In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Hardcover)

by Henri J. M. Nouwen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Henri Nouwen undertakes to talk about Christian leadership and provides a profile in stark contrast to worldly values. His ideal leader is a praying leader, a vulnerable leader, a trusting leader, one who voluntarily chooses a life of downward mobility. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher
A national bestseller for over a decade, now with study guide! In the Name of Jesus is Henri Nouwen's bold, honest, and heartwarming message about Christian leadership. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 81 pages
• Publisher: Crossroad Publishing Company (February 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824509153
• ISBN-13: 978-0824509156
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #136,984 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 81 Pages and 81 Years Worth of Wisdom, October 9, 2001

By	Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Paperback)

Nouwen packs so much wisdom into so little space. These aren't cerebral facts, these are life-altering, heart-changing ideas. These are words to fuel a revolution.

Essentially, in his simple and loving manner, Nouwen tells us that we've got it all wrong and that we need to get back to the basics. "Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead." This quote by Nouwen not only hits the nail on the head, it pinpoints the problem of serving God in an official capacity. Many have insulated themselves from relationships, often under the impression that they must show only their good side as a minister of the gospel; thus they wrestle alone with the sins of the flesh.

This short book attempts to refocus leaders' eyes on the basics...and the basics, as viewed here in poignant and startling clarity, take a lifetime to learn. Nouwen manages to make this all seem not only possible, but desirable. Not only helpful, but necessary. Each time my mind began to get in the way, his words brought me back to the responses of the heart.

To start and finish this book, Nouwen tells us about his mentally-handicapped friend Bill. By tucking his message between the very real love and efforts of his own life, Nouwen punctuates his words and shows us that they can, indeed, impact our own lives.

Even if it takes me 81 years to get it all figured out.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the top 5 books on ministry of all time., January 12, 2000

By	Kent A. Sanders (St. Peters, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Paperback)

I read this little book several years ago as part of a college class during the last semester before I graduated and entered full-time ministry. I enjoyed it then, but it was not until recently, when I picked it up again, that I was so incredibly moved by this author who seemed to understand so much about leadership than most of the big-name authors on leadership. "In the Name of Jesus" has had a major impact upon the way I view ministry. It is only 80 pages long and can easily be read in one sitting--you will do yourself a huge favor if you read and apply it. I name it among the top 5 books on ministry ever published.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for Christian Leadership, August 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Paperback)

Using the three temptations of Christ, Henri does a superb job of bringing the three temptations to everyday life. He answers important questions of today by addressing one central idea, identity. The strength of this book is in the three identity issues, "I am what I do" "I am what others say about me" and "I am what I control."

Nouwen does a great job of shutting down cultural messages to focus upon one point, our identity in Christ.

A must read for anyone in Christian Leadership, especially those who teach others and desire to become relevant leaders for today. Even though this book is not the most theologically sound, the central idea is how to combat the cultural messages of America to become powerful, spectacular and relevant.