Northwest Leader - Brian Dolleman » Jean Vanier https://www.northwestleader.com Mon, 28 Aug 2023 15:24:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 If I allow myself to be a companion of the poor, if they give me their permission to walk with them… https://www.northwestleader.com/2018/allow-companion-poor-give-permission-walk/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2018/allow-companion-poor-give-permission-walk/#comments Sun, 11 Mar 2018 13:00:21 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=6385 I’ve been reading a book called Spiritual Journeys – An Anthology of Writings by People Living and Working with Those on the Margins, compiled and edited by Stanislaus Kennedy. Some of the contributors to this book include Jean Vanier and Henri Nouwen (my favorites). The book includes a chapter by Edward J. Farrell – who […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2018/allow-companion-poor-give-permission-walk/feed/ 0 The Illusion of Superiority https://www.northwestleader.com/2017/illusion-superiority/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2017/illusion-superiority/#comments Mon, 12 Jun 2017 15:49:21 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=6121 We are in a series on the Beatitudes of Jesus at church right now… it’s called “Dance to the Beat.” One of my favorite lines came from a message on humility: The essence of “God blesses those who are humble (or those who are meek)” is that God can work with people who don’t think […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2017/illusion-superiority/feed/ 3 Lent Day 36… The Little Tyrant Inside https://www.northwestleader.com/2017/lent-day-36-little-tyrant-inside/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2017/lent-day-36-little-tyrant-inside/#comments Tue, 11 Apr 2017 13:00:37 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=6067 You need power only when you want to do something harmful. Otherwise, love is enough to get everything done. —Charlie Chaplin Jean Vanier, in his book Community and Growth, wrote… We are so inclined to want authority for the honor, prestige and admiration that comes with it. Inside each of us is a little tyrant who […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2017/lent-day-36-little-tyrant-inside/feed/ 2 Schools of the Heart https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/schools-heart/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/schools-heart/#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2016 19:17:30 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=5752 *pictured above: some of my favorite ladies at church hanging out and catching up with each other Today’s word from Jean Vanier… True unity cannot be achieved in a family or community which denies difference, and behaves as if everyone should be the same and think in the same way. Unity is achieved when each […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/schools-heart/feed/ 0 A Different Kind Of Success https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/different-kind-success/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/different-kind-success/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2016 16:05:53 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=5749 picture above: Ashah, myself, and my dad – with my grandmother who has dementia. From Jean Vanier… A leader of one of our communities told me about his mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. But the person this man wanted to talk to me about was not his mother but his father. He had been […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/different-kind-success/feed/ 0 A Tiny Sign That Love Is Possible https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/tiny-sign-love-possible/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/tiny-sign-love-possible/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2016 22:01:06 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=5743 When the world seems particularly chaotic, crazy, paranoid, hateful, fearful, or just too noisy, I need the gentle voice of a great-great-grandfather-type. My go-to in these times is Jean Vanier. In his book Community & Growth, Vanier says… We have to remind ourselves constantly that we are not saviors. We are simply a tiny sign, […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/tiny-sign-love-possible/feed/ 0 To Give Space https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/give-space/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/give-space/#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2016 16:51:57 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=5659 An excerpt from Jean Vanier’s book Community & Growth: To welcome is one of the signs of true human and Christian maturity. It is not only to open one’s door and one’s home to someone. It is to give space to someone in one’s heart, space for that person to be and to grow; space […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/give-space/feed/ 0 The Small Kindnesses https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/small-kindnesses/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/small-kindnesses/#comments Sun, 17 Jul 2016 13:00:30 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=5656 In a letter Jean Vanier wrote, he issued this challenge… To be believe that each gesture has its weight in the balance of love and hate in the world. A few weeks after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Stephen Jay Gould wrote in the NY Times: “Good and kind people outnumber all others by thousands to […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2016/small-kindnesses/feed/ 2 To Remember That Stooping & Serving Is Beautiful https://www.northwestleader.com/2015/remember-stooping-serving-beautiful/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2015/remember-stooping-serving-beautiful/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2015 17:28:48 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=4834 I remember when I first heard about a pastor who had his own personal chef, chauffeur, and tailor. My mind was blown. Wow! Holy cow! So…. THIS is success. THIS is what arriving looks like. THIS is a thing of beauty and I want to get there some day too. I thought: I need to […]

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]]> https://www.northwestleader.com/2015/remember-stooping-serving-beautiful/feed/ 3 A Lesson From Single-Lane Scottish Roads & Stanley Hauerwas On Community https://www.northwestleader.com/2015/lesson-single-lane-scottish-roads-stanley-hauerwas-community/ https://www.northwestleader.com/2015/lesson-single-lane-scottish-roads-stanley-hauerwas-community/#comments Tue, 24 Feb 2015 13:00:45 +0000 Brian Dolleman http://www.northwestleader.com/?p=4802 note: pictured above – a single-lane road on the Isle of Mull Two of my favorite authors – Jean Vanier and Stanley Hauerwas – collaborated on a book together: Living Gently in a Violent World—The Prophetic Witness of Weakness. While talking about the need for community, Hauerwas says… I love the Isle of Mull in […]

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