Henri Nouwen has come to be one of the more influential writers in my life as of late (right next to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Stanley Hauerwas, and perhaps N.T Wright). I have enjoyed reading a few books by him including The Wounded Healer and the book I am currently reading with my friend Clay called The Inner Voice of Love. Nouwen, better than anyone I have read, suggests a portrait of the human heart that is unbelievably honest and from my perspective, quite accurate. I have been taught a lot about how Christians are to live with pain, loneliness, and in turn how to live and love directly from that pain. His work in my life is still in the birthing process. I understand all that he writes, but what he writes is all about living intentionally within a difficult process of being affirmed as a child of God and simultaneously learning what it means to live amidst hardship. His writing has blessed me and challenged me to live honestly and truthfully and I have yet to discover all that he has to offer in his writings.
The most recent booklet I read was a little something called The Spirituality of Fundraising (this link should send you to a free PDF of the booklet). In the midst of support raising myself, I found this 30 page booklet to be extremely helpful as I continue to engage in the support raising process. I think it is insightful both for the one who supplies funds and to the one who is fundraising as well (so if you are a supporter of mine and reading this, you should check this out!). I suppose that this booklet could be summarized with the idea he presents early on when he states, “Those who need money and those who give money meet on the common ground of God’s love”. He speaks elegantly and truthfully about the fact that fundraising is a ministry in the invitation it presents to the fundraiser and the one who is being asked for financial support. He does a wonderful job to speak about our relationship with money and how it affects the support raising process as well. This booklet will be helpful to me as I spend the next X amount of months support raising and hopefully whether you are a supporter or a support raiser, you will also find some help in this.
Poiema 