Book Review: In the Name of Jesus

I am always reading. It is one of my favorite things to do. I wanted to put on my blog some of the books I read & my thoughts on them. I just re-read "In the name of Jesus" by Henri Nouwen. WHAT A GEM! So much wisdom is packed into this tiny book. His raw honesty is so easy to connect to. He talks about the struggles and temptations in leadership. 

He brings us back to the heart of ministry- Jesus asking Peter 3 times: "Do you love Me?" and then telling him to feed His sheep. He reminds us to stay in this love of God. He is so transparent about the temptations in ministry to try to control rather than love, be relevant instead of vulnerable, and to be self-serving instead of serving the Lord. 

I could read this book once a month & not get sick of it. It is probably my favorite book I've ever read on leadership. It is very real. He talks about the hopes of leadership yet the reality of how our brokenness gets in the way.

He talks about the need for us to be disciplined to listen to that soft, gentle, and loving voice of God in our very loud world.

The reason Henri's writing is so powerful is because he is so honest. He is a very humble man, and that is why the Lord is able to use Him is such amazing ways. His humility amazes me. He knows he is too broken but that all He has to do is simply show up and Jesus will do the rest. 

What a powerful testimony to how God can use us NO MATTER WHAT! No matter who we are or what we are currently struggling with. Henri always struggled but never gave up because he knew the Love that would never give up on him.  :)


Highlights from the book:

• "The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God's word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life." Pg 30
  
• "Are you in love with Jesus? Perhaps another way of putting the question would be: Do you know the incarnate God? In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and woman who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, cares, reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred. It is a heart that wants only to give love and receive love in response. It is a heart that suffers immensely because it sees the magnitude of human pain and the great resistance to trusting the heart of God who wants to offer consolation and hope." Pg 37-38
  
• "I have found over and over again how hard it is to be truly faithful to Jesus when I am alone. I need my brothers or sister to pray with me, to speak with me about the spiritual task at hand, and to challenge me to stay pure in mind,heart, and body. But far more importantly, it is Jesus who heals; not I; Jesus who speaks words of truth; not I; Jesus who is Lord; not I. This is very clearly made visible when we proclaim the redeeming power of God together. Indeed, whenever we minister together, it is easier for people to recognize that we do not come in our own name, but in the name of the Lord Jesus who sent us." Pg 58-59
  
• "Laying down your life means making your own 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 the healers, we are not the reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anyone we care for. 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." Pg 61-62
  
• "The task of the future Christian leaders is not to make a little contribution to the soltuion 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." Pg 87