Henri Nouwen on leadership – by Ed Walker

‘Leadership requires deep spiritual formation involving the whole person – body, mind and heart.’

In the Name of Jesus: reflections on Chistian Leadership is a great little book. As with all Henri Nouwen’s writing – it is best read slowly. You need to allow its wisdom to sink deep.

Many of us have read leadership books. But probably not many like this. It feels almost too radical and, perhaps even spiritually irrelevant.

Given, however, the recent scandals of Christian leaders (again) – perhaps it has never been more needed. Not least as an antidote to ‘worldly-success-type-leadership-dressed-in-Cristian-language’ and to the ‘success-manuals-wrapped-in-biblical-verses’ kind of books!

Henri Nouwen was, in worldly terms, a ‘successful leader’ who taught at both Harvard and Yale. He then moved to caring for people with severe disabilities. His book could almost be summed up with these words:

‘Too often I looked at being relevant, popular, and powerful as ingredients of an effective ministry. The truth, however, is that these are not vocations but temptations.’

The book is framed around two gospel scenes: the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness and the post-resurrection conversation Jesus had with Peter.

Temptation #1 : relevance

He unpacks our desire to be relevant (turning stones into bread). If our leadership is based on a low self-esteem, we will be more likely to succumb to ‘relevance’ – the need to look like we are making a difference. Instead, Jesus replied, we should live (i.e. our esteem should come from) ‘the word.’

‘If there is any focus that the Christian leader will need, it is the discipline of dwelling in [his} presence…..[the Christian leader’s] identity should be deeply rooted in God.’

Temptation #2 Popularity/ the need to be spectacular

We can, especially in the world of social media ‘likes’, be over-reliant on our need for applause, to impress, to succumb to the temptation of individualism – where we need to get the credit. There is a reason Jesus sent people out in 2’s!

We need to reject our cultural image of the brilliant, successful self-made man / woman who can do it all alone!

Temptation #3: to be powerful

The desire to be the one who performs the miracle, who ‘transforms’ someone’s life, who builds a great ministry, church, charity. Nouwen also compares the modern ‘support-worker’, social workers, psychologists (roles where we are the saviour to ‘service users’ or the ‘lost, least and last’) with Christians in ministry.

He warns us to be distinct. Christian ministry is also to share your vulnerabilities, to live in mutuality, to ask for help as we help others. To acknowledge and confess our sins as we strive be a healing presence to others. When we are so boundaried that all we do is ‘give the gospel to others’ – then we’ve succumbed to the temptation of power!

Guard your relationship

I write this as I take on a new role with the Christian environmental network A Rocha. I asked someone for advice and they said:

‘Your mission is not a surrogate for your own relationship with Jesus. Guard that relationship.’

This ties in with perhaps Nouwen’s most central point: the most important question Jesus asks of anyone ‘shepherding sheep’ is ‘do you love me?’

Mutuality and leadership

At Hope into Action we often talked about mutuality being one of our core values. Here Henri Nouwen expresses it as well as anyone:

‘Ministry is not only a communal experience, it is also a mutual experience.…As Jesus ministers, so he wants us to minister. He wants Peter to feed his sheep and care for them, not as professionals, who know their clients’ problems and take care of them, but as vulnerable brothers and sisters who know and are known, who care and are cared for, who forgive and are being forgiven, who love and are being loved. Somehow we have come to believe that good leadership requires a safe distance from those we are called to lead. Medicine, psychiatry and social work all offer us models in which ‘service’ takes place in a one-way direction. Someone serves, someone else is being served, and be sure not to mix up the roles!

But how can anyone lay down his life for those with whom he is not even allowed to enter into a deep personal relationship? Laying down your life means making your faith and doubt, hope and despair, joy and sadness, courage and fear available to others as ways of getting in touch with the Lord of life.

We are not healers, we are not reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anyone we care for…..True ministry must be mutual!’

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Ed Walker MBE founded Hope into Action and is the new International Director of A Rocha. This review was originally published on his book review blog.

Buy: In the Name of Jesus: Christian Reflections on Leadership by Henri Nouwen