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The Servant Leader

Aug. 23, 2010

Weekly Winner

Announcing:
Saint Mary's Press winner for the week of August 23, 2010!
Congratulations to Kathryn Ladd!

Kathryn will receive a copy of Holiday and Seasonal Ideas for Ministry with Young Teens, a $22.00 value.

Holiday and Seasonal Ideas for Ministry with Young Teens
by Carole Goodwin, Marilyn Kielbasa

Holiday and Seasonal Ideas for Ministry with Young Teens is a collection of twenty-seven strategies to help young adolescents mark significant times in the liturgical and secular calendars. The collection includes prayer ideas, service projects, social and learning activities, and outreach strategies.

Holiday and Seasonal Ideas for Ministry with Young Teens
ISBN: 978-0-88489-605-0, paper, 136 pages

Focus on Faith

What Does It Mean to Be a Servant Leader?
By Steven McGlaun

Last week I explained that Saint Mary’s Press chose the title The Servant Leader for our weekly newsletter because that is what you are in your role as a Catholic educator and minister. I thought that for the next two weeks, it would be helpful to explore what makes someone a servant leader. The term servant leadership was first introduced by Robert Greenleaf in his 1970 essay The Servant as Leader. He explains that the servant leader is one who sees himself or herself first as a servant and second as a leader. The servant leader puts the priorities of others first. As Greenleaf puts it, "The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?"

More than likely, each one of us has worked with or for someone who made us a better person. That person challenged us to grow, supported us in our struggles, and knew when we needed guidance and when we needed to step up and take care of things ourselves. At its heart, servant leadership is about helping others grow, develop, and mature to the fullest of their God-given potential.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to hear Tom Thibodeau speak to a group of Catholic school teachers about servant leadership. Tom is the program director for the Masters Program in Servant Leadership at Viterbo University, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In his presentation he outlined five virtues that set the foundation for servant leadership. This week I will explore two of those virtues.

Nurturing Contemplation
We live in a society where silence, if not sought out, can be difficult to find. Taking time for contemplation is not seen as being as valuable as the ability to multitask and to always be in contact. Time for contemplation is crucial to developing our relationship with God. Servant leaders work to nurture contemplation in their lives and in the lives of those they serve. We have to provide opportunities for young people to connect with what is "real" and step away from the "virtual." We have to be willing to regularly pause for contemplation as well, not just for our own relationship with God but also to model for young people the importance and power of contemplation. In his presentation, Tom Thibodeau shared the thought that "pressure is a feeling you get when you don’t concentrate." As we and the young people we serve have ever-increasing tasks and responsibilities, contemplation allows us to focus our mind and energy on what is most important, so we have the strength to handle everything else.

Practicing Hospitality
Building meaningful relationships begins with hospitality. When we feel welcomed and valued, we can then begin to open up and let others truly know us. Do the young people you serve feel welcomed and wanted at your school or parish? Hospitality is about seeing someone not for what they do or contribute, but instead, first and foremost, as a wonderful and priceless creation of God. We practice hospitality when we focus all our attention on the person directly in front of us. Have you ever been in a conversation with someone in which you felt they were truly listening? That person’s entire being was focused on you, and you felt she or he cared deeply about what you had to say. That is the type of hospitality the servant leader is called to practice. It is not always easy and it takes time. However, when we can practice this type of hospitality, the young people we serve will know that we not only see them but also deeply value and love them.

Reverence, Integrity, and Stewardship
Next week we will explore the other three virtues presented by Tom Thibodeau that set the foundation for servant leadership: reverence, integrity, and stewardship. Together with contemplation and hospitality, these virtues can guide us in our ministries to help young people encounter and experience Christ. I pray that God will continue to bless you and your ministry.

Peace,
Steven McGlaun

Make It Happen

Ready to Be Formed: Servant Leadership
from Never Too Young to Lead

Overview

Leadership for Jesus, and for the Christian, is about being a servant. It is not having arrived at a place of prominence; it is having humbled oneself to a place of solidarity with the poor and compassionate love in action. This session will seek to develop and call the participants to this philosophy as a way of life. Unlike other sessions, this one is outlined for a half-day session and will include going off-site.

Preparation

Gather the following items:

  • one small bag of balloons
  • items needed based on the activity of service selected
  • large-sized index cards, five or six for each small group of five people
  • markers

    • Place one chair for each team (of five people) at the opposite end of the room, and put a balloon on each chair.

    Select and coordinate the involvement of the young people in an already ongoing activity of service coordinated by your parish, or coordinate an activity of service in conjunction with the social justice or outreach ministry within your parish. If neither is available, these are some other suggestions:

  • Serve at a local soup kitchen.

  • Visit the elderly at a local nursing home and organize games and activities in which to participate with them.

  • Volunteer to work at a local food bank.

    • Gather the participants and introduce the activity by making the following points:

  • Working together takes time, and working interdependently is what being a member of the Body of Christ is all about.

  • Interdependence means calling forth the needed gifts and abilities in others to use for the good of all. Interdependence understands that certain gifts are needed some of the time, but not necessarily all the time.

  • Interdependence understands that not everyone has the same gifts to share and that everyone is needed at some point to offer their gifts and abilities.

  • Interdependence is not about competition. It honors, respects, and values all members.

  • For this first activity, you will have to function interdependently. Each of you will be assigned a different ability, yet the task is to work together, interdependently and as one unit—one body.

    • Divide the participants into teams of five, asking the teams to assign two of their team members to be the legs of the body, one person the hands, one the mouth, and one the "gluteus maximus." Once the parts have been assigned, explain the following:

  • (Ask the legs to step forward.) Legs are used for walking, for helping us get from one place to another. This is your one and only function. Legs do not talk. They do not lift or grasp anything. They do not act in any other way but to walk and to serve as the legs for the team.

  • (Ask the hands to step forward.) Hands are used for grasping and holding, carrying and lifting. This is your only function. Hands do not talk. They do not walk or function in any other way but to serve as hands for the team.

  • (Ask the mouth to step forward.) The mouth is used to taste, to take air in and to blow it out. Mouths are used for talking. They are not to walk, grasp, lift or carry anything or to function in any other way but to serve as the mouth for the team.

  • (Ask the gluteus maximus to step forward.) The gluteus maximus is for sitting. It provides cushion for the body. The gluteus maximus does not talk, but it does make noises from time to time. It does not walk, carry or hold anything, or function in any other way but to serve as the gluteus maximus for the team.

  • As of right now, you are to function only in the ways just described, according to the body part you’ve been assigned. Remember, only the mouths can talk.

  • The object of the game is to work together, interdependently, to get from one side of the room to the chair on the other side of the room, where a balloon is waiting to be blown up and popped.

  • Once your team has successfully functioned as one body and has popped your balloon, return to the starting point, functioning still as your assigned body part, where the race ends.

    • Be careful not to give the group any time to plan and talk through how they will complete the task. Ask them to raise their hands if any of the directions need to be clarified. When ready, give them a signal to begin.

    Regather the participants and ask the following questions:
  • What was the experience like?
  • Which parts of the body were most important?
  • Which parts played less of a role?
  • What does this activity teach about people whose gifts and talents may not be those needed for a particular task?
  • Why should they be as equally honored as those whose gifts and talents are needed more often?

    • Invite the participants to divide into small groups of six to eight people. Provide each group with a few index cards and a marker or two. Ask them to respond to the following questions by noting their answers on the cards provided:

  • What words or images come to mind when you hear the word leader?
  • What words or images come to mind when you hear the word servant?

    • Once the groups have had a few minutes to write down their answers, repeat each question, asking them to hold up their cards to show their responses. Ask everyone to take a good look at the responses. If you’d like, you may even post the cards on a nearby wall for better viewing.

    Make the following points in your own words:

  • A servant is not a slave. A servant works to build up, to affirm, to encourage, to invite, to forgive, to love, and to respect others.

  • Jesus was the ultimate servant leader. He did not flaunt his power or that he was the Son of God; instead he humbled himself and focused on loving others. He healed and cured people because of love. He calmed fears because of love. He hung out with the outcasts because of love. He suffered and died on a cross because of love. He rose from the dead and offers us eternal life because of love. Jesus went beyond himself because of love. He calls us to do the same.

  • Jesus taught us how to be servant leaders by how he lived. One story from the Scriptures that beautifully displays this is "Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet," where Jesus, at the Last Supper, ties a towel around his waist, bends to his knees, and washes the disciples’ feet. No worldly king would have done anything like this for anyone in his kingdom, but Jesus did. He tells us that the greatest among us are not the ones who have positions of authority, money, or fame. The greatest among us are the ones who serve (Luke 22:24–27).

  • What we know, through the example Jesus gives us in this story, is that serving others is central to being a disciple of Jesus. Listen attentively as we hear this story from John’s Gospel.

    • Proclaim John 13:1–15, "Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet," as a lead-in to the introduction of the service activity. Invite the participants, using these or similar words:

  • Now, just as we’ve been given the example, let us go forth and do the same.

    • Introduce the activity of service you have preselected. Be sure to provide all the necessary specifics regarding the project. Make sure no questions or clarifications are needed. Then depart. (Depending on the activity selected, it should happen within a 2- to 3-hour time frame.)

    Upon return, regather the participants and ask the following questions for large- or small-group discussion:

  • What does this activity of service have to teach us about servant leadership?
  • Why do you think service is important in the life of a disciple of Jesus?
  • Should service be "something we do," or, do you think, we are called to adopt it as a way of life? What is the difference?

    • Wrap up the discussion by adding the following points and focusing on the questions for large-group discussion to generate and identify some concrete ideas for adopting a way of service for the participants’ lives:

  • Serving others doesn’t always necessitate an event. Serving others can also happen in simple ways, like helping a friend, offering a kind smile, volunteering a few hours of your time, helping your parents around the house, and so on. What simple ways of service could you adopt in your daily life?

  • Service, for the Christian, is not about doing something for others every once in a while; service is a way of life. We see this in the way Jesus lived his life. Whenever he found a person in need, Jesus reached out to him or her.

  • What are some of the ordinary situations you encounter in which your presence, kindness, resources, skills, and gifts could benefit others?

  • Servant leadership invites us to become aware of the needs of others and to respond to those needs in simple and ordinary ways.

    • Conclude the session by leading the participants in the prayer service, "Prayer of Sending Forth," at the end of this chapter.

    Break Open the Word

    Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
    August, 29, 2010
    Luke 14:1, 7-14

    Opening Prayer
    Jesus, your words in Sunday's Gospel challenge us to be people of humility who honestly acknowledge the good from which God has created us. May this self-reflection bring about a grateful and generous heart within us. Amen.

    Context Connection
    The narrative in Sunday's Gospel has two parts--and that's important for us to understand. In the first part, Jesus is invited to have dinner at the house of an important member of the Pharisees. In the second part, Jesus tells a parable about humility and generosity to the dinner guests.

    Because a Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner at his home, we might assume that this Pharisee accepted Jesus as a social equal. But we know that is not true. So why was Jesus invited? The end of the first sentence provides the answer: "The people there were observing him [Jesus] carefully" (14:1). The motive behind the invitation was not generosity, but an opportunity to scrutinize Jesus's Sabbath rituals. During the time of Jesus, the Jewish Sabbath was governed by many laws, rules, and rituals. The Pharisees hoped to catch Jesus breaking the Sabbath laws. What seemed like a friendly gesture of hospitality was really an underhanded move by the Pharisees, who hoped to find something they could criticize as a way of diminishing Jesus's reputation as an orthodox Jew. Jesus responded by telling a parable.

    The parable's first lesson is about humility. As Jesus observes the other guests at the dinner, he notices that they seek places of honor at the dinner table. This group seems especially concerned with getting seats in the highest place of honor as possible. Jesus states, however, that guests at a banquet "do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host" (14:8). Jesus points out that the host, in that case, might ask a guest to move so he could give the place of honor to someone else. The first guest would then be embarrassed. Jesus's parable contrasts what is actually happening at the dinner. Those who follow Jesus's advice--to take a lower place at the table and then to allow the host to invite them to take a higher place--will be honored. Humility, as Jesus presents it, shows respect for the host and the other guests.

    In the second part of the parable, Jesus challenges his listeners to be generous and sincere of heart, to not expect payment in return. The custom during Jesus's time was to invite only members of one's social class so that they would return the honor by inviting you to their home. Jesus instructs his host not to invite friends or relatives, who would return the invitation, but "when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind" (14:13). Jesus says that if you do this, "you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous" (14:14). Jesus proclaims that generosity without the potential of repayment is the way of the righteous.

    Tradition Connection
    The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines humility as "the virtue by which a Christian acknowledges that God is the author of all good" (page 882). In the Book of Genesis, this important statement follows the story of Creation: "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good" (1:31). We believe that God is only capable of creating good. When we acknowledge that God created us, we also acknowledge that we are created out of goodness. Therefore, we give honor back to God by recognizing the good that exists within ourselves--we accept that God has "authored" us. This common experience of being willed into being by God gives everyone equal status. However, the meaning of humility is often misinterpreted. Humility is not putting ourselves down or thinking less of ourselves. Denying our giftedness is false humility. Jesus calls us to honestly recognize our God-given talents and God's gift of life. Humility in this context "means that we are honest about who we are, that we acknowledge our weaknesses and sins as well as our gifts" (The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, page 306). Luke gives us a scriptural image of this concept in the story of the Pharisee (see 18:9-14) who is too full of himself to look honestly at himself, and the tax collector who honestly sees himself in the context of his life and relationship with God.

    The generosity Jesus invites us to is best demonstrated by Jesus's perfect gift of himself on the cross--a sharing so complete that there is nothing else to give. This can only come from a heart consumed by love alone. Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we are reminded of this understanding of abundant generosity. At the end of Mass, we are invited to go into the world to be living witnesses of this same kind of abundant generosity.

    Wisdom Connection
    The questions about who attends the meal and where one is to sit are about the feast in the Kingdom of God. The good news is that those who do not think themselves worthy will be welcomed at the feast, and the lowly will be exalted. Beggars and those who are crippled, lame, and blind will be cared for and will enjoy God's salvation. Our God is a God of inclusiveness. In God's eyes all are equal.

    Jesus challenges his audience to see God's Kingdom as inclusive rather than as exclusive. At the heavenly banquet, no social status will separate people; instead, a oneness in God will make no distinctions. The Good News shared in the Scripture passage is that all are welcomed to the feast, and that those who consider themselves not worthy will be graciously welcomed. Our God is a generous God who asks us to also be generous to those we encounter in our lives, to give without weighing the costs. Jesus encourages his audience to invite those who are poor, lame, crippled, and blind to their tables, even though the only gift their guests can give them in return is the gift of their presence. The question is, how can we be generous in the same way in our lives today? Who are the individuals or groups that have no way of repaying us for our generosity?

    Acknowledgments
    The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

    The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.--Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

    The Lord's Prayer is taken from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. Copyright © 1988 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

    The quotation on humility is taken from The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth, Copyright C 2004 by Saint Mary's Press, Winona, Minnesota. All rights reserved.


    Saint Spotlight

    Saint Monica

    Friday, August 27, is the feast day for Saint Monica.

    Saint Monica was the mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo (whose feast day is August 28). Saint Monica was a faithful Christian who prayed constantly for the conversion of her husband and her son. Saint Monica can serve as an example for us of the power of prayer and the unknown results of being persistent in sharing the faith with others.

    For more information on Saint Monica, go to http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-monica/