Principled Ministry

Description

Thirty years of prominence in the promotion and development of effective Church leadership culminate in this latest book by Loughlan Sofield, S.T., and Carroll Juliano, S.H.C.J. More than a “how-to” leadership guide, Principled Ministry: A Guidebook for Catholic Church Leaders offers real-life examples of principled ministers who are serving the Catholic Church and invites readers to incorporate these disciplines into their own leadership style. Expanding on The Collaborative Leader, their foundational work on collaborative ministry, these bestselling authors offer thirty principles for effective, spiritually healthy, mission-focused ministry. These disciplines include: •Set boundaries. •Facilitate, don’t dominate. •Think developmentally. •Be comfortable with conflict. •Avoid ambiguity. Sofield and Juliano present real-world stories, compelling commentary, and follow-up exercises that reinforce and help the reader apply what has been learned. Arranged into five chapters, the principles are explored in light of the best servant-leadership theory and praxis and situated within a variety of contexts and ministerial settings in the Catholic Church. An ancillary workbook, available for free download, helps both the apprentice and well-seasoned Church leader immediately apply the lessons and incorporate the disciplines presented in this eminently practical and vitally needed book.

Authors

Brother Loughlan Sofield, S.T., is a member of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. He served as the director of the Missionary Servant Center for Collaborative Ministry; director of the Washington Archdiocesan Consultation and Counseling Center; and assistant director of the Center for Religion and Psychiatry, Washington, DC. Sofield has worked as a speaker and consultant in more than three hundred dioceses on six continents and served on the faculty of or lectured at many colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. Sofield is senior editor of Human Development magazine, has published numerous articles on ministry, and is coauthor of several books. His awards include the Lumen Gentium, conferred by the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development on an individual “who has implemented the direction and goals of the Second Vatican Council in an extraordinary manner” and the National Association of Lay Ministry’s Gaudium et Spes award, presented to one who has “evidence to the vision of Church articulated in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and who in a special way has advocated and fostered the enhanced role of laity.”

Carroll Juliano, S.H.C.J., is a member of the Leadership Team of the American Province of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus. Juliano is an award-winning author and conducts workshops throughout the world. She served as an advisor and consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Women in Society and in the Church. She is the coauthor with Brother Loughlan Sofield, S.T., of several leading books on collaborative leadership.

Endorsement

“This is the resource that has been missing in formation programs for lay and ordained ministers in the Catholic Church. Leaders in a variety of settings will turn to this resource again and again. Thank you, Br. Sofield and Sr. Juliano, Principled Ministry will raise the bar for effective Church leadership!”
Celeste Mueller, D.Min., Director of the Vocare Center, Aquinas Institute of Theology