Three Pillars of Church Leadership

 

We are all called to be leaders in the Church, regardless of our role, title, or position. In doing so, we are united to our community and the local Church (as well as the Church Universal) through these three pillars of leadership.

MISSION—Catholic Leadership Starts with “Why”

·         Mission is the call to ‘go forth’ and proclaim the Word of God, both vocally and in deed. As leaders, we are first ‘called’ before we can be sent. How we listen for, and understand, that call is an important part of our leadership and faith journey.

·         Authentic leaders know their “why” – the purpose for their individual ministry, talents, and life. They reflect on that “why” routinely as a way to reinforce, refocus, and renew their efforts in the Church.

·         Listening to the Holy Spirit at work is a fundamental part of our personal missionary work. We can do through this reflection, quiet meditation, prayerful reading of Scripture, and in Eucharistic Adoration.

·         Recognizing two important areas of our personal journey are also relevant to our “why:” first, our personal history, especially our faith journey and how we came to truly believe in Jesus; and second, the people we serve, such as our children, our spouse, our family, friends, community, and especially the poor and marginalized. These two components can be important in identifying and better understanding our individual mission to “go forth and preach the Gospel – and if necessary, use words,” as St. Francis said.

COMMUNITY—Building Community, Building Catholics: Trust and Relationships

·         The Church is a community; we need capable leaders who can navigate increasingly complex issues. These require a well-developed leadership toolkit, which can help us in any given situation respond appropriately. The core of community is about building trust and building relationships—and like Rome, was not built in a day (or a Tweet).

·         We are one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church – what does it mean to be a small ‘c’ catholic? Catholic means ‘universal’ and that is the People of God working together in love and trust; but that is incredibly difficult often. How do we make our pastorates more universal, even in the context a small town? Our ‘universal’ may mean outreach to those who need to see Christ acting in their own backyard.

·         Building community and building Catholics means working towards a vibrant, flourishing, life-affirming ministry and mission. It means exuding the hope-filled, positive, loving messages that are included in the Gospels.

·         How can we practice building community, trust, and relationships? Every day—being clear in our communication, listening actively to what others say, keeping confidential or sensitive information private, following through on our commitments, and being open and welcoming.

WITNESS—To Lead is to Serve

·         Constantly, the Gospel reminds us that Jesus was sent to restore the Kingdom of Heaven; of course, at that time, his disciples believed that He would be a political and military king. But Jesus approached kingship is a much different fashion—and told us that we must serve each other. Humility and docility to the Holy Spirit are essential to being a servant.

·         Service is the ultimate form of leadership, through humility, gentleness, and love. We see this in the saints and their lives. The last three successive pontiffs have also reinforced that service to others—charity—is what being a Christian (a Christ-follower) is all about.

·         What principles of servant leadership can be most helpful to us? Robert K. Greenleaf, a noted leadership scholar and Indiana native, wrote an influential essay in the 1970s on servant leadership, based largely on the Gospel. He was a Quaker by birth and was strongly influenced by Pope John XXIII, quoting him extensively. We explore those principles and how we can apply them today in the Church—and the People of God—we are called to serve.