LEADERSHIP AND ITS FUNCTIONALITY
LEADERSHIP AND ITS FUNCTIONALITY
A talk delivered to the Church Wardens of Benin City Deanery, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Evbuabogun, on Sunday, 27th April, 2025
By
Prof. Sylvester Idemudia Odia, KSP
(Prof. of Epistemology and Philosophy of Culture, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Benin)
&
Founder/CEO Epistemic Concept
(https://epistemicconcept.com/wp; Tel: 08037192977; Email: sylvester.odia@uniben.edu )
Introduction:
There is deficiency of leadership skills and its functionality in the Church and in the society at large. There are a lot of managerial and leadership skills out there with different programs and trainings. Yet these have not impacted much on the leadership and functionality of the lay apostolic groups in the Church.
This talk adopts a scriptural perspective to the issue of leadership and its functionality. It will be reflecting on biblical parables to derive leadership skills from the perspective of Epistemic Magnetism and Mysticism as derived by The Epistemic Concept Online School (https://epistemicconcept.com/wp )
Deriving Leadership Skills:
- Jesus Christ the Ideal Leader: From Jesus Christ who is “God from God, light from light, true God from true God; begotten not made; consubstantial with the Father. Through Him all things were made”; and who was incarnate of the Blessed Virgin Mary and became man; who asked elders questions when he was 12 years old; who chose 12 Apostles to work with Him; who has no place to lay His head; who suffered under Pontius Pilate, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven; we learn (a) humility (b) simplicity (c) the zeal to acquire more knowledge and grow in wisdom (d) selfless sacrifice (e) obedience.
- From the Saints: we learn how to overcome genealogical and temperamental limitations and vices; and to grow in virtues especially the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, and the cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance (for details on Christian virtues you can click this link: Christian Virtues and their Corresponding Vices (PBS Benin, August 2024 Retreat) – Epistemic Concept )
- Faithfulness in little things: From the Parable of the Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave (Matt. 24: 45 – 51; Lk 12: 41 – 48) we learnt that there is reward for faithfulness and punishment for unfaithfulness. So, it is very important that you know and practice the rules governing the discharge of your duties as Church Wardens in the Church. If you know your duties and refuse to discharge them, you will receive several beatings. If you do not know your duties and you fail to do what is right, you will receive light or fewer beatings because ignorance is not an excuse. It is your duty to seek knowledge and do what is right. As a Church Warden always remember that to whom much is given, much is expected
Discharging Your Duties:
In the discharge of your duties of maintaining order at liturgical celebrations, efficient offertory collection, taking records of attendance, helping out during emergencies, you should be guided by the following parables:
- From the Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat (Matt. 13: 24 – 30), and the Parable of the Net and different Kinds of Fish (Matt. 13: 47 – 50) learn that the Church is primarily for saints and sinners who desire to be saints. However, there are agents of the forces of darkness (also known as antichrist) who also come to the Church, and some of them occupy some positions in the Church. It will not be out of place to say that some of these agents of darkness may be among you. To recognize them in the Church and quarantine them to prevent them from making some members lose faith in God, is a difficult task that we need a lot of wisdom to deal with. The perfect code given to us by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to detect them is this: “You will know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7: 15 – 16). Gal. 5: 22 -23 gives us 9 fruits of the Spirit: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Following the Latin Vulgate of the Galatians, the Catholic Church gave us in A Catechism of Christian Doctrine (page 55) 12 fruits of the Spirit: Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Benignity, Goodness, Longanimity, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Continency, Chastity.
- From the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matt. 22: 1 – 14) a dedicated Church Warden should be able to know regular communicants and persons who are in communion with the Church in his or her parish. This will guide him or her in choosing those who will carry the Eucharist Offering to the altar and who can receive Holy Communion. Just as “he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe,” so also you should be able to manage public sinners.
- From the Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Lk 16: 1 – 13) who knew that he is too lazy to work and too ashamed to beg, summoned his master’s debtors and reduced their debts by 50%, 20% and so on, some Church Wardens help themselves with moneys collected in the Church. Such a practice is dishonest. There is something better you can do to grow your finances: offer your selfless service as a Church Warden to God as a living sacrifice and humbly ask God to use it to bless the work of your hands. This article published in Veritas: a Catholic Newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, will be of help to you in this regard: Veritas July 2024 Edition: Sacrifice and the Magnetism of Good (Part Two) – Epistemic Concept . When properly understood and practiced, we will become as wise as the children of this generation.
Conclusion: To be a Church Warden in the Catholic Church is a privilege. We should continue to offer our time and sacrifice to God for our needs and those of our families, and God will surely answer our prayers. We should grow in wisdom and knowledge of the Church and resist the temptation to help ourselves from Church collections. Helping ourselves with Church collections turns God’s blessings away from us. May St. Joseph, the Protector of the Church, intercede for us now and always. Amen!