SOME THOUGHTS ON SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
Rev. Ronald Knott
If you think “spiritual leadership” is about parish management techniques, you are wrong. Spiritual leadership is not the same as parish management, the focus of most Catholic books on the practice of ministry in recent years.
An e-mail I received from a woman friend in Massachusetts a few years ago says it all. “Our parish is going to have an opportunity for spiritual growth with (our new pastor) and I could not be happier. (The former pastor) was more of a businessman than a spiritual leader, which was good for building the big complex and paying off the mortgage, but it left so many (spiritually) dry. This change will be good.”
Spiritual leadership operates on the emotional and spiritual resources of the organization, on its values, commitments, and aspirations. Management, by contrast, operates on the on the physical resources of the organization, on its capital, human skills, raw materials, and technology. As the management guru, Peter Drucker has said, “Management is doing things right; leadership is about doing the right thing.” If that is true, then it is much easier, for example, to balance a budget or build a gym than it is to lead people into a deeper level of discipleship. Leading people into a deeper level of discipleship is what spiritual leadership is all about.
It is not enough for a spiritual leader to be personally holy, even though a person responsible for leading others spiritually ought to possess it in the highest degree. Anyone who accepts responsibility for leading others to holiness should have already learned the self-discipline necessary for personal holiness. St. Bonaventure reminds us in his THE SIX WINGS OF THE SERAPH, that having already learned to live a holy life as an individual Christian, spiritual leaders must learn how to exercise authority over other Christians in a way that will be useful to them. Certainly they need to have certain virtues in order to conduct their own lives without reproach, but they also need to have additional virtues as well: the ability to humbly obey those who exercise leadership over them as well as the ability to give worthwhile spiritual direction to the people under their care.
Neither is it enough for spiritual leaders to seek holiness, their own or others, as if it were simply quantitative, a set of calculated ascetical and devotional practices that will result in the desired outcome. Real spirituality is first and foremost about embracing the mystery of God in oneself and others. As Jesus taught the Scribes and Pharisees, real spirituality is about metanoia, a change of heart or a new way of thinking, not merely checking off a list of pious practices or simply following the established rules of the church. It has always been easier to count prayers and display religious conformity than it is to become a “new creation.”
What, then, is “spiritual leadership?” Spiritual leadership is ultimately influence, the ability of one person to influence another through invitation, persuasion, example and the skillful use of the Church’s rite and rituals to move from where they are to where God wants them to be.
God is working throughout the world to achieve his purposes and to advance his kingdom. God’s concern is not to advance leaders’ dreams and goals nor to join in their agendas nor to bless their efforts. Neither do not try to satisfy the goals and ambitions of the people they lead, but rather those of the God they serve. Spiritual leaders seek God’s will and then marshal the people they lead to do his will.
Leaders may entertain, impress or even motivate people, but if there is no spiritual growth in the people they lead, their leadership comes from the leader’s talent, but not necessarily from God. When spiritual leaders have done their jobs, people around them have encountered God and do his will. The spiritual leader’s primary task is to work with God to encourage the faith of others. Spiritual leaders allow God to use them in his work to transform people into better disciples. When someone leads in the Spirit’s power, lives are changed. Spiritual leadership is about influence in helping make Christ real to others.
Unlike secular leadership, which is something to which people can aspire, spiritual leadership is assigned by God. Spiritual leaders are not elected, appointed, or created by personnel boards. God alone makes them. One does not become a spiritual leader by merely filling an office, taking course work on the subject or resolving in one’s own will to do this task. People do not become spiritual leaders unless God calls them to this role and equips them for it.
Spiritual leadership is far from magic because “grace builds on nature.” This means, in part, that a certain level of human effort is necessary in order for grace to do its work of transforming a person chosen by God into a skilled spiritual leader. The Parable of the Talents reminds us that even the gifts God bestows on us must be “invested.” God’s call to spiritual leadership may be instant, but developing spiritual leadership skills require years of focused attention and prayer. One does not become a spiritual leader by simply dabbling in it, but through a deliberate intention to master the skills needed. “Intention” comes from the Latin word “intendere,” means to “reach for” or “stretch toward.”
One of my favorite quotes on this kind of commitment is from W. H. Murray. “Until one of committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans” that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meeting and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would come his way.” (The Scottish Himalayan Expedition, J. M. Dent, London, 1951) Jesus calls and equips, but a spiritual leader must answer that call and be skillful in using the equipping that God offers.
Natural leadership qualities are an important component of spiritual leadership. These natural talents may be God given, but they must be called forth, trained and used for spiritual leadership. In the area that seminaries call “human formation,” spiritual leaders must develop certain qualities that God can build on and work with. He must, among others things, be able to:
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master his appetites
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remain calm in crises and resilient in
disappointment
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think independently
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handle criticism
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triumph over set-backs
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demonstrate strength, not power
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reconcile differences
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induce people to do something they would not
otherwise do
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take opposition without taking offense
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trust people
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say ‘thank you”
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make and keep friends
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have an ease in the presence of strangers and
superiors
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show and interest in, and a concern for, all
types and races of people
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be tactful and steady
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demonstrate an ability to forgive
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be optimistic
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welcome responsibility
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keep a secret
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get over demanding perfection of self and others
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adapt to various audiences
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be above reproach
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enjoy a good reputation
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possess an unquestioned personal morality
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teach
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be actively considerate
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manage his own affairs
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be spiritually mature
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possess a magnanimous spirit and broad vision
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finish a job, especially a difficult job
Even though spiritual leadership is a gift, accepting such a gift it is hardly ever easy. “My son, if you wish to serve the Lord, be ready for a battle.” (Sirach 2:1-6) When God finds a person who is ready to lead, to commit to full discipleship and to take responsibility for others, that person is used to the limit. Because of that, spiritual leadership has always required strength and faith beyond the merely human. Gideon asked God, “How can I do what you have called me to do?” “I will be with you,” God answered. Psalm 80:18 says, “May your hand be on the one you have chosen, the one you have given your strength.”
Spiritual leadership may be difficult, but it is worth the sacrifice. One can find great comfort in the encouraging, yet challenging, words of George Bernard Shaw. “The true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are being thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
Spiritual leadership, since it is a gift, must neither be strident nor flamboyant. A real spiritual leader conducts a ministry that is self-effacing, encouraging, quiet, unobtrusive, sympathetic and merciful. A true spiritual leader lives the words written about Jesus, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.”
A true spiritual leader never gives into pessimism because he knows that God has already seen that the end will be victorious. The kingdom will come, not because of us, but in spite of us.
True spiritual leaders never abandon those they lead because they refuse to follow or blame them when they do not behave as they should behave. Rather, they step back and work on their skills to influence, induce and mobilize. Rejection can be a sign that the leader is on the right path, but it can also be a sign of serious personality defects on the part of the leader.
Spiritual leaders in name only, people who make no difference in people’s lives, are not actually spiritual leaders. Spiritual leadership is ultimately not measured by position or title or even ordination, but results. The test of a spiritual leader is whether those under his care have grown in their discipleship.
As a reaction to the authoritarianism of the pre- Vatican II church, a style of spiritual leadership, leadership from the rear, became popular in the post-Vatican II church. Those who chaffed under too much control in the pre-Vatican II church wanted freedom. As a result, a sort of abdication of leadership became popular. In reaction, those who crave order and fall apart in the presence of pluralism want to go back to the imagined security of the past.
Why should we have to choose between dictators and wimps? Why not leaders who exude strength and character? Consultation, consensus building and power sharing are good and even necessary, but a spiritual leader cannot lead from the rear. “If the trumpet is uncertain, who will prepare for war?” Spiritual leaders are called to be real leaders, not merely chairpersons.
Vision, and its communication through word and deed, is what pastoral leadership is all about. Pastoral leadership communicates the vision of the kingdom to come constantly: in preaching, in face-to-face conversation and personal example. The spiritual leader must convince people that he believes the Good News, is excited about it and personally puts it into practice.
The kingdom, here and to come, is the vision. A spiritual leader’s task is to inspire people to reach for it, through word and deed. His job is to hold the congregation, without wavering, to the vision of the God’s kingdom, here and to come. People naturally want to belong to, and support, a church that knows who it is and what God wants it to do.
People want to be challenged and encouraged, not condemned or belittled. As I heard a Baptist minister say, “Before you can correct, you have to connect.” People want their vision lifted to higher sights, their performance to a higher level, their personalities stretched beyond normal limitations. The reasons people leave the church are: not understanding, and being personally connected to, the central message of the gospel; not being treated with respect and dignity by church leaders; being prevented from offering their gifts and talents; not being listened to; and not being rewarded with more responsibility.
In reaction to an indiscriminate and uncritical acceptance of secular leadership theory by some church leaders, other church leaders, especially the younger ones, reject any and all secular leadership principles. This is a sad fact because many of the “modern’ leadership principles currently being espoused are, in fact, biblical principles. They must be read critically, but much can be learned from them.
Likewise, many young church leaders will not read “Protestant” leadership material. This too is a sad fact, because “some, even very many, of the most significant elements or endowments which together go to build up and give life to the Church herself can exist outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church. Whatever is wrought by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of our separated brethren can contribute to our own edification” (The Documents of Vatican II, Walter M. Abbott, S.J., general editor and Msgr. Joseph Gallagher, translation editor, Guild Press, New York, 1966, “Document on Ecumenism,” chapter 1) A true spiritual leader will be open to learning from many sources. The truth is the truth no matter who speaks it.
Where do priests begin when they want to improve their
spiritual leadership skills? They begin with their own relationship with God.
Spiritual leadership ability grows in direct proportion to one’s own spiritual
growth. As spiritual leaders grow, they increase their capacity to lead. As
they increase their capacity to lead, those they lead are empowered to grow
proportionately. The best thing spiritual leaders can do for their people is to
grow personally. As leaders commit to their own personal growth and learning,
they become ever better vehicles for carrying out God’s work. Pope John Paul II
said it well, “All formation, including priestly formation, is ultimately
self-formation.”
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