This is one of the best books on Christian leadership (or on just following Jesus) that I know. Powerful. Concise. Insightful. Convicting. Reflective. Definitely worth reading multiple times. ( )

This is one of the books i try to read every year. I just finished it again and it's still worth reading every year. The message is intended for Christian leaders, but the ideas are of value to all Christ followers. ( )

Henri J.M. Nouwen shares his insights from his life with people with a mental handicap, in hope that they will give you some kind of inkling of the direction to take when wondering about Christian leadership in the future. In sharing his reflections with you, he uses as his guide two stories from the Gospels: the story of Jesus' temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) and the story of Peter's call to be a shepherd (John 21:15-19).

With his customary simple and passionate prose, Nouwen writes here about Christian Leadership. Nouwen takes the leadership attributes encouraged by the World and uproots them, turning them around, and showing how the Servant-Leadership of Christ Jesus is different. He illustrates this by examples from his own failures and struggles as a leader – going from the hallowed halls of Harvard to a community for mentally and physical disabled people where all his leadership skills suddenly became pointless and useless. It is from that place of humility he speaks to the Christian Leader, encourage and admonishing.
Although this book is simple and short, it is powerful. I would strongly encourage any Christian to read it – but in particular Christians who find themselves in a position of leaders, church or secular. Although written over 20 years ago, the message is still true and still needing to be heard. If leaders wish to be strong in the Kingdom of God they cannot lead the way the World does. They must lead the way Christ did. Nouwen’s book encourages this and is vital for any Christian. ( )

After spending twenty years at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard teaching men and women preparing for ministry and leadership in the Church, and having written numerous laudable books (several on our shelves), the author became the chaplain to the mentally handicapped in the L'Arche Community in Toronto, Canada. He says, "I was suddenly faced with my naked self, IN a way it seemed I was starting my life all over again,. Their [the residents] liking or disliking me had absolutely nothing to do with anything I'd done until then. Nobody could read my books so my books could not impress anyone, and most of them never went to school...My considerable ecumenical experience proved even less valuable."

He found that to be there "in the name of Jesus was to consistently, radically, and very concretely announce and reveal God is love, and only love, and that every time fear, isolation, or despair begins to invade the soul, this is not something that comes from God. This sounds very simple and maybe even trite, but very few people know that they are loved without conditions or limits..." April Goodnewsletter