LEADERSHIP

The Holy Scriptures inform us that God calls and anoints certain members of His Church with various gifts and ministries. Read carefully Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, and Ephesians 4:8-16 for lists of these gifts and ministries. Typically you can identify when someone has a gift and calling to a particular ministry because they will be motivated from within themselves by the Holy Spirit who is calling them to serve, or teach, or give, or whatever their gift is. The priest must discern the gifts within his members and guide them to fulfill their calling.

The Parish Council members will serve the church by supporting the vision of the priest who is informed by Holy Tradition and Scripture as to the content of church ministries. Each Parish Council member can and should discern their own gifts, with the help of their priest, and be diligent to pursue the fulfillment of their place in the Body of Christ. The danger for the church is when the Parish Council devolves into a committee that assumes it must agree on every little detail before ministries can be launched. Because people possess different gifts and callings, and bring different experiences and temperaments to the table, they will be hard-pressed to agree completely with 11 other people on anything. Ideally, in my opinion, the priest will provide direction, and the Parish Council will seek ways to implement the vision. This is how the Parish Council will lead the entire congregation to do God's will.