The Wounded Healer : Ministry in Contemporary Society

Defines the relevance and effectiveness of contemporary clergymen, and surveys methods for responding to the hedonism, and aimlessness of modern society.

The Wounded Healer is a hope-filled and profoundly simple book that speaks directly to those men and women who want to be of service in their church or community, but have found the traditional ways often threatening and ineffective. In this book, Henri Nouwen combines creative case studies of ministry with stories from diverse cultures and religious traditions in preparing a new model for ministry. Weaving keen cultural analysis with his psychological and religious insights, Nouwen has come up with a balanced and creative theology of service that begins with the realization of fundamental woundedness in human nature. Emphasizing that which is in humanity common to both minister and believer, this woundedness can serve as a source of strength and healing when counseling others. Nouwen proceeds to develop his approach to ministry with an analysis of sufferings — a suffering world, a suffering generation, a suffering person, and a suffering minister. It is his contention that ministers are called to recognize the sufferings of their time in their own hearts and make that recognition the starting point of their service. For Nouwen, ministers must be willing to go beyond their professional role and leave themselves open as fellow human beings with the same wounds and suffering — in the image of Christ. In other words, we heal from our own wounds. Filled with examples from everyday experience, The Wounded Healer is a thoughtful and insightful guide that will be welcomed by anyone engaged in the service of others.

A radically fresh interpretation of how we can best serve others from the bestselling author of The Return of the Prodigal Son, hailed as “one of the world's greatest spiritual writers” by Christianity Today“In our own woundedness, we can become a source of life for others.” In this hope-filled and profoundly simple book, Henri Nouwen inspires devoted men and women who want to be of service in their church or community but who have found traditional outreach alienating and ineffective. Weaving keen cultural analysis with his psychological and religious insights, Nouwen presents a balanced and creative theology of service that begins with the realization of fundamental woundedness in human nature. According to Nouwen, ministers are called to identify the suffering in their own hearts and make that recognition the starting point of their service. Ministers must be willing to go beyond their professional, somewhat aloof roles and leave themselves open as fellow human beings with the same wounds and suffering as those they serve. In other words, we heal from our wounds. The Wounded Healer is a thoughtful and insightful guide that will be welcomed by anyone engaged in the service of others. Nouwen has divided his study into four chapters, which he sees as four different ways of approaching the problems of ministry in our time. The first represents the condition of a suffering world; the second, the condition of a suffering generation; the third, the condition of a suffering person; and the fourth, the condition of a suffering minister. It is his contention that ministers are called to recognize the sufferings of their time in their own hearts and make that recognition the starting point of their service. In other words, ministers must be willing to go beyond their professional role and leave themselves open as fellow human beings with the same wounds and suffering The Four Open Doors Ministry in a Dislocated World: The Search of Nuclear Man Ministry for a Rootless Generation: Looking into the Fugitive's Eyes Ministry to a Hopeless Man: Waiting for Tomorrow Ministry by a Lonely Minister: The Wounded Healer A Forward Thrust Image Book edition published March 1979 by special arrangement with Doubleday & Company, Inc.