"Following Jesus" (Henri J. M. Nouwen)

TITLE: Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety
AUTHOR: Henri J. M. Nouwen
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Convergent Books, 2019, (144 pages).

We are restless people easily given to fear and driven by anxiety. In a tired world, we gravitate toward doing too much or doing nothing. How can we make sense of our calling in the midst of such a stressful and anxious culture? The simple words of Jesus beckon us: "Follow Me." This is the main idea in this small book about discipleship and spirituality. More important than simply finding a solution to be less anxious or stressful, we are gently encouraged to look to Jesus at every step of the way. Under the teaching of Henri Nouwen, one of the most famous spiritual guides of our age, we have a little gem of spiritual direction. Nouwen sketches six steps in the process of following Jesus. Each step builds on the other to give us a journey to look forward to. The book starts off with a plain questions: "Are you following Jesus?" For many Christians, it would be far too obvious a question to answer. Some might even think it is sarcasm. For Nouwen, it is an essential question that ties together six aspects of spirituality.