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Saturday, 22 September 2007 |
After I returned from my studies in Rome (1997), I had the chance to work at the Catholic Center, in downtown Atlanta. I assisted in the curia of the Archbishop, first as Director of Vocations and then as Chancellor. Later on, I worked in the Tribunal (as did our Fr. Young). As a member of that “inner circle” and as an ex-officio member of the Council of Priests, I was allowed to offer advice and counsel to the Archbishop and to the other members of his “cabinet”.
During those years of service, I had the chance to reflect a bit on the styles of leadership I saw exhibited around me. I began to see a pattern of behavior among some of the “leaders” of the Archbishop’s curia (priests and professional staff alike). When the issue under discussion was sensitive or complicated or uncertain, many around the table would not speak out, would not offer advice and counsel; but when the issue at hand was a “slam dunk”, a certainty that all should hold as true (e.g. all Catholics should pray), then lots of the silent voices would speak out boldly, with passionate, peacock-like fervor. Noticing this dynamic, I began to see the difference between the virtue of prudence and weakness of timidity (the fear of losing favor). A leader must always be prudent in judgment, but never timid in facing what must be faced.
There are lots of ways to describe leadership. I am no expert here, but in thinking of prophetic leadership, two points do come to mind: A prophetic leader will not hide behind the status quo simply because the status quo is safe. What is more to the point, a prophetic leader will risk the potential of failure, as he or she seeks what lies ahead.
Toward the end of his public ministry, Jesus of Nazareth had drawn an extraordinary crowd of followers. Many in that crowd began to use the word offered in prophecy to describe the man from Galilee as the promise of God… Messiah… Christ… the Anointed One. The crowd expected Jesus to be the Liberator, expected him to crush gentile Rome and bring about a new “golden age”, a new Davidic Kingdom of power and wealth. But the prophetic leadership of Jesus was made manifest not in his offering them what they wanted, but in giving them (us) what was (is) needed… a Bridge to bring the Kingdom and our broken earth together, a Savior that offers salvation, mercy. And what was his methodology of leadership? He risked everything… even his life… in trusting God for everything.
St. John Neumann is called to leadership. We are called not to timidity and fear but to a prophetic leadership, seeking to live out our faith in the here and now. We are called to be a beacon of Light for Gwinnett County, now and for the future of our children and their children and the children yet to come that will need the help of faithful hearts. Though the status quo is comfy, we are called to step out from that status quo, and build what we need as a Catholic community. We risk everything…by trusting God for everything. And He says of us you are the Light of the world (Matthew 5.14). |
