30 Day Book Challenge--Day 1:What is the best book you read last year?

In the Name of Jesus, by Henri J. M.  Nouwen. When I turned the last page of this book in October of 2011, I actually announced, "This is the best book I've read all year!"

I will admit that the pronouncement was partly due to the fact that I had recently endured a long strain of mediocre literature. Nevertheless, In the Name of Jesus, is well worth the hour and a half it will take you to read it.

Nouwen, a Catholic priest, weaves insights about leadership and community together with stories from his own life, creating a work that is both practical and inspirational. Taking leadership back to basics, Nouwen's points are simple but profound.

After serving as an international missionary and then a professor at Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard, Nouwen became a sought-after conference speaker. He was living the high-life (for a priest that is!) when he was asked to join the the community of L'Arche Daybreak as a pastor for people with intellectual disabilities. Living in community with those he served, Nouwen learned to lead and love with compassion, humility, and vulnerability.

I would highly recommend  In the Name of Jesus, by Henri J. M.  Nouwen--you will be blessed if you read it.