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IN PRINT: BOOK REVIEW Edited by Carole Ganim Reviewed by William Pickett, author of A Concise Guide to Pastoral Planning (Ave Maria Pess, 2008). He served as Rochester diocesan director of Pastoral Planning from 1997 to 2006.
The interviews tell the story of twenty pastoral leaders as they work to respond to the changing reality of U. S. Catholic parishes. They were selected from among the hundreds of pastoral leaders who attended eight regional symposia at which pastoral leaders shared their experiences of pastoral leadership and thought together about the emerging models of and future requirements for effective church leadership. Participants in the symposia were selected by dioceses. This was the first time in the contemporary American church that grassroots pastoral leaders gathered regionally to share their stories. Ganim followed up with telephone interviews. Most interviews took place over the course of several conversations. Each is rich with the details of the local situation. I was impressed with Ganim’s ability to maintain the voice of each of her subjects. The case studies are organized into categories based on five marks of excellent pastoral leadership: it is welcoming, collaborative, ethical, pastoral, and prophetic. Identified early in the project, these marks provide a helpful structure for this report. As Ganim cautions in the introduction, and as becomes clear on reading the case studies, these categories are not mutually exclusive. One might easily place each case study in two or more categories. This points up an important lesson: excellent leadership tends to be holistic, integrated, and representative of all five marks. The twenty interviews included here reflect great diversity in terms of “region, gender, function, ethnicity, age, and other [characteristics] in an effort to fairly represent the spectrum of parish ministry throughout the country.” However, it is important for the reader to realize that this is not and was not intended to be representative of overall parish ministry. These are the success stories based on the five marks of excellence and thus stand as realistic ideals for emulation rather than an accurate reflection of the way in which leadership is exercised in a typical American parish. The important understanding is that such leadership could be the norm for the typical parish. If it is possible in these twenty, why not in all parishes? In addition to the case studies, Ganim has wisely included three short chapters of analysis, one each by a theologian, a sociologist, and a psychologist. All three are helpful and are based on their reading of the case studies. Personally I found the psychological analysis by Dominican Sister Donna Markham to be most helpful. I was especially struck by her observation that the psychological health of the leader is central to any effective transformative leadership. No amount of structure, education, preparation—not even “new models”—will achieve the intended results if the leader’s own emotional state is dysfunctional and thus toxic for the entire organization. This is important to remember since the case studies are success stories. There are surely at least a few parish life coordinators who do not exhibit these marks of excellence, but by definition they would not be included here. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that simply changing the sex or vocational status of the leader will not necessarily result in excellent leadership. In addition to its contribution to the overall project, this book makes another important contribution to an understanding of the contemporary American church. Belying its public perception as a highly centralized organization, the American church makes little effective effort to collect and disseminate information about pastoral practice and structures in local dioceses and parishes. The annual diocesan reports submitted to the Official Catholic Directory focus on counts of people and are not easily accessible for more sophisticated analysis. The Center for Advanced Research in the Apostolate (CARA) has labored, quite effectively, to fill this gap. It is due to its work that we have some idea of the extent of implementation of new models. This book is part of that important effort by providing flesh and blood to this statistical skeleton. If we are to deal with the American church as it really is, we need more of both. Finally this book will be valuable to all those who work to assist the church respond to change in a healthy and coherent fashion. For all of us, change is constant, necessary for life, and often frightening. Change bids us go where we have not been. It helps to have stories about those who have gone there and not only survived but thrived. No matter the situation, at least one of these stories can provide that needed perspective. Anyone who reads and uses this book will look forward to the other volumes in this series.
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This is the first of several planned publications reporting on Lilly Endowment-funded Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership project, a joint effort of the National Association for Lay Ministry, Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development, National Association of Church Personnel Administrators, National Association of Diaconate Directors, National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association, and National Federation of Priests Councils. Carole Ganim conducted and documented the twenty interviews that make up the bulk of the book, and edited the entire volume.
