Indeed the paradox of Christian leadership is that the way out is the way in, that only by entering into communion with the suffering Christ and the chaos of hurting humanity in your midst, can hope and any sense of relief be found.
adapted from Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer, p77
In the YMCA, in the church, in the community, there is a great need for leaders who can sustain hope, goodness and solidarity amidst the upheavals, violence and even abuse throughout the world.
But it gets tiring, there is too much information to process, too many people to help, too much complexity and ambiguity in each situation. How to do what is right, how to make a difference for the better, how to help heal when so much is uncertain, shaky and even dark?
Henri Nouwen’s little book The Wounded Healer, is a continual fount of wisdom and encouragement in these difficult days of leading and serving.
May these quotes from his chapter on “Ministry To A Hopeless Man: Waiting For Tomorrow” provide some needed perspective on how to be a Christian leader of hope amidst chaos.
For hope makes it possible to look beyond the fulfillment of urgent wishes and pressing desires and offers a vision beyond human suffering and death.
Nouwen, Wounded Healer, 76
A Christian leader is a man of hope amidst chaos, a woman whose strength in the final analysis is based neither on self-confidence derived from his personality nor on her specific expectations for the future, but on a promise given by Christ Jesus.
This promise not only made Abraham travel to unknown territory; it not only inspired Moses to lead his people out of slavery; it is also the guiding motive for any Christian who keeps leading in hope towards new life even in the face of chaos, corruption and death
adapted from Nouwen, Wounded Healer, 76
Leadership is not called Christian because it is permeated with optimism against all the odds of life, but because it is grounded in the historic Christ-event which is understood as a definitive breach in the deterministic chain of human trial and error, and as a dramatic affirmation that there is light in the other side of darkness.
Nouwen, Wounded Healer, 76
Every attempt to attach this hope to visible symptoms in our surroundings becomes a temptation when it prevents us from realization that promises, not concrete successes, are the basis of Christian leadership.
Many ministers, priests, and Christian workers have become disillusioned, bitter, and even hostile when years of hard work bear no fruit, when little change is accomplished.
Building a vocation on the expectations of concrete results, however conceived, is like building a house on sand instead of on solid rock and even takes away the ability to accept successes as free gifts.
Hope prevents us from clinging to what we have and frees us to move away from the safe place and enter the unknown and fearful territory.
It is an act of discipleship in which we follow the hard road of Christ, who enters death with nothing but bare hop.
Nouwen, Wounded Healer, 76-77
…it has become clear that Christian leadership is accomplished only through service.
This service requires the willingness to enter into a situation, with all the human vulnerabilities a human has to share with one another.
This is a painful and self-denying experience, but an experience which can lead a woman out of her prison of confusion, a man from his chains of fear.
adapted from Nouwen, Wounded Healer, 77
For me, in navigating changes in my home, the constant changes in my work, the turmoil of our culture and violence throughout the nation and world, it is easy to despair, to give in to the belief that it is all cause and effect, that the forces out there are too powerful, there is not much we can do about “it” and we are just pawns, and that we are only standing in shifting sand when we try to make a difference for the better.
These quotes of Nouwen are timely, disturbing, and refreshing- it may not alter the reality “out there” but I am encouraged in my spirit, to trust in the presence of the suffering and strong Christ, who is with me, with us, and at work to restore and reconcile all things, in his time and way.
In whatever way I am called to lead, care and serve, I am striving to be attuned to Christ’s brilliant, persevering, and merciful work in the world he loves and holds together.
This is a way my hope as a Christian leader is sustained amidst the suffering and chaos within and around me.
Spot on, Tim. The YMCA is a society of healing in a broken world. Fr. Henri Nouwin has long been one of my favorite authors of reflections on Christian leadership. I highly recommend his book, In the Name of Jesus, a breath of fresh air for those of us moved by a vocation of servant leadership. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is another who modeled a life as a disciple of Christ and a great Christian and moral leader. Life Together is another must-read on fostering an authentic Christian community.