Creative Ministry

Book arrived in good time. I'm pleased with the condition and content (of course). Oh yes, and the price was right.

When I started this book, I found this book geared more toward ministers or spiritual directors than to the average lay person. Fr. Nouwen discussed in great detail the areas he feels key in our spiritual development and forming our spiritual views. The topics discussed are teaching, preaching, counseling, organizing and celebrating. As I read it began to unfold that we are called Christians and therefore called to ministry through our baptism and reinforced at confirmation. At that point I realized this book was speaking directly to me. Fr. Nouwen stresses that real learning comes through a collaborative exchange of ideas where both the teacher and student teach one another. We must be open and willing to take risks and to lay down one's life for his friends in order to give new life. A few highlighted passages: People of hope do not worry about the results of their work, because they believe that God will fulfill all promises and that it is only a temptation to want to know exactly how this will happen. pg. 86 Our task is not a heavy burden or brave sacrifice but an opportunity to see more and more of the face of Him whom we meet. pg. 89 Ministers and priests are challenged to offer the way; to be like an artist who lays his work before the community in the hope that through it, as through a window, the reality he has fathomed can be witnessed by all who give attention. pg. 109

A Master of Divinity or a Master of Business Administration: which degree program best prepares one for ministry? Whether it being pondered by divinity students or critics of seminary education, incipient in this question is a measure of misgiving regarding what best prepares one for life in the parish. Should the ideal minister be spiritual, sagacious, and scripturally grounded? Or have the intricate economic realities of modern days rendered such leadership a luxury and thus less requisite than skills of one formed by pragmatic, efficiency-minded, schools of commerce and administration? This question should not be taken as hyperbole as it is asked daily by search committees, fledgling ministers, and seminary curricularists.In CREATIVE MINISTRY Henri Nouwen facilitates a possible answer to this question by advancing what he calls a "spirituality of ministry." Nouwen posits that ministry is much more than the just skilled labor of a professional; it is the action that naturally grows out of an inner vibrancy made possible by the Spirit and one's own devotion. "A Christian minister will never be able to be a minister if it is not his own most personal faith and insight that forms the core of his pastoral work" (xx). Having this as a guiding conviction, Nouwen laments what he calls a "professionalization" of the ministry.Seeking to legitimize their vocation in the helping industry, Nouwen suggests that ministers have learned to trust so much in their competency that the vulnerable and spiritual sides of pastoral work lie neglected. This is not to suggest that the author advocates an ill-informed cleric who, in the name of relying on the Spirit, ignores the contributions of academic and clinical experts. In fact, CREATIVE MINISTRY finds Nouwen drawing more directly upon his psychological training than in his other works. The aversion to professionalization, than, arises out of his conviction that "individual pastoral care can never be limited to the application of any skill or technique since ultimately it is the continuing search for God in the life of the people we want to serve" (63).Moving beyond the vaporous nature pre-packaged technique one can combine skill with spirituality in all of ministry's activities. In five core chapters he considers how (1) teaching is more than transference of knowledge, (2) preaching is more than retelling of the story, (3) pastoral care is more than skilled response, (4) organizing is more than manipulation of structures, and (5) celebrating is more than protective ritual. Each chapter moves in typical Nouwen fashion by dividing and subdividing the topic into separate, yet related components.Though Nouwen saw his identity as a priest, one does not find a host of Scriptural references in CREATIVE MINISTRY (this is true in many of his other works as well). Perhaps this was to protect the book from being seen as the result of detached, sterile exegesis or to make it accessible to wider audience. Whateve

In "Creative Ministry" by Henri Nouwen, pages are filled with unsettling information that both, would be ministers and those directing their energy toward a life of service, must read. He separates a ministry into five aspects: teaching, preaching, pastoral care, organizing, and celebrating. Although Nouwen concentrates on a life of dialogue and care that will naturally overflow into surrounding relationships and situations, he does not neglect the prevading questions and doubts that haunt those preparing to serve. His words are directed toward the one, who will serve the many, and does not allow that one to make a moral, spiritual, or social distinction between him or herself and those to whom he or she ministers.

Nouwen brings to this book his breadth of understanding of both the Christian way and the Christian ministry. In 5 chapters he covers the functions of ministry: Teaching; Preaching; Pastoral Care; Organization; and Celebration. The book is easy to read, while at the same time prompting serious reflection on the tasks of ministry.Nouwen suggests (in respect of each function) a number of ways in which that task of ministry is perceived and executed. He reflects on certain 'secular' perspectives of the function, and then offers an alternative perspective which relates to the way in which God involvment is highlighted. (So in respect of pastoral care, Nouwen suggests that the concept of 'contract' between the pastor and the person is inadequate and offers the concept of 'covenant' as an alternative which reflect better God's commitment to both person and pastor.)This offering of alternative perspectives which Nouwen gives to each aspect of the work of ministry is helpful in clarifying just what it is we are doing when we respond to God's call to share the work of Christ. The book is an important addition to the library of any person (lay or ordained) who is conscientious about their work in minstry.