Book review: In the Name of Jesus

Phillip Foster March 28, 2020

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Henri Nouwen wasn’t predicting this crisis, but In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadershiphe discusses how to lead in such a time consistent with God’s greater purpose.  

Nouwen uses Christ’s temptations (Matthew 4:1-11) and Peter’s calling (John 21:15-19) to guide leaders in confronting the issues of today and suggests the disciplines needed for the task. For Nouwen, God is the God of the present and if we listen carefully in the moment, He will reveal the steps that will also have an impact on the future.

In Jesus’ first temptation, Nouwen identifies the need to let go of the “relevant self.” Leaders need to be vulnerable, to recognize all they have to offer and yet what will have the greatest impact is the message and demonstration of God’s love.  

While politicians, athletes, actors and organizations are doing things that appear to be relevant (and it is not a criticism of what they are doing or what you could do), those actions will not relieve the feelings of isolation, emptiness, helplessness and hopelessness that fill the hearts of those who are being affected.

The question being asked is, “Does anybody love me?” The leader of today is one who knows God’s heart and can reveal to others that God loves them unconditionally. Living in the world in this way, we can bring “healing, reconciliation, new life and hope wherever we go.”

Christian leaders must spend time in God’s presence, listen to His voice and experience the love of God for themselves. There they will find “the wisdom and courage to address whatever issue presents itself to them.”

Jesus’ second temptation was to do something spectacular to gain popularity. Nouwen emphasizes that leaders must recognize they are not above those we serve.  “The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.”  

We are not above those who have need. Nouwen calls leaders to be vulnerable, to admit fears and needs for support and comfort, so others can relate to us and receive what we have to offer.

The times present an opportunity to work collaboratively against a common enemy. “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). Other Christian leaders may also be the ones with whom we can share our own pain and struggles as we wage this war together.

In Jesus’ third temptation Nouwen sees our temptation to be powerful, the desire “to control complex situations, confused emotions and anxious minds.” For Nouwen leadership means to be led. “The way of the Christian leader is not the way of upward mobility…but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross.” 

Nouwen defines this as a “leadership of powerlessness and humility in which the suffering servant of God, Jesus Christ, is made manifest…in which power is constantly abandoned in favor of love.”

How this manifests itself will be particular to each one of us, however God chooses to use us.  Each of us must discern how and where God is leading, to ask what our part is in the good that He wants to accomplish though this time of challenge.  

There may be a greater good that He wants to do rather than the “little contribution” that we are considering. God has the ability to make every event in human history a moment of kairos, “an opportunity to be led deeper into the heart of Christ…to manifest the divine event of God’s saving work” in the midst of the seemingly random events of our time.  

We are called to make God’s voice and His presence the source of comfort and consolation.

The challenge for leaders is to be the “praying leader, the vulnerable leader, and the trusting leader,” that God can work through to accomplish His purposes. For we know that His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours, but “My word that goes out of from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11-12).

Photo source: istock 

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Phillip A. Foster, Ph.D., as a psychologist and Director of AuthenticQuest.org, provides spiritual direction, counseling, training and consulting, to those in ministry or other roles of leadership in the church. He is the author of Here's My Heart, Lord; Parent With an Attitude, and Not Good Enough. Learn More »

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