In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership

This book explains how Jesus humbled an extimeed theologain to trust and live in Jesus. This book is an revolutionary thesis on what it truly means to be a leader of Gods people and will change the typical view of the leadership role. Brad Martin

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.

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.

Henri Nouwen learned much from members of L'Arche, a community of severely disabled people in Canada. In this book he suggests, out of his own experience of life at L'Arche, a radically counter-cultural tactic: that to be like Jesus one must give one's power away, divest oneself of human privilege and status, and practice the downward mobility of Christ. His illustrations are moving and powerful, showing how his own attitudes and actions were changed as he put this living philosophy into action. This is a transformative book.