Pillars are Just Crutches

I found ‘The Wounded Healer’ particularly insightful.  It took me longer than I expected to get through as the pages are weighed down with content heavy enough to support a book 3 times its size.  One thing is for sure, Henri J. M. Nouwen did not mince words!

At the end of his book he speaks of the loneliness of a minister, he says:

But the more I think about loneliness, the more I think that the wound of loneliness is like the Grand Canyon-a deep incision in the surface of our existence which has become an inexhaustible source of beauty and self-understanding.

Later he continues,

We get an idea of the kind of help a minister may offer.  A minister is not  doctor whose primary task is to take away pain.  Rather, he deepens the pain to a level where it can be shared.  When someone comes with his loneliness to the minister, he can only expect that his loneliness will be understood and felt, so that he no longer has to run away from it but can accept it as an expression of his basic human condition.

I am in the middle of reading another book by Henri Nouwen.  This one is entitled, “The Wounded Healer”.  Although the book has it ups and downs there are some really insightful moments in the book.  In one part, I have never read anyone articulate the need and dangers of formal ministry training so well.  He says:

More training and structure are just as necessary as more bread for the hungry.  But just as bread given without love can bring war instead of peace, professionalism without compassion will turn forgiveness into a gimmick, and the kingdom to come into a blindfold.

Then he goes on to describe exactly what I use to be like:

The man who does not know where he is going or what kind of world he is heading toward, who wonders if bringing forth children in this chaotic world is not an act cruelty rather than love, will often be tempted to become sarcastic or even cynical.  He laughs at his busy friends, but offes nothing in place of their activity.  He protests against many things, but does not know what to witness for.

I have found that the book is quite good at explaining the human condition still, even though it was written over 30 years ago.  Nouwen, to a large degree, manages to look past culture and talk about man.

I would recommend anyone in ministry or thinking about ministry to pick up this book.  If you can make your way past the first chapter the rest is quite insightful.

As I’ve noted in previous blogs by a similar title, I just finished reading the surprisingly powerful, In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen.  The book talks about what the author learned about leadership in his transition from Harvard to Daybreak.

The last temptation that Nouwen talks about in Jesus wilderness temptations is that of being powerful and wanting control.  Nouwen shares about how his arguments and nice words could not convince the handicapped people at Daybreak.  He had to let go of his need for control and power.  He offers good insight to why the temptation to be powerful can often be the most powerful temptation:

What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible?  Maybe it is that pwer offers an easy substitute for the hard love.  It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people that to love people, easier to own like than to love life.  Jesus asks, “Do you love me?”  We ask, “Can we sit at your right hand and your left hand in your Kingdom? (p. 77)

Nouwen hopes for a poor church whose leaders are willing to be led in humility.  He is not referring to weak leadership, simply leadership that allows love to overrule.  The way to do this is through theological reflection.  Nouwen says, “the task of future Christian leaders is not to make a little contribution to the solution of the pains and tribulations of their time, but to identify and announce the ways in which Jesus is leading God’s people out of slavery, through the desert to a new land of freedom” (p. 87).

I agree with Nouwen that todays Christian leaders have become more ‘pseudo-social-worker or pseudo-psychologist rather than real ministers.  Pastors have (to some degree) forgotten that it is God who calls people into ministry and therefore God who will sustain, provide and help people in ministry.  To strictly rely on counseling or social-work techniques cheapens and diminishes what God wants to do.  Ministers need to be theologically and prayerfully prepared “to manifest the divine event of God’s saving work in the midst of the many seemingly random events of their time” (p.88).

I just finished a rather powerful book called, In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen.  He shares his insights on leadership that he gained through his move from being a Harvard professor to ministering to mentally handicapped people in Ontario, Canada.  I previously wrote on his section about relevance and now I’ll continue with a look at the next section about popularity.

The second temptation that Nouwen talks about is the temptation to be popular or spectacular.  He talks about how being at Daybreak stripped him of his individuality.  He used to do things alone and could go on his own route, but when he made his transition there was always someone there with him or wondering where he was.  Nouwen comments that we have this feeling that we have to do things solo and that we need to have recognition for the things that we have done.  However, fhis is just the temptation to be popular

.As a remedy to this Nouwen switches tracks to talk about Jesus send his disciples out, not alone, but in pairs.  This works to keep people accountable, as Nouwen notes, “I have found over and over again how hard it is to be truly faithful to Jesus when I am alone” (p.58).  The partner is a vital part of ministry for guidance, accountability and encouragement.

Just earlier I posted about pastors who are using video so they can preach in more than one venue at a time.  I think this is a classic example of not having people in ministry that you can work with.

Nouwen also remarks that confession and forgiveness are the keys to help from falling for the popularity temptation.  I know first hand that confession and forgiveness have had a huge hand in helping curb any temptation and let me know that I will always be in need, not only of the grace and mercy of God, but also of the people around me who are an encouragement and support.

We are left with the realization that ministry cannot be about popularity and any such goal only serves to make a fall that much greater.

I just finished reading a remarkable little book by Henri J. M. Nouwen who was a Catholic priest who taught at Harvard and ended up being a Chaplin at Daybreak for the mentally handicapped and their helpers.  The book is entitled, ‘In the Name of Jesus’.  The book is about Christian leadership, but it’s unlike anyother Christian leadership book I have ever read.

In his introduction he sets the stage of how he arrived at Daybreak from Harvard and he shares how that transition had given him a new perspective on Christian leadership.  In doing so he uses the tempation of Jesus as his guide.  The first temptation being turning the stone to bread.

This is the temptation to be relevant, and what a temptation, Jesus was hungry, he hadn’t eaten in weeks!  Some bread would have hit the spot!  Mr. Nouwen shares that Jesus came into the world, and when He was tempted with what He could do (feed himself with food that he desperately needed) He responded with what he should do, feed himself with God’s word.

This has big applications within the church today!  Many churches have tried to be relevant and reach out to the lowest common denominator, in doing so they have taken away the gospel message so as not to offend people.  They are being completely relevant to the world and feeding their congregations self-help messages that have been stripped of the Word of God.  They are no longer preaching sermon, they are giving seminars.  As a result, souls are lost.

Instead of attempting to be relevant Nouwen asks the question, “Am I in love with Jesus?”  The answer to this question is more important than what people may think of me or whether I get the result I expect or want.  It will also determine how close I am to Him and what my spiritual life is like.  He encourages us to seek God through contemplative prayer, simply dwelling in the presence of God.

To the churches great demise, prayer has become synonymous with ‘doing nothing’.  Churches are more focused on programs than spiritual disciplines and they have created a culture where busyness, noise, and attendance is often linked to success.  Whereas often the opposite is need, stillness, silence and solitude.

Instead of seeking relevance we should be prayerfully seeking God.