Book Report: "In the Name of Jesus" (Henri Nouwen)

Jenn McGarvey Blackston

jennifer.mcgarvey@mailbox.ciu.edu

MIN 5310

      In this book, Nouwen, focuses on two passages in Scripture- Matthew 4:1-11 (the temptation of Jesus in the desert) and John 21:15-19 (Jesus asking Peter, "do yo love me?"). As I was reading this book, I focused on the temptations of Jesus and how I could apply the truth to my life when I am tempted. I am so grateful that Christ was tempted in every way, just as I am, and yet was without sin. He understands the struggles of life and he knows what it is like to face hardship and have opportunities to throw in the towel and take the easier, more comfortable way out. This is a great book on leadership and knowing Jesus. "Jesus' first temptation was to be relevant: to turn stones into bread." (p. 30) Satan was basically challenging Christ to prove he was the Son of God by turning stones into bread. Instead, Jesus "clung to his mission to proclaim the Word" and said that man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. "The great message that we have to carry , as ministers of God's Word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life." (p. 30) It is so easy and tempting to get caught up in performance and "doing things for God" and when I think that somehow that producing for God will cause him to love me more, I am missing the point. There is nothing wrong is doing things for God; the more important thing is being with God and knowing him more deeply. Martha was so caught up in service that she missed out on spending time with Jesus and learning from him. I want to be like Mary and not miss out on meeting with Jesus and knowing him more deeply!
      Before Jesus sent out Peter to tend to the flock, he asked him the question, "do you love me?" (John 21) Nouwen says, " We have to hear that question as being central to all of our Christian ministry because it is the question that can allow us to be, at the same time, irrelevant and truly self-confident." (p. 36) Christ is more concerned with our love for him and our faithfulness to him than he is about our results or how much we accomplish for him. Do we really know him? Is my goal in life to know Christ and make him known or am I working towards seeing how much I can produce for him? As leaders, we have so much to offer a hurting world! When we genuinely love God and seek to grow in our relationship with him, we can then offer the world a love that never fails- the love of Jesus. Apart from Jesus, we have nothing to offer. We can come alongside people and love them in such a way that it points them to the One who can touch and heal the deepest parts of their heart! One of the best ways in which I stay connected to the Vine is through prayer. Prayer keeps me dependent on Jesus and it serves to draw me into deeper intimacy with my Savior. It is vitally important for us as both believers and leaders to abide in Jesus and spend time with him through his Word and prayer. " Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance." (p.45)
"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." (p. 46-47) This life is all about Jesus! I need to guard my relationship with the Lord and allow his love to overflow and touch other people's hearts.


       Nouwen shed new light on Peter's commission by Christ. When he tells him to go feed his sheep, he was not sending this apostle out on his own. We often forget, especially in the Western culture, that we are not meant to do life alone. Christ sent his disciples out two by two. We need each other to sharpen, encourage, support, pray, love, etc. Nouwen points out that, "ministry is meant to be communal and mutual." (p. 58) I love this quote by Nouwen: " It is Jesus who heals, not I, Jesus who speaks words of truth, not I; Jesus, who is Lord, not I. This is very clearly made visible when we proclaim the redeeming power of God together. Indeed, 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." (p. 59). A good reminder that we are not island unto ourselves, but we need one another to come alongside us in our journey of faith. We need to pray together, intercede for one another, hold each other accountable, confess our sins one to another, and encourage each other to keep pressing on in Jesus' Name! As a leader (and believer) am I allowing my brothers and sisters in the faith to challenge me and pray for me? Am I investing in my fellow sojourners or am I too caught up in my own agenda? Am I able to accept the help and support of others or do I attempt to minister alone? The closer I walk with Jesus, the more I realize how much I don't know and how much I need the body of Christ. And the more I love Jesus, the more I desire to love those around me. The world will know we belong to Jesus by how we love one another.

     Christ's third temptation was to be powerful. Satan showed him all the riches of the world and offered to it him. The catch was that Jesus would have to bow down and worship Satan. Jesus responded, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only." (Matthew 4:9) We fool ourselves into thinking that power, even "carried out in the name of Jesus" is a good thing. Christ, being fully God, is all-powerful, and yet; when he came to earth he emptied myself and did not view his equality with God something to be grasped. He humbled himself and became obedient, even to death on a cross. Why is power so alluring, yes, even to the Christian leader? Nouwen offers this insight: "Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God; easier to control people than to love people; easier to own life than to love life." He goes on to say, "the temptation of power is greatest when intimacy is a threat." (p. 79) Wow- those words make me think! When I am tempted to control and not love, I need to have God search my heart and see what is lacking. Most likely, intimacy with Jesus would be lacking. Jesus came to serve, not to be served- oh that I would desire to do the same. As leaders, we can model how to serve by making sure that our relationship with Jesus is our over-arching priority!
      "Real theological thinking, which is thinking with the mind of Christ, is hard to find in the practice of ministry." (p. 86)  Whom and what influences my thinking? Am I influenced more by what my culture says or am I living out of the reality of the truth of God's Word? Do I read the Word to fulfill a "Christian obligation" or do I mine the treasure of the Word to know Jesus more deeply and to obey him as a direct result of me loving him? As a leader, do I try so hard to be relevant to my culture that I compromise on what Jesus says in the Word? May it not be so of me or any Christian leader who desires to point a hurting world to Jesus! " The Christian leader has to say no to the secular world and proclaim in unambiguous terms that the incarnation of God's Word, through him all things came into being, has made even the smallest event of human history into kairos, that is an opportunity to be led deeper into the heart of Christ." (p. 86) God's Word is the functional authority of our life and we need to line up the things we do in ministry with the Word and not compromise on truth for the sake of relevancy.

   I really enjoyed reading this book- it gave me lots to think about and process. I live, act, think in the name of Jesus. Does what I say about Jesus match up with how I live out my walk with Jesus? Do I love Jesus more than I love producing and performing for Jesus? Do I guard my time in the Word and my prayer life so I can grow in intimacy with my Savior? Do I allow my brothers and sisters in Christ to invest in my life; do I invest in my brothers and sisters? What and whom influences my thinking? Am I confessing my sins and repenting of them so my sin does not hinder my relationship with Jesus and my effectiveness in ministry? There are just some questions that come to mind as a result of reading this book.

5th Biblical Passage: Mark 2:27-28- Rest is God's Gracious Gift!

Jenn McGarvey Blackston

jennifer.mcgarvey@mailbox.ciu.edu

MIN 5310

2-10-11

Mark 2:27-28- Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." The Sabbath was God's idea and he takes it seriously; even Jesus understood the idea of rest. 

I am going to quote Dr. King, from his book, "Time Management is Really Life Management", and then share some of my own thoughts concerning rest.

" There are some things that God wants to teach you that you can only learn when you are resting. You can only really learn grace when you are at rest. You can only experience the reality of God loving you just as much when you are intentionally non-productive as when you are "useful". Trusting God to provide for and sustain the investment made during your working hours as you  go "off the clock" can only be learned when you are resting." (p. 30) " We leak! We all expend strength, vitality, and focus as we work. Depletion is a gift from God to set limits for our lives. We bear the image of our Creator but we do not share his unlimited power and strength. God does not leak. We do. Some of us have been taught it is noble to be in a continual place of exhaustion from our service to God. That implies we are in danger of being more spiritual than God who prescribed rest." (p. 29) "Not working may be pictured as childlike play, in the best sense. Playing has no goal to achieve, or end to accomplish, but the play itself is the end." (p. 31)

When I was in undergrad at Toccoa Falls College, a typical Sunday went something like this: Go to sunday school, attend the church service, have lunch somewhere, hit the books, go to the evening service, study some more, and then go to bed. Monday would come around and I would wonder why I was so tired. Most of Saturday was also spent studying. I would actually feel guilty if I didn't study on Sunday- it just seemed as if there weren't enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished I "needed to do. I started my seminary career in the fall of 2007 and to my surprise, I found out that CIU encourages students not to study on Sunday. In my mind, I was thinking, "are you kidding me?" It was a foreign concept to me to not study on Sunday. At first, I have to admit, I did continue to study on Sunday. In time, I decided to give the whole "not studying" thing a try; what could it really hurt? It was a real struggle for me at first and I struggled with guilt. I was challenged when one of my friends pointed out that rest is productive; just not in the way I would normally view productivity. She challenged me to think about rest as a gift as opposed to a burden. I asked the Lord to help me rest in the moment and enjoy a day to just relax. After a few Sundays of not studying, I began to see the value of rest and it no longer seemed like a burden. The Lord began showing me that his love for me is not determined by how much I produce for him; he loves me the same whether I'm accomplishing something or whether I'm resting. Christ understood the value of rest and it was normal for him to get away by himself and spend time with the Father. I am learning to embrace the things that tend to my soul- listening to uplifting music, reading a book, blogging, taking time to enjoy God's creation, hanging out with my husband, spending time with "little people", watching a favorite show, etc. Rest recharges and renews us and as leaders we need to model resting to those under our care. I love the quote above of how rest is like child-play. If you ever need an example of what rest looks like, spend an afternoon with a child. Kids are fully present in the moment of play and they are not worried about accomplishing a task on their "to do list". They are engaged and everything is fun and exciting when they play. We have much to learn from children! We need to get away from the concept that rest in someway, makes us less in God's sight. He created the Sabbath and he knows how important it is for us to rest.We will burn out quickly if we don't begin to learn the value of resting. How are you resting today? What are the things you need to do to tend to your soul? These are just some of my thoughts on resting. I don't rest perfectly; I am learning how to rest and not allowing myself to feel guilty when I choose to obey. If you think about it, taking a Sabbath isn't a suggestion made by Christ; it's a command!

4th Biblical Passage: Proverbs 18:10

jennifer.mcgarvey@mailbox.ciu.edu

MIN 5310

2-8-11

Proverbs 18:10- "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Psalm 121 talks about how our only help comes from the Lord, who is the maker of heaven and earth. It is easy when a friend is struggling to point out verses that might speak to their hurt. When done in appropriate ways, sharing the truth of Scripture can be a real comfort to the people in our lives. It is ironic to me that the very things which might comfort others, may not have the same affect on my life. Sometimes I find myself needing to recite to myself the verses that speak to my pain or struggle. I shared these verses of Scripture with a friend recently because I thought they would bring comfort to her heart in her time of need. The more I thought about the Lord being a strong tower, the more it dawned on me that I need to hear that truth. Lately, I have struggled with fear and I need to be reminded that my God is a strong tower and my refuge in time of need. God's Word is powerful and it speaks to our hearts and changes us from the inside out if we are willing to allow the Lord to work in our lives. I have decided that I need to write out verses on note cards that deal with fear and how to battle against it when it threatens to overwhelm me. My God is stronger than he who is in the world and I can find refuge in his strong and mighty arms. My help comes from the Lord and he is the Only One who can  speak into the deepest places of my heart. Today, he has used uplifting music and his word to speak to my heart. He also uses my husband and other friends and family to offer encouragement in my time of need. I am thankful to the Lord for his ever present care in my life and his great faithfulness! The verses that I am so quick to share with other people, I need to speak them back to myself. I think starting tomorrow, I will begin writing verses down and keep them with me so I can remind myself of my Savior's love and concern in my life!

2 Corinthians 1:3-4; Revelation 21:3-4

Jenn McGarvey Blackston

jennifer.mcgarvey@mailbox.ciu.edu

MIN 5310

2-3-11

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4)

I love both of these passages of Scripture; they are hope-filled and bring great encouragement to the heart that is willing to taste and see that the Lord is good! We have an unique opportunity as believers to offer hope to a hurting world and point them to the True Healer; our Prince of Peace! Pain is hard and often we don't understand why we are going through difficulties, but we don't have to grieve like the world does. We have hope because our hope is found in the person of Jesus Christ! Our Father in heaven is merciful and compassionate and he can comfort us in a way that no one else can. When we go through hard times and allow ourselves to be comforted by our gracious Lord, we can then offer that same comfort to others in their time of need. We can come alongside and offer hope. We can provide safe places for people to grieve and ask the hard questions. If they know Christ, we can encourage them to press on and press into Jesus and allow him to carry their burdens. Adversity and pain serves to draw us closer to Christ and it also softens our heart and allows us to show compassion to other people. We need to take heed to not offer quick solutions to pain and hardship. It is not helpful and oftentimes, serves to push people away as opposed to drawing them in. One of the best things we can do for people when they are hurting is to just be with them; we need to listen more than we talk! For those who don't know Christ, we can share the good news of Jesus Christ and pray that they too would taste and see the Lord is good. We need to listen and hear the stories of hurting people instead of being so quick to judge. John, in Revelation, has some awesome news to share with believers in Christ- one sweet day, there will be no more tears, pain, or death. He will make all things new! Jesus is the only One who can speak to the deepest and darkest places of our souls. He promises to never leave us or forsake us! As we receive his comfort, we can then share it with others and offer them hope. 

Biblical Passage: 2 Timothy 3:16-17- The importance of Scripture!

Jenn McGarvey Blackston

jennifer.mcgarvey@mailbox.ciu.edu

MIN 5310

1-31-11

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Dr. McQuilkin, in his book, "The Five Smooth Stones" has this to say about Scripture: "To get anywhere with God's purposes through his church, the leaders and congregation must take seriously the responsibility to bring every aspect of ministry under the functional authority of Scripture- every new idea, every old tradition, every activity, every plan. Otherwise it will fail. It won't be easy. Diligent, objective, thorough Bible research combined with determined full compliance and eternal vigilance are the essentials." (p. XIV) He goes on to say that, "the Bible alone, the whole of it, is our ultimate authority for faith and practice." (p. 1)

In our post-modern age, it is essential to keep going back to the authority of Scripture so we don't lose our way in an era of "anything goes." In order to be equipped for ministry, we must study and apply the truth of the Word to every aspect of our lives. Paul, in his letter to his son in the faith, Timothy, exhorts him to "continue in what you have learned, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:14-15) We live in a society where even preachers and Bible teachers are questioning the relevance of Scripture and are preaching and teaching about it less and less. They fear appearing inauthentic and they have allowed culture, not the Word, to dictate how they think and act. I don't mean to imply that we don't teach the Bible without any regard for the audience to which we are speaking. There is a place for relevance as long as we don't water down the truth of the Word for the sake of appeasing those listening. We also need to make sure that we are teaching the hard sayings of Jesus and not simply focusing on the more comfortable topics such as love or mercy. Both love and mercy are important and essential to the Gospel; justice and holiness are also important and vital. We also realize the importance of depending on the Holy Spirit to equip us to share the Word powerfully and effectively. God's Word is living and active; it can transform lives as the Spirit brings about conviction and encouragement in our lives. As leaders, we must guard our time in the Word so we can become more like Jesus and grow in our understanding of the Word. It is much easier to teach and/or preach the Word if we are studying it for ourselves and applying God's truth to our lives. We also must take heed to make sure that any activity or ministry we do lines up with the Word and does not go against Biblical teachings. There also needs to be a balance between evangelism and social justice. We are called to share the message and hope of Jesus to all in our circle of influence and beyond. We need to pray that more and more people will come to know Christ as both Lord and Savior. We are also called to show mercy and compassion- to care about justice and fight against injustice. The Word helps to give us the eternal perspective and not go to one extreme or the other. I heard a friend say one time that "God's Word is the purest source of life for us." We come to know the Living Word, Jesus, better when we study it and apply the Word to our lives. We have a responsibility, as leaders, to stay true to the Word and teach it to others. It protects us from false teachings and has the power to transform lives as the Holy Spirit convicts,encourages, exhorts and guides. God's Word is our final authority and it teaches us how to act and think. Let us boldly proclaim the truth of God's Word both in the body of Christ and to those who don't know Christ. The Word will not come back void; God will accomplish his purposes and we have the joy of working with him to see lives transformed by the life changing message of the Son of God- Jesus Christ!