Living Together - Week #1

Whoa, there is sooooo much in this first chapter of Living Together! And while I could comment on a number of things that caught my attention in it, I'm going to discipline myself to focus on one particular aspect of community that Bonhoeffer addresses, because I believe it's absolutely foundational to experiencing true Christian community.

I'm referring to the last part of the chapter under the subtitle "A Spiritual Not a Human Reality." I'll quote several lines out of this section to summarize his thoughts about this:

• Because Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ, it is a spiritual and not a psychic (human) reality...
• The basis of the community of the Spirit is truth; the basis of human community is desire...
• Human love is directed to the other person for his own sake, spiritual love loves him for Christ's sake. Therefore, human love seeks direct contact with the other person; it loves him not as a free person but as one with whom it binds to itself...
• JESUS CHRIST STANDS BETWEEN THE LOVER AND THE OTHERS HE LOVES...Because Christ stands between me and others, I dare not desire direct fellowship with them...
• I must release the other person from every attempt of mine to regulate, coerce, and dominate him with my love...
• Because Christ has long since acted decisively for my brother before I could begin to act, I must leave him freedom to be Christ's...Human love lives by uncontrolled and uncontrollable dark desires; spiritual love lives in the clear light of service ordered by the truth...

I totally agree with the author in this, both because I see it in Scripture (II Cor. 5:16) and because I know it in my personal experience! (Watchman Nee addresses the root issues around this topic when he writes in Release of the Spirit about the difference between living from the spirit and living out of soulish powers...wonderful book, by the way!)

In our sincere desire to see those around us walk in the life of Jesus, we so often operate from a place of soulish force, hoping to coerce the person into truth. What a release it is to see Jesus Christ between myself and others and understand that no amount of psychic or human pressure will accomplish the job, and that long before I came along, Jesus knew the person and so he or she must be given "freedom to be Christ's". It is a painful process to come to this reality because of our proneness to want to "own" or "possess" others and ensure that they go the right way.

But true Christian community is impossible without a strong awareness and embracing of this truth...otherwise, it's simply natural human desire for community; and human community without Jesus strongly in our midst between every relationship is doomed for failure.

Come, Holy Spirit, and teach us how to live with one another in such a way that we understand that our calling is to be the friend of the Bridegroom whose joy it is to point others to Jesus rather than to ourselves...may we see one another through the cross and thereby see each other correctly - in this wholesome relating, we build Christian community. Thank You, dear Lord!

For the next two weeks, we will be in chapter two, which is about "The Day with Others." How does Bonhoeffer's approach to our life together in prayer and the Word help lift you out of a narrow, restricted understanding of what's going on in our corporate prayer and worship?

In the Name of Jesus - Week #4

This book went fast! What a blessing it's been to share it with some of you. I've received comments in person and via email (which don't appear on the site) that indicate that Nouwen's simple little book has had an impact. Be sure to read the Epilogue!

(One more reminder that the next book that we start this week is Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together. See the schedule for reading at the bottom of this posting. The one after that will be Tom Marshall's Living in the Freedom of the Spirit.)

In this final posting for In the Name of Jesus, I will share personally about the three temptations. I read this years ago and was impacted by it; rereading it has been wonderful. At every stage of our journey these temptations are part of how we grow in trust, and they appear in many and subltle ways...

First, the temptation to be relevant has come to me in the form of wanting to be needed by many. It's gratifying to the flesh with all of its sinful independence and woundedness to find its identity in how sought-after I am by those in need. The desire to help and minister to people is God-given, and for the believer the temptation lies in wanting to find my sense of importance in this life through how much people seek me out and how busy I am meeting people's needs. Eventually, this can burn you out because human need is endless; that's why Nouwen's suggestion that contemplation (getting truly quiet long enough to consider/ponder reality through God's perspective) is so good. This discipline has been and continues to be powerful for me to help me keep perspective in a very needy world.

Second, I shared last week how the temptation to be spectacular (the best or the most sacrificial...) in order to have the applause of people has expressed itself in my life, so I won't repeat that here. Nouwen suggests that the discipline of confession and forgiveness helps move us from popularity to ministry, and I have seen this to be true for me. In true ministry (which is done in relationship with others), I am known both in my strengths and weaknesses and so am known to be human and not any more or less special than others around me. It's in the close company of others that I'm saved from getting big-headed about myself, because the Lord will make sure there are those who not only don't think I'm that special, but who don't especially like me, and yet they love and accept me. This is a true gift from the Lord, and I have learned to be grateful for this! Popularity may feel good but it's full of unseen traps that are easily fallen into. It's those around me that help clear the spiritual ground I walk on of the land mines that I can't see on my own.

Third, the temptation to be powerful plays out in my life in the desire to control people and situations. The tricky thing about this for the believer is that this is so tied to the desire for good for those we care for, and we unwittingly pervert the place of influence we have in their lives by resorting to abuse of that influence. There have been many times in the course of my life and ministry when I have taken advantage of my "position" (which can be in a church or organization or in the family, etc.) to strong-arm my way, and I thought it was ok because it was for the benefit of those under my influence. Over the years the Holy Spirit has made me acquainted with myself in the Lord so that now I detect in my spirit when this temptation is at work in my desires, and I can back off from following through on this sin. Henri Nouwen suggests that the discipline of theological reflection will help us move from leading to being led.

He says that "Theological reflection is reflecting on the painful and joyful realities of every day with the mind of Jesus and thereby raising human consciousness to the knowledge of God's gentle guidance." In other words, for me not to abuse the influence that I've been given, I must be a person that understands God and others and the world through the heart and mind of Jesus, not through the lens of psychology or sociology, etc. While these areas of study are important, they should not be the dominating influence in my way of thinking and relating to people. The cross of Jesus and all that it stands for, both for me personally and for others in time and eternity must be central in my heart and mind in order for me to be empowered to handle power and influence in the spirit of Jesus Who didn't cling to His position but made Himself subject to those He had created (Phil. 2). Without this, I can't walk a "leadership in which power is constantly abandoned in favor of love." True spiritual leadership has in it the ability to rightly give way to those under one's influence, thereby being led by them.

I don't believe a person has to go through seminary or Bible school training to practice the discipline of "theological reflection." This can be practiced through study and meditation on the Word of God with the help of other believers and good books, etc. I do believe it's imperative in our day to have a worldview grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ and what we see and know of Him in the Scriptures, and we will need the help of the Divine Helper and one another in this!

Lord, thank You for Your servant, Henri Nouwen, through whom You shed more light on Yourself and Your ways. Continue Your delicate and decisive work of discerning between soul and spirit in our lives so that we increasingly reflect the life and ways of Your Son Jesus through our ways of relating with You and with others. Thank You that You really do hear our prayer and are doing this, for Jesus' sake!


For next week, please read and make your comments on the Introduction and Chapter One of Life Together. The chapter lengths vary in this book, so I think we'll plan on the following schedule for it (note the two weeks for chapter two):

Week of August 25-31................Introduction and Chapter One
Week of September 1-7..............Chapter Two
Week of September 8-14............Chapter Two
Week of September 15-21..........Chapter Three
Week of September 22-28..........Chapter Four
Week of September 29-
October 5.....................................Chapter Five

In the Name of Jesus - Week #3

(Just a reminder that next week we'll be introducing our next book, Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The one following that will be Tom Marshall's Living in the Freedom of the Spirit.)

This week we have read the second chapter of In the Name of Jesus, in which Henri Nouwen calls the Christian to make the shift from "popularity to ministry." Nouwen says early in this chapter:
"...I came to see that I had lived most of my life as a tightrope artist trying to walk on a high, thin cable from one tower to the other, always waiting for the applause when I had not fallen off and broken my leg."

As I read this, I'm picturing what it is that people applaud for; it's for some kind of visible performance, whether that be in the arts or in service or in leadership, etc.; and the better one performs, the louder the applause. When I was a young missionary-in-training, I wanted to do the "most difficult" thing a Christian could do to prove how spiritual I was. Looking back, I know now that I wanted to be popular and well-liked by a certain segment of society. I was willing to do the most difficult things I could imagine in order to have people's applause.

Desiring applause is not evil. God created us for applause. Where it is sinful is the source to which I look for applause. Jeremiah 2:13 says, "...my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." In various and subtle ways, we look for applause through what we can do that will get people's attention. And if we can do it better than the next guy, then people will notice me more and give louder applause. This is as common in the life of the missionary as it is in the life of the marketplace person. None of us is immune.

Because of the faithfulness of God and because He saw the true Nita that wanted to partner with Him in His will even more than I wanted to be popular, He was able to set my feet on a path I would have esteemed as not so sacrificial. I see now that He knew the best context for me to grow in His love and where I would best minister to Him and to others.

Nouwen goes on to say that Jesus, in the process of restoring Peter in love, calls him to be a shepherd of the flock...not a domineering shepherd that issues commands from a distance but one who is in relationship with his flock. In biblical ministry (no matter what form that takes), we are in partnership with others and are known for who we really are; we can minister from a place of not having to prove that we're perfect or the best. Nouwen's words about the need to minister together, rather than alone, are wonderful..."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...true ministry must be mutual. When the members of a community of faith cannot truly know and love their shepherd, shepherding quickly becomes a subtle way of exercising power over others and begins to show authoritarian and dictatorial traits..." As much as I possibly can, I minister with someone else alongside me and find that to be much more effective than being alone.

The author's suggested spiritual discipline to overcome this temptation to want to be the best in order to get the applause of others is the discipline of confession and forgiveness. All believers, leaders and followers alike, must be people who practice what Mother Basilea Schlink calls "daily repentance"...a daily attitude of willingness to change my way of thinking, then taking the needed steps of confession and receiving forgiveness whenever necessary. James 5:16 says, "Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."

Lord Jesus, by Your cross and Spirit, deliver and heal us more and more from the drivenness to be applauded by others. As we do the works of the Kingdom under Your Lordship and smile, cause us to be more and more like You who found Your identity and motivation for action in the Father's praise rather than in people's praises. What a place of freedom and joy! May the spirit of grace rest on us to quickly confess and receive forgiveness in our relationships, thereby knowing one another and undoing the power of "false heroism"...thank You, Lord!


The third and final chapter of In the Name of Jesus deals with Jesus' temptation towards power and control. Though some of us may not have a position title as such, the desire for power in order to control is in all of us. Nouwen suggests that the discipline of "theological reflection" is needed in order to shift from "leading to being led."

A couple of questions to consider, if they help:

1. What does the author mean by "theological reflection"?
2. How was Jesus' choice to not yield to Satan's temptation a picture of what the cross was all about?

Next two books

For those of you who are interested in knowing ahead of time which books we'll be reading, the following are the next two:

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Living in the Freedom of the Spirit by Tom Marshall

Both of these are available through amazon.com or a local bookstore. Since the book we're reading now is so short (In the Name of Jesus), you'll need to get Bonhoeffer's book soon, if you want to read it. We'll be starting his book on August 26.

In an earlier posting (see the blog) I told you a bit about Bonhoeffer's book which is five chapters long and is about Christian life together.

Marshall's book will take much longer because it has 25 chapters. Later I'll determine how much we'll read per week...to give you an idea of what the book is like, it's five sections are about the following:

• The mind
• The emotions
• The will
• Freedom to be ourselves
• Living out of the spirit

Loren Cunningham, founder of YWAM, says of him: "Tom Marshall was a giant in the Christian world through his teaching which embraced all cultures. He made great truths simple so that we could understand and apply them."

Happy reading!

In the Name of Jesus - Week 2

It was great to have several comments made on this first chapter! Thanks for sharing; please feel free to jump in and share even if it's very simple and short...we grow together as we share the portion the Lord gives us.

As I read this first chapter again of In the Name of Jesus, I was struck afresh with the reality that the things that our culture define as making a person successful or relevant to this age are not ultimately what people long for. Nouwen says,
“Beneath all the great accomplishments of our time there is a deep current of despair. While efficiency and control are the great aspirations of our society, the loneliness, isolation, lack of friendship and intimacy, broken relationships, boredom, feelings of emptiness and depression, and a deep sense of uselessness fill the hearts of millions of people in our success-oriented world.”

While the author would not likely be one to condemn technology and its use, he clearly recognizes that the Christian must be one who has his/her priorities well-established in order to genuinely impact the hurting people of our world. (I refer to technology simply because it is one of today’s greatest consumers of time; however, there are many other enemies of our hearts' keeping Jesus as First Love.) From personal experience, I know that persevering with Jesus as one’s First Love will ultimately cause you to appear irrelevant to this world’s system, which is alive in the Church as well.

“The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much are you going to accomplish? Can you show some results? But: Are you in love with Jesus?...Do you know the incarnate God? In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred.”

Jesus could have asked Peter many other questions after his denial of Jesus, but the question He asked was, “Do you love me…?” It touches me deeply that He desires my close friendship even more than my service or my attempts to prove to Him that I love Him. I have found myself healed and much more fruitful in this place of intimate friendship with Him.

The great thing about Jesus’ question to Peter is that it’s for every one of us, and the message it sends is that I don’t have to have a ministry/vocation that has the trappings of “success” as the world defines it; I simply need to love Jesus supremely and know that I am loved by Him, no strings attached. That is success! That is relevance as it relates to the Kingdom of God! From that place of Kingdom “success”, I operate with joy and grace in whatever ministry/vocation He gives me.

“Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time…When we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the Source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.”

I agree wholeheartedly with Nouwen in his suggestion that contemplative prayer (i.e., pausing often and sometimes long to simply acknowledge His beauty and His loving presence) is a major means through which I begin to understand God’s emotions towards me, towards those around me and towards all of humanity. I am healed in His presence because He tells me who I am, and I am released from what all the other voices say about who I am. The more I learn to “set my mind on things above” through the discipline of Christian contemplation (Col. 3:3), the better I can deal with the issues of earthly life because I see them in the right perspective and with faith in the Uncreated God Who loves and rules His creation.

My experience in lovingly contemplating Jesus (this includes obeying anything He may say) has convinced me and continues to convince me that this has the power to radically stand a person up into full personhood in Him to such a degree that he/she begins to actually change the spiritual climate around them.

Nouwen’s challenge to move from “relevance to prayer” is much greater than it sounds on paper! The world, the flesh and the devil will oppose this every step of the way. The good news is that Christ Jesus, by means of His own prayer life and obedience unto death has conquered, and the grace by which He lived and died flows to us right now…thank You, Lord, that You haven’t left us orphans in this world but are very present by Your Spirit this moment; Your grace is sufficient for each of us to walk today in this place of intimate prayer, and You are able to define what this looks like for each of us! We worship You, our Creator and Father in Jesus Christ…

In chapter two, Nouwen suggests that we move from "popularity to ministry" and says that the discipline of confession and forgieveness will help us make this shift.

How does he use Peter as an example of this? How does getting secure in the love and affections of God through contemplative prayer (chapter one) help the believer to move from wanting to be popular to caring enough about others to forget about oneself?

May the light of the countenance of Jesus shine on you this week!

In The Name of Jesus - Week #1

Welcome to our new book, In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen.

Some of you may have caught Nouwen’s concluding remark at the end of the Prologue in which he refers to what happened on the trip he made with Bill to Washington D.C. to speak to church leaders. That story is in the Epilogue of this book…I think you’ll be blessed by it!

One of the comments you made this week referred to the question: “Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus?” The question itself implies that aging and getting closer to Jesus are not necessarily one and the same thing.

Henri Nouwen says of himself, “After 25 years of priesthood, I found myself praying poorly, living somewhat isolated from other people, and very much preoccupied with burning issues. Everyone was saying that I was doing really well, but something inside was telling me that my success was putting my own soul in danger…”

It was his moving into a community for mentally handicapped people that God used to restore Nouwen to a place of nearness to Jesus and authenticity as a minister of the Gospel. In that place where his giftings and accomplishments meant nothing to his companions, he made discoveries about Christian leadership that are rooted in the cross and the life and ministry of Jesus.

As you read chapter one of In the Name of Jesus, ask the Holy Spirit to make the teachings there real to your life, whether or not you are in a “formal” position as a Christian leader. The truths apply to all of us who have any influence in others’ lives.

In this book Nouwen exposes the three fundamental temptations for Christian ministers, and these are based on Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness as found in Matthew 4:1-11; then he looks at Jesus’ call to Peter to be an overseer of the flock in John 21:15-19. Finally, he suggests a particular discipline to practice that can help us overcome the temptation.

In chapter one, is there a way in which you can identify with the temptation to the relevant?

Why does Nouwen suggest contemplative prayer as the spiritual discipline that helps save us from the temptation to be relevant?

The Lord bless you this week and be near you as you draw near to Him!