A Vision for the 21st Century Priest

Ordained ministry has often in the past been a one-man band, and overly authoritarian. In reaction to that many clergy have lost the confidence to lead. What is needed is a vision of leadership which is Christlike both in its vision of what God can do through his chosen priests and in its willing acceptance of the servant role. The task of the ordained leader is a collaborative one, and is not a usurping, but an enabling one. The leader aims to bring the best out of those who are led; the service of leadership consists partly in provoking others to growth and movement in areas they had denied or passed by.
The ordained leader will act, in a critical and self-critical way, open to the ideas and corrections of others. It is this aspect which is often absent in the understanding of collaborative leadership. The ordained leader's role will change as the collaborative nature of ministry becomes more of a reality, for its shape will inevitably by modified as new members are included and as different people move off and others join in.
The ordained leader is a wounded healer, a sinful minister. It is sometimes the priest's task to disabuse the congregation of misplaced ideas of priestly holiness. Holiness at this level is never to be confused with perfection. The priest's self-understanding is in key ways founded in the gospel of love and redemption. His or her own security and self-awareness, and the confidence to face the truths of self-knowledge, come from the love of God, the redemption Christ offers, and the empowering of broken humanity which the Holy Spirit brings.