Most Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire-builders have been people unable to give and receive love.
Interpretation
The quote critiques Christian leaders who prioritize power over genuine relationships, emphasizing the importance of love and intimacy in effective leadership.
Henri Nouwen highlights a concerning trend in Christian leadership where individuals pursue authority and control without the necessary emotional and relational skills. This critique suggests that these 'empire-builders' often lack the ability to foster loving and healthy connections, which ultimately undermines the essence of true leadership. Genuine leadership, according to Nouwen, should be rooted in the capacity to both give and receive love, suggesting that authentic relationships are fundamental to effective guidance.
In practice
In a workshop on leadership ethics, you could use this quote to spark a discussion about the importance of relationships in leadership roles.
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The immense joy in welcoming back the lost son hides in the immense sorrow that has gone before....our brokenness may appear beautiful, but our brokenness has no other beauty but the beauty that comes from the compassion that surrounds it.
Suffering invites us to place our hurts in larger hands. In Christ we see God suffering – for us. And calling us to share in God’s suffering love for a hurting world. The small and even overpowering pains of our lives are intimately connected with the greater pains of Christ. Our daily sorrows are anchored in a greater sorrow and therefore a larger hope.
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Waiting is a dry desert between where we are and where we want to be. (Finding My Way Home)
Becoming the beloved is pulling the truth revealed to me from above down into the ordinariness of what I am, in fact, thinking of, talking about and doing from hour to hour.
A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others. Few things in life are better than seeing people realize their potential. If you invest in people by helping individuals improve themselves, showing them the way to their “right place”, they will never be the same again. And neither will you. It is impossible to help others without helping yourself.
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To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the proper seasons.
It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.
Every time I meet Prime Minister Modi and listen to him and then see his actions, including GST, I see bold things that I don't see in any other place. I am super impressed and optimistic.
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