Faithful Servant Leadership

As a Vicar General one of the most important responsibilities is strengthening your direct reports so they become better leaders. Leadership in a Catholic context is not primarily about taking initiative or being in charge. Instead, being a faithful servant is about discerning God’s will and acting upon it as quickly as possible. Knowing where we are, knowing where God is calling us, and having the skills and experience to get everyone there together is at the heart of true leadership.

On this page you will find four outlines of exercises you can have with your staff. These exercises can be used at the beginning of a regular staff meeting or over lunch. Since each asks the participants to share about their faith life a more relaxed setting is appropriate.

Each exercise provides an objective for the conversation, includes Scripture references, draws upon the Catechism of the Catholic Church, includes notes to help you prepare, and discussion prompts to facilitate conversations. The opening and closing prayer is left to the group so it remains in accord with how they normally pray.

The topics of the conversations are:

Faithful Servant: Evangelization and Ministry

This exercise is foundational in that it helps leaders reflect upon their role as evangelists and how this can be incorporated into their work including non-pastoral ministries

Faithful Servant: Searching, Following, and Leading

This exercise furthers the concept of evangelization by focusing on the fact that each of us is searching for God, following God, and leading for God at the same time.

Faithful Servant: Am I really in charge?

Leaders, even in the Church, are often tempted to believe they are in charge and forget that God is in charge. This point is important since leaders can unintentionally squelch movements of the Spirit.

Faithful Servant: Holy Indifference

Discerning God’s will calls leaders to start not with themselves but instead to listen with the people of God to become the best Church the Church calls us to be.

Download Discussion Guides: Here.