The Spirituality of Catholic School Leadership Part One: Being a Leader Who Leads

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“We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.” – The Romero Prayer
Editor’s Note: The material insight in this document and subsequent webinar/workshop presentations are attributed to Ken R. Rasp as a strategic partner with Catholic Vitality 360.
The New Frontier of Catholic School Leadership
By every measure, both quantitative and qualitative, existing within this immediate post-Covid era, Catholic schools are consistently viewed as essential and relevant to the evangelistic mission of the Catholic Church and contribute greatly to the educational and social good of our communities.
Although religious orders still figure well within the life and charism of many Catholic schools, gone are the days of a reliable conduit of nuns, brothers and clergy to provide for the administration of these valued institutions.
This formidable challenge is also intensified by the growing difficulty in finding and retaining practicing Catholics to fill leadership positions in Catholic schools, which remains diocesan policy and a requirement for administrative ministry.
Thus, with growing competition in the educational marketplace, rising costs, parental demands and the need for enrollment growth, the new frontier of Catholic school leadership requires a strong, collaborative, spiritual leader. This leader must understand finances, fundraising, academic rigor, marketing, facilities, human resources, and legal policy and technology; all while cultivating a culture of inclusion, cooperation, and sustainable vitality.
A Leader Who Leads
Having served at all levels of Catholic education, from colleges and universities to elementary and high schools for over 40 years, Ken Rasp has certainly thrived as a spiritual, collaborative and academic leader. While serving as President of Muskegon Catholic Central in Muskegon, MI, during the tumultuous uncertainty of Covid, he was called upon by a school parent to “be a leader who leads.” Taken aback by the audacious spirit of this imposing stipulation, Ken became reflective and began writing and sharing his position on visionary Catholic school leadership. What follows are his inspired thoughts.
Leadership & Spirituality
According to Ken Rasp: Leadership is a positive and creative influence on (and is a service to) others, which focuses on developing their God-given potentials and gifts provided to benefit the community of man. Vital to being a leader is the focus is on others—not on one’s self, and essential is the focus is helping others develop their God-given talents. A leader is someone who:
Takes the initiative to make things happen for a group or organization
Holds a position of importance – given or earned
Provides vision and clarity of purpose
Commands attention and upholds high standards
Drives the group toward achieving their goals and vision
Inspires respect and calls others to perform at their best
Nurtures and allows others to follow with obedience and loyalty.
Spirituality, by way of definition, is the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. In the Catholic Church, spirituality is about building a relationship with God and is a life-long process of transformation and conversion. It's about how Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. Here are some key aspects:
Engagement with God: Christian spirituality is engagement with God as God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. It's about one's connection with and commitment to ways of engaging transcendence.
Love and Value: Love for those who seem the most unlovable is part of what makes up Christian spirituality. If you believe that everyone is a child of God, we are all intrinsically valuable.
Prayer: The primary prayer of all Catholics is the Eucharistic liturgy in which they celebrate and share their faith together. In the Catholic Church, the laity are encouraged to pray daily the canonical hours contained in the Liturgy of the Hours.
Seven Practices of Effective Catholic School Leaders
Every Catholic has the potential to be a leader or to become a better one. Your Christian duty is to exert more loving influence over others so that you can totally penetrate and transform the world. Here are the seven practices of effective Catholic school leaders:
Practice #1: The effective leader has a disciplined prayer life
Practice #2: The effective leader has a clear mission as a Christian
Practice #3: The effective leader sees himself as God sees him
Practice #4: The effective leader loves to empower others
Practice #5: The effective leader evangelizes without fear and promotes Catholic culture with integrity
Practice #6: The effective leader knows that a mature faith is lively, explicit and bears fruit
Practice #7: The effective leader has a special relationship with the Blessed Mother, Mary
Ken’s Simple Guide To Perfection
Putting this all together, striving to be an effective Catholic school leader and a person of high moral integrity, here are some ways to proceed, as Ken’s simple guide to perfection:
Just make a difference!
No excuses!
Accept it, own it and step into it
Turn left!
Listen intently and with heart!
Yes, Lord!
Express Gratitude!
After falling - get up!
Lead with integrity and as a servant.
Remember: you are a Gift from God.
Pray every day, sing God’s praises, and listen for His call.
Read the scriptures and other spiritually enlightening books.
Live simply and with the radicality of purpose.
No Panic, no gossip, expect a miracle!
Choose to be a grace bearer and peace sharer.
Maintain openness to an ever-present God.
We Can Help
At Catholic Vitality 360, it is our ministry to serve your needs. Our mission is your vitality. All of the processes we share in our writings, videos and Zoomcast, THE CIRCLE are available to you. You are not alone in this work and we are happy to help. We consider you and your parish/school a vitality partner with us as we navigate building the Kingdom of God. Our proven approach will provide clarity, a working plan and a proven system that produces impressive results and engages more people in the life of the parish/school.
Engage others, share this dynamic vision, create a collaborative team and build ongoing vitality.
This will take time, patience, persistence, perseverance and PRAYER.
Do not fear, we walk in Faith and this is God’s work. 
Be Good and Do Good.
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