"In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership" by Henri J. M. Nouwen
I think it is amazing what the Masters can do in so few pages that take Amateurs ten times as many words and pages to do less. I believe Nouwen is one of these masters of Christian spirtuality and leadership.
Nouwen
On Leadership...
"...'burnout' was a convenient psychological translation for a spiritual death."
"...the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God's love. The great message that we have to carry, as minister 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."
"The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much are you going to accomplish? Can you show some results? But: Are you in love with Jesus? Perhaps another way of putting the question would be: Do you know the incarnate God?"
"The central question is, Are the leaders of the future truly men and women of God, people with an ardent desire to dwell in God's presence, to listen to God's voice, to look at God's beauty, to touch God's incarnate Word, and to taste fully God's infinite goodness?"
On Spirituality...
"But 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."
"When spirituality becomes spiritualization, life in the body becomes carnality."
On Maturity...
"...Jesus has a different vision of maturity: It is the ability and willingness to be led where you would rather not go...the servant-leader is the leader who is being led to unknown, undesirable, and painful places."
