In The Name of Jesus - Henri Nouwen
I
found Henri Nouwen's reflections on Christian leadership (In The Name of Jesus, 1989) a refreshing
take on various aspects of pastoral ministry. He speaks to issues of
several objective themes for pastoral ministry that have arisen in
the course of my thirty years of ministry, though they have rarely
been delineated clearly for me. It is in Nouwen's descriptions of
hope, community, unconditional love, and mutuality of ministry I
found the greatest resonance.
After
the earthquake in Haiti, I was in discussion with a parishioner from
Haiti who was very distraught over the dire situation his family was
facing. We sat and talked at length about what was going on, who his
family members were, the economic crisis they were facing, and his
plans to offer them some assistance. If the course of the discussion,
I tried to present some new opportunities for putting the talents and
skills of his family members to use for beginning a new economic
venture for them. He did not necessarily see the solution I presented
as the path to take, but he turned to me with a new countenance,
saying, “Thank you, Pastor, you have given me hope.” It is not
what I was trying for. It was better than was I was trying to
accomplish, even if unintended. It helped me refocus some of my
ministry objectives toward instilling hope to those without it.
The
development of community was a particular issue in my last
congregation. On Sundays, we gathered thirteen nationalities together
attempting to speak a common language. The problem was that each of
the various cultures present used the language differently. They made
different inferences over word choices, to say nothing of the
competing various cultural expectations around structure, form, and
priorities in church and pastoral ministry. It was only as we tackled
joint projects that spoke to the entire congregation's perceived
needs that we made much headway. It was also a central theme of the
difficulties we faced with making decisions and charting a course for
the congregation's future.
With
all the diversity we faced, most every segment of the body faced the
issue Nouwen raises of unconditional love. None of the cultures in
the congregation had sufficient symbols and examples of unconditional
love to help them grasp and apply the concept. It was difficult for
many to grasp that my acceptance of persons did not mean agreement
with their actions. As they had not experienced unconditional love,
they did not know what to do with unconditional love granted to
others. Most had to couch in terms of conditional love,
misinterpreting through their lens my assessment of people in the
congregation.
As
such, unconditional love was something I found that not only needs
modeling, but also teaching and explaining over and over. It does not
come naturally to us, and we often do not recognize it for what it
is. Our prejudices in regard to motivation may often speak more
loudly than the actions and words presented before us.
By a
similar token, mutuality of ministry has been a difficult concept for
many in the course of my church work. As a seminary extension
professor, I saw many great examples of congregations using a system
of mutual ministry. I saw many more examples where shared ministry
was perceived as a threat by those grasping onto a position of
prominence. It was in those situations in which I witnessed ministry
as a expression of corporate belonging to Christ, however, that
ministry was most effective.
I
encouraged one pastor I worked with to continue to share preaching
responsibilities with members of his congregation as he finished his
seminary studies. When he graduated, he continued the practice of
sharing the pulpit in a manner that he preached once a week, but had
four others preaching at different opportunities. The church grew
much faster than any other church in the area as there was much
greater degree of engagement and responsibility for personal growth
within the larger congregation.
I have
seen the principles that Nouwen mentions at play in my own
ministerial journey, and they ring true as effective priorities and
strategies for ministry. They also ring true to the manner in which
Jesus went about his own ministry, calling disciples, and
commissioning them to extend his own ministry of preaching hope,
encouraging a sense of community among his followers, demonstrating
God's unconditional love to all classes of people, and sharing the
blessings and responsibilities of ministry with those we would often
consider unprepared or unworthy. Would that we would all embody these
principles more fully.
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