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.
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.
1 comment:
Jenn, This is one of my favorite books and I reread it often. I appreciate his focus on humility and servant hood as a portrait of a Christ like leader
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