‘Faithful in the days we are in’

Bruce Adema was the Director of Canadian Ministries for the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) from 2006-2012. He pastored two churches after that, then retired from CRC ministry and, in January 2024, started working as Executive Director for the Henri Nouwen Society. Christian Courier’s Editor spoke with Adema recently about his new role and what Henri Nouwen might say to churches today.

Christian Courier (CC): For those who don’t know him, who was Henri Nouwen?

Bruce Adema: Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) was a Dutch priest – a leading spiritual voice and preacher. He wrote over 40 best-selling books and was a popular retreat speaker and lecturer. He began his ministry in a parish, then moved into teaching. He taught at Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard, and people were very drawn to his lectures. A big theme in Henri Nouwen’s writing is understanding ourselves as people who are beloved of God. Out of that relationship we love God; we can love others; we can serve and grow in our spiritual life. He has many teachings on compassion and loneliness: Christ-centered, humble, practical and tremendously biblical. People find in Henri a reliable guide in growing deeper in the spiritual life.

CC: Did you ever have a chance to meet him?

Adema: No. He died in 1996, on a trip to Russia to view Rembrandt’s painting of “The Prodigal Son.”

I was at Calvin Seminary [in the 90s] and going through a dark night of the soul, wondering if I had what it takes to become a leader of Christ’s church. Someone gave me a copy of Henri Nouwen’s The Wounded Healer. That book talks about how Christ came, and was the wounded one: by his wounds we are healed. Those he calls are also wounded. We shouldn’t flee from that but see in our wounds another way of imitating Christ, pointing to the Healer who can give us all hope. That was a tremendous gift.

CC: How did you get involved with the Henri Nouwen Society?

Adema: Henri was my mentor from afar. When I heard [in 2023] that they were looking for an Executive Director (ED), I applied. It’s a bi-national organization –

CC: <Laughter> You’re kidding.

Adema: – yeah, I thought I’d gotten away from that! Just like the Christian Reformed Church, we have these two different Boards that function together. It’s a reality of population that the Henri Nouwen society U.S. is much bigger than the Henri Nouwen Society of Canada. But I’m ED of both the U.S. and Canadian sides. Our main office for both organizations is in Toronto, at Tyndale University. Our staff work from all over.

CC: What have you taken from previous jobs into this role?

Adema: Henri was deeply spiritual, incredibly kind, gentle and humble and I try to emulate that. As a pastor, I learned some of those skills, as best I could. So that’s important. As the Director of Canadian Ministries, that was very administrative and operational – that is all serving me well. The rigorous attention to theology in the CRC has helped me in this position.

CC: Henri’s characteristics of humility and gentleness – to emulate those as a leader are not easy because they’re not qualities our culture values, as I’ve written about in CC (“The Slow Collapse of the Old Boys’ Club,” April 1). But we need servant leadership. It’s not an easy calling.

Adema: To be a Christian is to be counter-cultural. We have to act differently. Society says it’s all about money, power, position, advantage. Look at the life of Jesus. What values did he carry? What examples did he bring to us? It’s not about me; it’s about how I can bless you. It’s not about power or position, you’re absolutely right. The Henri Nouwen Society gets that, and it’s really trying to be different. We’re not making [Henri] into a second Messiah; he was a faithful servant who read Scripture well.

The caricature of Calvinism is that we’re all scumbags, we all approach God with an understanding of our own depravity. Henri Nouwen would say, “Understand yourself to be a child made in the image of God who is deeply loved.” Start with love, God’s love to you, and then live out of that perspective.

CC: In these polarized times, what advice might Henri Nouwen give the church?

Adema: Henri struggled with depression. He needed times of retreat and friends who would encourage him. In these strange days, Henri would say, “Know Christ. The spiritual disciplines are important. Don’t give up. Understand that a better day is coming. Be faithful in the days we are in; the story continues with return and with restoration.” And maybe he’d say, “Don’t take yourself so seriously. Smile a bit more. Have hope. Don’t let the darkness overwhelm you. The Lord will not abandon us.”

CC: Those are good words. Thank you.

Incarnational life

Henri was a professor at Harvard and started feeling unsure of his calling. So he took a sabbatical and went to L’Arche in France. Then he went to Toronto to give a lecture, where someone invited him to L’Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill. There was a tragedy while he was there; and he provided pastoral care to the community. L’Arche invited him to become a chaplain. He gave up his tenured position at Harvard and moved to Toronto.

Every community person there is partnered with another person; and for the next 10 years, Henri did life with Adam, a person with [disabilities]. He kept writing books and giving lectures, and when he traveled, he’d say, “I need two tickets. Adam is coming with me.”