Leading from a Place of Encounter

The ‘burning bush’ moment

As Catholic leaders, our calling is to drive renewal and transform lives from a place of intimacy with God. Short of that, we're just doing good things as good people with good intentions.

But we're called to WAY more than simply being “good people”!

We’ve been called to impact and influence the world around us, and show the love of Jesus to people who are desperately in need of him, and that really does start with our own encounter stories!

So what do I mean by ‘encounter story’?

Your encounter story really is your ‘place of the burning bush’; or your ‘on the Road to Damascus getting knocked off a horse’ moment.

For many of us as “cradle Catholics,” we've just grown up gradually in faithful families, and that's amazing!

Yet, at some point, there is likely a place and time when you know for yourself that you were closer to God than ever before. If you can't articulate that moment, it’s going to be problematic for your leadership.

Why? Because your encounter with Jesus is transformative and contagious!

And if you lose sight of that in the midst of the busyness and whirlwind of ministry, your impact as a leader is going to be affected.

What I often see us doing as leaders in the church whether with clergy or lay leaders–is that we lose touch with those moments of encounter, and we start functioning more like a ‘professional Christian’, rather than someone who is passionate about their calling.

I don’t know about you, but that is far less motivating and inspiring to me!

And it's certainly not going to lead to Parish renewal.

So ask yourself - when was that time in your life when you felt closest to God?

Intimacy with God; intimacy with others

The reality is, Parish renewal is relational, not linear. It’s about building depth based around trust and love. That's what changes lives. That's what's changing the church. That's what will change your Parish. It's building that intimacy and trust – that love!

And if we're building on anything other than our encounter with Jesus Christ, I think it’s very easy to start losing sight of the main reason we felt called to this mission in the first place.

That’s why I never grow tired of hearing people's stories; I never grow tired of watching someone tell their story, because I see the shift as they realize that their story has power, and it's making a difference.

Our faith isn’t meant to be about following a set of rules or completing a weekly task list; it's about an encounter with the person of Jesus!

And when you can dust that story off and bring it to life again, it gives you purpose, passion, and power. It invites people to get a glimpse of your heart, and why you believe so much in what you’re doing!

Building trust and leading from the heart

It’s easy to try and rush this process of trust-building and sharing your heart. After all, we’re all working toward the same thing, so everybody should just get on board, right?

But oftentimes we don't first stop to find that common ground. We start from a place of, “We should do this; you should do that.”

What if, instead, we stopped and took the time to unpack who you are and who I am? What if we understood each other’s heart, rather than just seeing actions without context?

When we get to the ‘why’, it's usually profound and beautiful, and you can’t argue with that. It's a generous display of intimacy and vulnerability, and we can build up from that common ground!

We can get caught up in the details of our opinions and perspectives, but when we bring that lower–when we go further down to the core of who you are and who I am–then we can build up from a common ground.

So often we take good ideas, programs, best practices and everything else, and we just try to implement them right away; but trust takes time! It's an investment, and it's risky.

But trying to bring about Parish transformation without trust is impossible.

Trust and intimacy are really the essence of transformation.

When we have these, even in the midst of disagreement, we’re still able to go back to what we share in common!

Leadership is influence, not authority. Share your story!

Authority isn't the best form of leadership anymore; influence is!

And influence doesn’t come from our role or our job title; influence comes from a place of authenticity when the team around you understands who you are, and why you believe in the mission you’ve been called to.

So ask yourself this week: What is MY encounter story? What was the point where you felt the closest to Jesus, and the trajectory of your life shifted towards Him?

Spend some time thinking about it. And if you're frustrated and feeling like you really don't have one, pray about it! Continue to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the time in your life when you felt closest to Jesus.

Then go there and articulate it. Spend the time.

And once you’ve done that, ask someone on your team the same question: What was the moment in your life when you felt closest to God?

Wouldn't it be cool if it became normal in every Catholic church to share our encounter stories with one another?

Know your story! Not just your vocation story, but your encounter story.

And then share it with someone around you - there’s power in sharing your story!

__

This episode was adapted from Episode 82 of the Ron Huntley Leadership Podcast, 'How To: The Encounter Story’

Watch the full conversation on YouTube: How To: The Encounter Story | Ron Huntley Leadership Podcast #82