread, bags, and money (Mark 6:8). And only after forfeiting the world is she able to open her hands and receive the gifts God wants to give her. What am I holding onto that Jesus is asking me to give up, so that he may give me something better?

A short book. A simple message.

As Nouwen puts it, “What I have said is, obviously, nothing new, but I hope and pray that you have seen that the oldest, most traditional vision of Christian leadership is still a vision that awaits realization in the future. I leave you with the image of the leader with outstretched hands, who chooses a life of downward mobility.”

This book is catered towards “leaders in the church” and while he may be speaking to ministers, it is applicable to anyone because we can all be leaders in the church. Well done Nouwen.

I had to force myself to not read this in one sitting, but give it a few days to absorb all the goodness in this book. Pretty much every sentence is an excellent quote, but this one stood out to me last night;

"It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life"

I need to invest in my own copy because I feel this will be a book I need to re read throughout the years.

I try to read this book at least once a year. Essential for all those in Christian ministry.

A timely reminder that any work I do in ministry is not about me or how I am perceived but should also point to Christ. I love the humility with which this author writes.

L E A D E R S H I P
Practical. Attainable. Read it. Simply read it.

A sweet little book on Christian leadership with some excellent reflections.

I'm not sure how I feel about his section in chapter 2 on being the recipient of ministry from congregants. Not that I think they cannot minister to their minister, but what extent is healthy. Nouwen seems to push for a deeply vulnerable place, but I question if vulnerability means transparency. I'm not sure what he would say, and I'm not sure that is what he's pushing for, but it's a bit ambiguous and could certainly be taken there.

Otherwise, a very enjoyable and centering read.

I enjoyed this book! It was a quick read that dove into some of the key temptations of Christian leadership and some disciplines that can combat them.

It was written from lessons Nouwen learned as he moved from a “traditional” ministry position to a position of ministering to people with mental and physical disabilities. This was cool because it reminded me of some of the lessons I learned working at Caring Days last summer.

I thought it had some beautiful reminders of dying to self, growing in humility and leading from deep love for the Father!

At times it was fluffy or repetitive but overall a good read!!

Extended meditations on Jesus's temptation and Peter's restoration. Warns against the danger of "needing to be relevant." Great suggestion that ministry should be done in pairs (like the way Jesus sent out the 70).

I read this book every year, and every year it brings me back to earth. It keeps me reminded that Christian leadership is not about being relevant or popular or powerful. Rather it is about living a life of prayer, being vulnerable and honest, and laying down power for love. A truly beautiful reflection on Christian leadership that I will continue to read yearly (if not more, as it is a fairly quick read!)