In Collaborative Parish Leadership: Contexts, Models, Theology editors William A. Clark and Daniel Gast provide a thoroughly engaging account of INSPIRE—the collaborative leadership project funded by both the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Sustaining Pastoral Excellence program and a partnership between Loyola University Chicago and the Archdiocese of Chicago. The ten-year project (2004-2013) focused on developing parish staffs into effective leadership teams (xiii) that consisted of individuals “across the rich spectrum of Church membership” (1). The reason for the focus on parishes is that they constitute the local faith community, considered the most ancient form of organization in the Christian church (1), are normative for Roman Catholicism in Europe and North America (2), and faced a priest shortage (9).
Contributions by Catholic scholars and theologians involved in the project cover an array of topics. Chapter 1 focuses on the shortage of priests experienced by the Roman Catholic Church, and its effect on the local parish. Chapter 2 focuses on a new form of consultation for pastoral teams (25), which included the appropriation of “secular” models such as Organizational Development to grasp the human qualities of the local church community (27-30, 218). This consultation was to support successful pastors, the criteria for inclusion in the program (43). Chapter 3 focuses on an assessment of INSPIRE’s work in three selected parishes via interviews, focus groups, and other data (51). Outcomes included that the pastor’s support and pastoral vision are critical variables for the success of the program while consultants, access to networks, and financial resources—in that order—were the most critical interventions (52). Chapter 4 focuses on the different outcomes of two parishes that enrolled in the program. Two merger “styles” were identified, namely administrative and community (77-78). Distinct differences between the two parishes include the process of merging (including timelines), the type of pastoral leadership, the community’s identity, and the social ministry practiced (81-93). Chapter 5 focuses on effective, collaborative leadership practices in multicultural parishes by means of case studies. These include understanding culture as a social framework (110), seeing diversity as an opportunity for growth (112), loving and living in a godly manner (115), and practicing active listening (116). The conclusion—that leadership practices should be participative (120).
Chapter 6 focuses on leadership strategies in urban parishes—contrasting two parishes, one located in Mexico City and the other in Chicago. The perspective employed is that of sociology of religion (125), with the author focusing on “how to anticipate and prepare for changes in American and Mexican urban parish life under the new circumstances of late modernity” (137). Chapter 7 focuses on cases of parish reorganization and leadership initiatives. The context is a values crisis experienced by the Roman Catholic Church in Germany, considered to have started in the 1950s and very evident in the 1968 criticism by younger Catholics regarding what they considered to be an obsolete sexual morality and the need for the democratization of the church (143-44). In addition to this, the priest shortage resulted in two types of mergers, each with its own leadership style: canon 517.2 or XXL-parish. Chapter 8 focuses on an innovative approach—not a model—of the Archdiocese of Poitiers in France, namely laity driven parishes (155). This approach includes a mix of democratic and hierarchical ways within the process, an interplay between the local community and the sector, the aspect of “closeness”—living life together, and the nature of the “call” with regards to the basic pastoral team that comprises of church members (162-69). Chapter 9 focuses on the “reminder that a basic theological orientation does ground pastoral practice, and that the practice also, in turn shapes theology” (175). It includes a brief overview of collaboration, starting with the early church, then through the Middle Ages, and followed by the Modern Era (177-85). It continues with a focus on the collaborative practices of today: responsible leadership, serving the community, and animating for mission (185-90). Chapter 10 focuses on the editors reflections on how collaboration “might be pursued in ordinary pastoral situations” (195). This includes the manner in which to listen, inviting all to participate in the discussion, and most importantly, that everyone just “talks!”
The book’s aims as well as those of each chapter are unpacked in a thorough and engaging way, inviting the reader along the ten-year INSPIRE journey of collaborative parish leadership practices within a Roman Catholic Church context. The engagement with secular models such as Organizational Development, incorporation of spiritual disciplines such as prayer, setting up of personal and team goals, invitation for all to talk as well as be listened to, valuing of contributions by both laity and clergy, depiction of pastoral challenges and opportunities, discernment of the interplay between praxis and theory, and the ongoing shaping of theology, all of which contribute to the discussion of the church as a community on a mission. The various authors succeed in drawing this Protestant, neo-Pentecostal scholar into their experiences and reflections, which inspired him to consider these within his own context – the very reason why this book comes highly recommended for all who find themselves in pastoral leadership of any kind.
Shaun Joynt is a postdoctoral fellow in practical theology at North-West University.
Shaun Joynt
Date Of Review:
July 5, 2017