A Christian leader is a [person] of hope whose strength in the final analysis is based neither on self-confidence derived from his [or her] personality, nor on specific expectations for the future, but on the promise given him [or her]. 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 pointing to new life even in the face of corruption and death.
Without this hope, we will never be able to see value and meaning in the encounter with a decaying human being and become personally concerned. This hope stretches far beyond the limitations of one’s own psychological strength, for it is anchored not just in the soul of the individual but in God’s self-disclosure in history. Leadership therefore is not called Christian because it is permeated with optimism against all odds of life, but because it is grounded in the historic Christ-even which is understood as the definitive breach in the deterministic chain of human trial and error, and as a dramatic affirmation that there is light on the other side of darkness.
Every attempt to attach this hope of visible symptoms in our surroundings becomes a temptation when it prevents us from the realization that promises, not concrete successes, are the basis of Christian leadership. Many ministers, priests and Christian laymen have become disillusioned, bitter and even hostile when years of hard work bear no fruit, when little change is accomplished. Building a vocation on 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 [from God].
—Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer
Nouwen points to several truths that are applicable to any vocation a Christian chooses; it doesn’t have to be ordained ministry. He reminds us that life is finite and we are mortal. If all we have to hope for is in this world, we really might as well eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. Instead, Nouwen reminds us of the Christian hope—living life now and forever with the Living God, a life that transcends the worst that can happen to us and our physical death, a life made possible by the death of Christ. This takes the pressure off of us to “succeed,” defined as producing results. The Christian defines “success” as the extent to which he or she is able to imitate Christ, to be able to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus (Mark 8:34).
On a personal note, having taken clinical pastoral education (CPE), I appreciate Nouwen’s sentiments above about a strength that is not our own and about the Christian hope stretching far beyond the limitations of one’s own psychological strength. With the strength of Christ living in me, it would be utterly impossible for me to minister to the sick and dying; on my own I have nothing to offer. When I embody Christ, however, I have everything to offer.