It is probably fair to say that the current leadership crisis in the church is largely explained by a misunderstanding of the nature of the Christian ministry. Henri Nouwen addresses this issue with simplicity, humility, and compassion in his book In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (New York: Crossroad, 1989). Using two passages from the New Testament—Matthew 4:1-11 (the temptations of Jesus) and John 21:15-19 (Jesus’s insistent question to Peter before asking him to shepherd his sheep)—Nouwen offers us a profound reflection about the type of leadership Christ wants for his church. In view of its relevance, I offer below a commented summary of this book, in the hope that it will arouse some interest. 

The first chapter deals with the first temptation of Jesus, that of turning stones into bread. Satan appeals to Jesus’s sense of self-importance to perform a miracle on his own behalf: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread,” Satan said. And Jesus responded: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:3-4). Christ refused to use his status as the Son of God to serve himself. 

It is easy to use our status in the church to shepherd ourselves. This is an ongoing temptation for the Christian leader in the 21st century. It is tempting to use ministry as a platform for personal success, according to worldly standards. By doing this, we make ourselves incapable of caring for the flock of Christ, as we should. Nouwen says that the path of the Christian ministry is not upward but downward; not to prominence but to irrelevance, not to boasting but to self-emptiness. It is a path that can only be walked by those who truly love Christ. This is precisely why Jesus asked Peter three times, “Peter, do you love me? Do you love me more than these? Do you love me? Then, feed my lambs. Shepherd my sheep,” (John 21:15-17). How else could Peter put the interests of the flock before his own?

Love for Christ is based on the fact that He first loved us. Nouwen calls this “the first love” in reference to 1 John 4:19: “We love him because he first loved us.” Loving Jesus implies knowing his heart, which is the heart of the Father, who is love (1 John 4:8b). The leader who knows the heart of Christ will be able to impart grace, compassion, healing, reconciliation, peace and hope upon his sheep. Knowing Christ’s heart will make the desire to be relevant disappear. Nouwen proposes the discipline of contemplative prayer to remain in God’s presence and to know His heart, and concludes this chapter by saying: “Confidently rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, we will be able to remain flexible without falling into relativism; convinced without being rigid; willing to confront without being offensive; kind and forgiving without being soft and true witnesses without being manipulative.”

In the next chapter, Nouwen discusses the second temptation of Jesus, that of being spectacular: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written: 'He will command his angels over you and in their hands they will hold you, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus replied: “It is also written: ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God’” (Matthew 4:6-7).

Nouwen comments: “Jesus refused to walk on hot coals, swallow fire or put his hand into the lion's mouth to show that he had something worthwhile to say.” Flying from the pinnacle of the Temple would certainly have been something spectacular, but in that case, what would have become of the vicarious ministry of Christ? The drive for popularity makes the Christian leader an almost useless superstar for the flock of Christ. The true Christian leader renounces being a “lone ranger” or a superhero and diverts undue attention from himself to practice a community ministry where he is an equal among his brothers and sisters—vulnerable like them, without any presumption of superiority. Nouwen says, “In this way it will be clear that it is not we who heal, who save, who reconcile, who give life, but Jesus Christ.”

In a community ministry, mutuality becomes a necessity. The Christian leader gives, but he also receives, knows and is known, forgives and is forgiven, comforts and is comforted, guides and allows himself to be guided. Nouwen proposes the discipline of confession and forgiveness for mutual edification. This does not mean at all that the Christian leader has to confess his sins from the pulpit, but that he has brothers and sisters with whom he can speak honestly and freely about his weaknesses and be forgiven and confirmed.

Finally, Nouwen considers the third temptation of Jesus, that of being powerful: “Again the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and told him: All this I will give you, if prostrate you adore me. Then Jesus said to him: Go away, Satan, for it is written: The Lord your God you will worship, and him only you will serve” (Matthew 4:8-10).

Satan offered Jesus power over the world without obedience to the Father, without sacrifice on the cross. Nouwen says: “One of the great ironies of Christian history is that its leaders constantly yielded to the temptation of power: political power, military power, economic power, or moral and spiritual power, even though they continued to speak in the name of Jesus, who did not cling to his divine power, but emptied himself and became like one of us. The temptation to consider power as a suitable instrument for the proclamation of the gospel is the greatest of all.”

The church has been the scene of true pitched battles for power, for control, for the right to decide. Lawsuits, contentions, rivalries, divisions are all caused by power struggles in the church. The struggle for power in the local church also extends to rivalry with leaders of other congregations among whom some degree of influence is sought. Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” and we respond: “Can we sit on your right and on your left in your kingdom?” It has always been easier to impose ourselves on the flock of Christ than to love it. Nouwen suggests that we allow Christ to show us the way he is leading us through the discipline of theological reflection. In this sense, he finds Jesus’s words to Peter in John 21:18 significant: “Truly, truly I say to you: When you were younger, you girded yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you, and take you where you do not want to go.” He adds: “Just as prayer helps us to stay connected with our first love and just as confession and forgiveness make our ministry communal and mutual, intense theological reflection will allow us to critically discern where we are being led.”