How Do We Experience Leadership?

As we continue our march down the road of parish renewal, I would like to touch on an important element of leadership: we are all led by someone else.

No one exists entirely on their own, and no Christian exercises leadership in isolation. I am led by the Dean of the Sunshine Coast Parishes, Fr Peter Brannelly. I am also accountable to Archbishop Shane and those who assist him in the leadership of the Archdiocese, including our Vicar General, Fr Peter Dillon, and the Director of Clergy Life and Ministry, Fr David Pascoe.

In our parish, it is my responsibility to lead everyone in some way. That is why, somewhat unusually, I appear at the bottom of our parish organisational chart! It is a reminder that leadership is not about being at the top but about carrying responsibility for the flourishing of those entrusted to us.

There are three bodies with whom I work directly in our parish: the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the Faith Communities Council (FCC), made up of our six Pastoral Leaders, and the Parish Finance Council (PFC). Each has a particular area of responsibility, and each is accountable to me, while I am accountable to them. This is important: healthy leadership is never one-directional because involves responsibility, trust, challenge, listening and mutual accountability.

You will also see our six Ministry Leadership Teams (MLTs), which together provide leadership across all ministries of our parish. Above them are the leadership teams within each of our six main Mass communities. These communities are important expressions of parish life and our evangelising mission – recognising that our Mass communities at Little Mountain and Currimundi are retirement villages whose communities have served us faithfully.

Perhaps an important question, however, is not Who leads whom? But how do I experience leadership? Do I allow myself to be led by others? Can I receive direction, correction and encouragement without feeling threatened? Can I trust another person’s leadership, even when they lead differently from me?

And, when I am in a position of leadership, what kind of leader am I? Do I lead with a servant heart? Am I joyful and generous in the way I exercise responsibility? Do I make space for others to flourish, rather than needing to be noticed, affirmed or in control? There is a spiritual danger in measuring our worth by how much we do or by the positions we hold. Our ministries, titles and responsibilities are entrusted to us for a season. They are not our identity.

St Paul reminds us: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7). We are the vessels; God is the treasure. Genuine Christian leadership begins with holding our leadership lightly: gratefully accepting the responsibility we have been given, generously serving those entrusted to us, and humbly allowing ourselves to be led by others.

With peace and love – Fr Josh