POPULAR FALLACIES IN TODAY'S CHURCH Part Three and Conclusion: Bishops and Pastors Are Appointed for their Administrative Skills

I conclude my reflection on fallacies in today’s church with perhaps the most common fallacy of all.

Fallacy # 3:  Bishops and Pastors are appointed on the basis of their administrative skills.

The simple truth is that most Bishops and Pastors are not able to make the transition from worker to manager.

Workers have a job and are expected to do it.  Although the job may often require working closely with others, ultimately the worker is responsible only for himself.  

When a worker becomes a manager, everything changes.  The manager now becomes responsible for the results of a group and not just himself.

Becoming a manager requires the development of a whole new set of business skills – people skills. Some of the most talented Priests become the worst Bishops or Pastors because they fail to make the transition from worker to manager.

To be an effective administrator certain skills and talents are required.  Permit me to list several.

1)  Communication

Information is power.  Clear, appropriate communication is not only key to being a successful manager, it is also key to being a successful diocesan or parochial community. It empowers people to make informed independent and effective decisions.

So often, decisions are made by an elite few, be they a coterie of diocesan officials or members of parish councils, who have little or no practical experience or knowledge either of what needs to be addressed or the resources that are within the community to address the issue.

Listening sessions within the community are then called under the guise of seeking collective counsel when a decision has already been made.  

Bishops and Pastors mistake announcing decisions made in the absence of those affected as being adequate communication necessary to achieve desired results.

The result is frustration among the members of the community who are like to oppose or become obstinate in offering their support or acceptance of decisions made without their input.

Bishops and Pastors need to develop listening skills, understanding that it is often what is not said that is just as important as what is said.

2)  Explaining the Bigger Picture

Oftentimes, Bishops and Pastors ask their respective communities to work on tasks they do not comprehend or understand.  

As administrators, Bishops and Pastors need to explain what the project is all about, assign individual tasks, the benefit and the importance of each, the project’s value to the whole diocese or parish, and this individual effort or project will serve the ministry of the Church. 

3)  Setting Achievable Goals

Bishops and Pastors need to set clear goals which are achievable and can be measured.

This requires communication, listening first and then speaking, to determine the vision of the the future and how this project or effort fits into achieving that vision.

All along the way, success needs to be measured by attainable and measurable goals in order to motivate the community as its faces the challenges which need to be addressed.  Without these measurable goals, the project or task can become a disastrous failure.

4)  Taking Responsibility

Bishops and Pastors must accept responsibility for what happens under their guidance, the good as well as the bad.  

Accountability by those in leadership inspires the greatest trust and fidelity within the community.

5)  Adapting

This is perhaps the greatest failure of many Bishops and Pastors, as well as what continues to be the inability of the Church itself to remain relevant in the lives of contemporary Catholics.

In uncertain times, playing it safe is unacceptable.

The 7 last words of any dying institution are:  “We have always done it this way.”

Administrators must anticipate problems and prepare to respond to them.  

Those who refuse to adapt are doomed to failure and extinction at worst, insignificance at best.

Bishops and Pastors need to be forward looking and remain flexible.

Sadly, Bishops and Pastors are often appointed not for having displayed any particular administrative skill or talent either because of who they know who will advocate their appointment for personal reasons or because a managerial position needs to be filled and they are next in line by reason of seniority.

Ever since his election, Pope Francis has been pleading Bishops and Pastors to “accompany” those entrusted to their care.  The Holy Father consistently demonstrates his instinctive understanding and appreciation that being a Bishop or a Pastor is a 100% peoples ministry.
That means making time to listen and to empathize with the needs and sufferings of the faithful.

That means making the most meaningful and constructive contribution in providing their communities with not only the wisdom but the mercy and consolation of the Gospel.

It is a simple equation:  the more administratively skillful the Bishop or Pastor, the more successful the community. It is a quid pro quo situation.

Perhaps, a willingness to admit and address this and the other fallacies I have commented upon may serve to provide the environment within the Church that is most receptive and responsive to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit and the Divine Province of Our Heavenly Father.