Baptism calls all to Christian leadership

Published: October 6, 2018

By Judy Hoelzeman
St. Edward Church, Little Rock

In August, a Pennsylvania Grand Jury released a report addressing sexual abuse in several Pennsylvania dioceses.

Shortly after, Pope Francis wrote a long letter to “the People of God” addressing the “spiritual corruption” of sex abuse. He wrote about the ongoing efforts of the Church to fight this tragedy. And then he said: “Together with these efforts, every one of the baptized should feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need.”

In challenging all of us to help bring about change, the pope is emphasizing a truth that is not widely understood: that each one of us was called to some kind of Christian leadership on the day of our baptism. The Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle once remarked that it’s not enough to know God from “hearsay.” If we want to do our part, not only in this crisis, but in daily life, we will first root ourselves firmly in an intimate relationship with Jesus. 

When he received his call from God to be a prophet, Jeremiah didn’t think he could do it. He argued with God and said, “Ah, Lord God! … I do not know how to speak. I am too young!” (Jeremiah1:6)

God tells Jeremiah not to be afraid, “for I am with you to rescue you.” And later in the book of Jeremiah, God is portrayed as a potter shaping the clay (us) on the wheel until it is as fine as God wants it to be. (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

God’s message to Jeremiah should reassure us and challenge us to “own” our call as lay people. God wants to mold our human clay (both strengths and failings) into the Christian leaders he wants us to be.

God will do the shaping; all we have to do is remain pliable. The best way to do that is to pray. It doesn’t have to be formal; we just have to make ourselves available to listen to God. As we become quiet and listen, our relationship with God will grow. It will become the basis for our decisions and behavior, for the words and help we may offer others.

When we tune in to God’s voice consistently we gain the courage to face, and perhaps help address, the terribly painful problems we face today.

What do Christian leaders look like? First, they are sincere. They don’t try to cover flaws, or to be someone they are not. Supportive leaders do not make excuses or resort to platitudes that insist everything is going to be all right. No one can say that because no one knows that.

The best leaders try to remain present with others through their struggles, while knowing they don’t have the answers for others.

And real leaders are aware of their own God-given inner goodness. Leaders help others believe that they are good, too.

Pope Francis has asked us to be involved in the efforts of the Church to address this horrible scandal. We can begin by consciously giving ourselves to God in prayer, asking God to transform shortcomings into life-giving strengths.

Our reward will be more inner peace, along with a clearer appreciation of our Christian calling. The Church’s reward will be authentic, bold leaders molded and shaped by God, leaders who know God more than just from hearsay.

This article was originally published in Arkansas Catholic October 6, 2018. Copyright Diocese of Little Rock. All rights reserved. This article may be copied or redistributed with acknowledgement and permission of the publisher.