Rating: 
Summary: Good little book for Christian leaders
Review: Another five star book that's less than 125 pages: between this, "I Had Seen Castles," and "Life Together," I'm beginning to really appreciate the shorter books. The author of this book comes from an intersting background: he is a highly educated priest in the Catholic church, served on influential boards, and became a professor at Harvard University. Then, he gave it up and took a job working among mentally handicapped people in Canada. This book, a speech in its original form, is part Nouwen's process of adjusting to his new life and part a chronicle of lessons he's learned working among the developmentally disabled. This book is primarily speaking to Christian pastors, emphasizing the need to "get back to the basics" of faith, especially not letting yourself get caught in the trap of thinking too highly of your own importance. However, it is an excellent read for pleasure as well. I would highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Good little book for Christian leaders
Review: Another five star book that's less than 125 pages: between this, "I Had Seen Castles," and "Life Together," I'm beginning to really appreciate the shorter books. The author of this book comes from an intersting background: he is a highly educated priest in the Catholic church, served on influential boards, and became a professor at Harvard University. Then, he gave it up and took a job working among mentally handicapped people in Canada. This book, a speech in its original form, is part Nouwen's process of adjusting to his new life and part a chronicle of lessons he's learned working among the developmentally disabled. This book is primarily speaking to Christian pastors, emphasizing the need to "get back to the basics" of faith, especially not letting yourself get caught in the trap of thinking too highly of your own importance. However, it is an excellent read for pleasure as well. I would highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST read if your on the road to Christian dicipleship
Review: Henri has captured in beautiful and heartfelt words the essence of what Jesus is calling us to be as spreaders of His Gospel. His contrast between the powerful drives and motivations of our secular society against the example of Jesus leave one reflecting on their own leadership style. Many thanks for sharing your thoughts with us! Lou Monticchio
Rating:
Summary: Out of his own life Nouwen suggests a counter-cultural move
Review: Henri Nouwen learned much from members of L'Arche, a community of severely disabled people in Canada. In this book he suggests, out of his own experience of life at L'Arche, a radically counter-cultural tactic: that to be like Jesus one must give one's power away, divest oneself of human privilege and status, and practice the downward mobility of Christ. His illustrations are moving and powerful, showing how his own attitudes and actions were changed as he put this living philosophy into action. This is a transformative book.
Rating:
Summary: Super book!
Review: I first read this book in college with my fellow resident assistants. I've also read it many times since then. "In the Name of Jesus" is short and challenging. It's terrific. I'd recommend this book both for those who've never read Nouwen and for those who've read all he's written.
Rating: 
Summary: Very short, but very good
Review: I read this book in an hour, but that one hour of reading produced many more hours of personal thought and reflection about what it means to be a leader in ministry who truly reflects (albeit imperfectly) the Savior we serve. Nouwen is addressing this book to 'priests and ministers' but I think many of the principles he discusses are very applicable to almost anyone who wants to serve God in ministry, even in non leadership capacities. I was particularly struck by what I thought was a critical point he made when he discussed how those of us who serve in ministry can often get sidetracked and distracted in our work for God when we begin to equate our service with our own glory and not God's. He talks about how people are susceptible to impure motives when serving God, and this is a very critical point. While he doesn't explore this in as much detail as I might have liked, the message is clear. As leaders in ministry, we will regularly encounter and serve people who are in tough situations. And while it's a wonderful thing to minister to those who are hurting in one form or another, we need to realize that this is a position of tremendous responsibility. Having this responsibility can tempt people into coveting power or influence, which can lead to any number of abuses once our motives for service are not pure. All the more reason to enter into Christian leadership with the right motives and a heart that is right with God. Nouwen did not explore this in great detail, but he does explore it within the context of being an effective leader for God who has joy in their service and whom God uses to the fullest for the benefit of those we serve. Because of its shortness, it is far from a comprehensive look at honorable Christian leadership. But I think the topics he chooses to cover are handled well, and speak very eloquently to the heart that yearns to serve God with joy. I think that Nouwen puts forward a number of ideas that if implemented, will be successful in sparking joy in the hearts of Christians who serve God, and will result in joy and transformation not only for the Christian who is serving, but also for those he/she serves. It is a plan of action that allows God to refine us and those we serve, and in my view, there is no higher purpose for ministry then this. A good book.
Rating:
Summary: An elegant, soulful, and helpful book
Review: I read this book with my wife this past weekend and we found the book full of times to ponder and discuss what Nouwen says and means. It is a contemplative book whose focus is to teach ministers that the primary means of leadership is simply falling in love with the Savior. This book is simple and vital, heartwarming and challenging. Nouwen urges a servant leadership based on that displayed to us by Christ himself.
Rating:
Summary: One of the top 5 books on ministry of all time.
Review: I read this little book several years ago as part of a college class during the last semester before I graduated and entered full-time ministry. I enjoyed it then, but it was not until recently, when I picked it up again, that I was so incredibly moved by this author who seemed to understand so much about leadership than most of the big-name authors on leadership. "In the Name of Jesus" has had a major impact upon the way I view ministry. It is only 80 pages long and can easily be read in one sitting--you will do yourself a huge favor if you read and apply it. I name it among the top 5 books on ministry ever published.
Rating:
Summary: Short, Simple, and Absolutely Revolutionary
Review: If you applied Evelyn Wood's technique to this book, you could finish it in 10 minutes... and you would probably gain nothing from it. This is a book to take your time with, think about, and come back to. Nouwen was asked to speak at a conference about "Leadership in the 21st Century" and this book is the text of that speech. The book tells the story of Nouwen's journey from lofty chaplain and teaching positions at Harvard, Notre Dame, and Yale to a "lowly" position as the Pastor at a community for the mentally handicapped. He uses this experience to outline a radical paradigm for 'leadership' characterized not by ambition and 'upward mobility', but by humility, vulnerability, and servanthood. The book is a simple one, but the concepts are truly revolutionary and counter-cultural. This book deserves some real attention.
Rating:
Summary: Short, Simple, and Absolutely Revolutionary
Review: If you applied Evelyn Wood's technique to this book, you could finish it in 10 minutes... and you would probably gain nothing from it. This is a book to take your time with, think about, and come back to. Nouwen was asked to speak at a conference about "Leadership in the 21st Century" and this book is the text of that speech. The book tells the story of Nouwen's journey from lofty chaplain and teaching positions at Harvard, Notre Dame, and Yale to a "lowly" position as the Pastor at a community for the mentally handicapped. He uses this experience to outline a radical paradigm for 'leadership' characterized not by ambition and 'upward mobility', but by humility, vulnerability, and servanthood. The book is a simple one, but the concepts are truly revolutionary and counter-cultural. This book deserves some real attention.
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