Connections

I have been thinking a lot about how Jesus would be handling the world right now. What would Jesus do? What would Jesus say? Who would Jesus be challenging? Who would Jesus be comforting? What would Jesus be saying to me? And would I have the courage to take his lead?

I am a frustrated Catholic. The current church crisis has brought out the worst of what we are as an institution and a community. As one who works for the institutional church, I have been trying to come to terms with this frustration. I pray for the courage to be part of making things better and to articulate the changes that I feel our leadership has to make to be more transparent and accountable as a people of God. We have quite a road ahead of us.

But this does not excuse me from looking at my own leadership abilities and challenges. I recently spoke to a group of young adults about Christian leadership. As many times as I have reflected on Jesus as the ultimate leader, I am still amazed at the disparity between the way of Jesus and what our society expects of its leaders. I am often challenged by my own experiences of leadership and wonder which model I embrace more often.

In my preparation to talk about Christian leadership I reviewed what Henri Nouwen had to say on the subject. In the Name of Jesus—Reflections on Christian Leadership is a great work of his. He talks of the three temptations of a leader . . . to be relevant, to be spectacular, and to be powerful. I would be the first to admit that I strive to be all three! But Nouwen critiques each temptation in the light of the model of Jesus as leader.

Being Relevant

Regarding being relevant, he states that “the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self . . . and enter into a deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success and to bring the light of Jesus there.” Well, there is a wake-up call for the day! Am I willing to allow myself to be this kind of leader?

Being Spectacular

The second temptation is to be spectacular. Nouwen calls Christian leaders to be “vulnerable brothers and sisters who know and are known, who care and are cared for, who forgive and are being forgiven, who love and are being loved.” Where am I on that continuum? Do I take the time to really know others? Do I allow others to really know me? Am I always in the mist of forgiving and asking for forgiveness? Do I allow myself to be loved?

Being Powerful

The last temptation of a Christian leader is to be powerful. I know that word alone can be seen as a negative term since it conjures up ideas of manipulation and control. But power can be having the influence to invite others into a new way of being. Nouwen reflects on the role of intimacy and power. When intimacy is seen as a threat, it can be tempting to replace it with power and control. “Is it not easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life . . . The way of the Christian leader is not the way of upward mobility in which our world has invested so much, but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross.”

Do I love Jesus enough to truly believe that the truth will set me free? Or do I think Jesus had some nice ideas and they seemed to work during his time on earth. Do I really believe that I am called to live in 2004 as he did 2000 years ago? What would others think if I actually took Jesus that seriously? How would I be a different leader?

How are we to stand as leaders in the current societal and ecclesial challenges? Nouwen is convinced that our personal intimacy with Jesus allows us to not only do this, but to do it authentically. We are then able to “remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.”

I do not know about you, but these are the qualities that I want in a leader, especially a leader in our Catholic faith community. I need to continue to evaluate my own leadership qualities as well as continue to have to courage to expect the same of others. The current void and crisis in leadership in our world and church is not about “them” but about “us.” What would Jesus do? Plenty. How am I going to be a part of His plan? Am I really and truly trusting in the Holy Spirit? Do I trust the Spirit enough to listen quietly and carefully and boldly move where the Spirit leads? What are my other options? As St. Peter would say “Lord, where would we go?”