FATHER MARC ALEXANDER

National Leadership Roundtable

The annual conference of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management (www.nlrcm.org) was held at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, June 24-26. Some 125 people attended the meeting, including members of the church hierarchy and leaders from the religious, corporate and nonprofit worlds. Since 2005, the Leadership Roundtable has sought to bring together Catholic leaders with “executive experience in secular fields in order to share that experience with Church leaders to promote ‘best practices’ in the church’s management, financial planning and human–resources development.” This year’s theme was “Clarity, Candor and Conviction: Effective Communications for a Global Church.” The keynote address was delivered by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who became a Catholic in late 2007.

As expected, Blair gave an inspiring and challenging presentation, drawing on his faith and political experiences, during both his prepared remarks and the question-and-answer portion. Several of his points, in stereotypical British understatement and clarity, seemed especially timely and appropriate.

His starting point was to divide the world into two categories: doers and commentators. Doers take on leadership; commentators just comment. To take this further, as baptized people, we are part of the kingly, priestly, and prophetic body of Christ, called and sent to proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. To be a disciple of Jesus is to be a leader in the proclamation of his Gospel and an agent of change in the world. Disciples are never commentators, but doers. This is reflected in words and actions that show forth the concrete, visible, and transforming power of the Gospel. This is why, for example, the Catholic Church has the largest non-governmental systems of charitable outreach, education and healthcare in the history of the world. One of the top priorities of our diocesan strategic plan, our “Road Map,” is leadership development of clergy, lay staff, and volunteers. We all need to continue to develop our leadership skills so we can make more visible God’s incredible and infinite love of all people in today’s world. We are doers, not commentators.

Another point that Blair made was that young people communicate and interact in a totally different way today. People are intimately connected today because of sophisticated communication systems like the Internet and growth in travel. These mechanisms make it not only possible, but impossible not to cross national, ethnic, religious and cultural boundaries. But the real defining characteristic of today’s young people is the speed at which they communicate. They move fast and so does their world.

One of the key elements of the “Road Map is to increase the involvement of our youth and young adults in the life and ministry of the church. Our youth and young adults need to know that they need to be part of a community of faith and that this community of faith also needs them. The “communion of the church” (an expression Blair used explicitly) is about more than participating in rituals or a service organization, it is about being a member of the Body of Christ. We have to do a better job of listening to, “translating” for, adapting to, and communicating with our youth and young adults. Their experiences, questions, struggles and conflicts are very different from those of their parents and their contemporaries. As another speaker pointed out, for example, there are digital natives and digital immigrants. Our youth and young adults are mostly digital natives, for whom the speed of the Internet, Twitter and Facebook are the norm of communication. Yet most of our church leaders are still digital immigrants — fresh off the boat!

Youth and young adults have a different attitude toward authority — they have grown up in an environment where questioning and doubt are the norm, not a sign of disrespect. Simple “Baltimore Catechism” answers are just not persuasive. They want and need engagement and mentoring by those who will listen, respect, and walk with them.

It’s not easy being part of any family, let alone a family made up of people from every culture, language, nationality, profession, demographic and variable known to humanity. But that is exactly what our church family is. As St. Augustine said so well, it is only by growing closer to Christ that we will grow closer to one another. Tony Blair ended his presentation with the mention of God’s grace — God’s living and love presence. God’s grace, in God’s time, will make it all happen.