Leadership in Ministry

Course Summary

Leadership in Ministry invites participants to encounter some of the scholarship and tools within the field of leadership/management studies with an eye to their applicability in an ecclesial setting. If you take this course, you will be introduced to Robert Greenleaf, Warren Bennis, Jim Collins, Juana Bordas and others, familiar and new, whose work can enable the development of a leadership perspective that serves the ecclesial minister. In this course, you will consider the relationship between leadership and management, Jesus as a model leader, and some trends in ecclesial leadership. While the Church is not a corporation or a business, it does have some of the same organizational demands, and leadership/management is one of them. What general principles of leadership apply in an ecclesial setting? What are some of the unique leadership characteristics for those who serve Christ and the Church? What is your individual leadership style? Finally, lest you think this is just a theoretical course, you will have the chance to consider some of the skills necessary to serve as an ecclesial leader: planning, community building and running a meeting to name three.

Successful completion of this course earns 2.5 CEU's.

General Course Objectives

• Begin to understand the relationship between leadership, management and ministry
• Uncover some leadership styles and see them in relationship to Jesus Christ
• Survey the skills necessary to be a leader/manager in service to the Church
• Identify issues that can concern lay ecclesial ministry leaders
• Be able to describe the unique characteristics of a lay ecclesial minister and some resources to assist in this role

Course Materials

• Required Book: Collins, Jim Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great November, 2005 ISBN: 0-9773264-0-3
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• Required Book: Hiesberger, Jean Marie Fostering Leadership Skills in Ministry: A Parish Handbook Liguori, MO: Liguori, 2008 ISBN: 0764817434; ISBN-13: 978-0764817434
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Course Structure and Highlights

• Week 1: Understanding Leadership: Basic Concepts
  • Have a working definition of leadership within the ecclesial setting
  • Know the difference between leadership and management
  • Be able to differentiate between power, authority and control
  • Be able to describe an ecclesial minister in terms pertaining to both leading and managing
• Week 2: Setting Our Context: Knowing the Leadership Choices, Learning from the Master
  • Be able to name styles of leadership
  • Be able to define servant leadership
  • Be introduced to Jesus as a leader
• Week 3: Personalizing the Learning: Surveying the Skill Landscape
  • Survey leadership and management skill sets
  • Identify what leaders need in order to lead from good to great
• Week 4: Seeing the Scope: Identifying Issues and Trends in the Catholic Church in the U.S. and Their Implications for Leadership
  • Be able to describe some of the issues and trends impacting the Church today and into the near future
  • Be able to determine which leadership skills will be in demand based on some of the issues and trends facing the Church
• Week 5: Defining an Ecclesial Leader: Identifying Qualities, Seeing Resources
  • Identify the ways in which ecclesial leaders are different from other leaders
  • Know the principles of social justice and how they affect leadership in the Church
  • Identify one way in which leaders set the stage for their personal growth

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