The Way of the Heart

This past weekend I read a book from Henri J.M. Nouwen. He is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I read In the Name of Jesus before and it impacted my way of thinking tremendously. A must check of The Way of the Heart out from your library or a quick $9 visit to Amazon will have you challenged in your intimacy and rest in God. A quick read will take you through Solitude, Silence and Prayer.

This has been a common theme for myself lately. From reading Scazzero and McLaren I am sensing a call to reorder how I interact, relate and experience Jesus. So much has been said about these traditions of experiencing God but maybe more as disciplines. Each author points to the experience and presence of God, not in a religious way of earning God's favor but in a pure religious manner (as said by John Lamb this past week as we were talking about the Celtics in Ireland).

I have so much to learn as I can see in my own life a disconnect from the holy presence of God. But more and more since our marriage struggle this past year and our own significance and identity was faltering I have seen God work in pursuing me more than I of Him. There is so much to learn about God and I believe Christendom in the next century will be completely different. I really do believe there is a whole new way of living that isn't about another strategy or program that helps us interact with God. It will probably be a whole new way of thinking/theology.

In light of this book summary I want to drop a few nuggets from Nouwen. Enjoy.

• Solitude is not just a private therapeutic place. Rather it is a place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the new self is born, the place where the emergence of the new man and woman occurs. p. 27
• Here we reach the point where ministry and spirituality touch each other. It is compassion. Compassion is the fruit of solitude and the basis of all ministry. p. 33
• In solitude we realize that nothing human is alien to us, that the roots of all conflict, war, injustice, cruelty, hatred, jealousy and envy are deeply anchored in our own hearts. p.34
• What becomes visible here is that solitude (Steve: I would say Jesus in the solitude) molds self-righteous people into gentle, caring, forgiving persons who are so deeply convinced of their own great sinfulness and so fully aware of God's even greater mercy that their life itself becomes ministry. In such a ministry there is hardly any difference between doing and being. p.37
• Silence is the way to make solitude a reality. p. 43
• Silence is solitude practiced in action. p. 44
• The word no longer communicates, no longer fosters communion, no longer creates community, and therefore no longer gives life. p. 46
• Silence is the discipline by which the inner fire of God is tended and kept alive. p.52
• It is as if we are not sure that God's Spirit can touch the hearts of people; we have to help Him out and, with many words, convince others of His power. But it is precisely this wordy unbelief that quenches the fire. p.54
• As ministers our greatest temptation is toward too many words. They weaken our faith and make us lukewarm. But silence is a sacred discipline. A guard of the Holy Spirit. p. 56
• Pastoral Counseling is the attempt to lead fearful parishioners into the silence of God, and to help them feel at home there, trusting that they will slowly discover the healing presence of the Spirit. p. 62
• But our task is the opposite of distraction. Our task is to help people concentrate on the real but often hidden event of God's active presence in their lives. p. 63
• Real prayer penetrates to the marrow of our soul and leaves nothing untouched. p. 78
• By its very nature such prayer transforms our whole being into Christ precisely because it opens the eyes of our soul to the truth of ourselves as well as the truth of God. p. 78

Categories: Books, God, Spirituality