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By Dan R Ebener Yeshua Fellow Editor’s Note: This is the sixth in a series of articles by Dan Ebener on leadership in the Catholic Church. They are excerpts from his latest book, Pastoral Leadership: How to Lead in a Catholic Parish. Mindfulness is thinking about our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Mindfulness helps us to capture the moment, be aware of our thoughts and conscious of the activity in our brains. We are reminded to awaken mindfully, walk mindfully, pray mindfully, pause mindfully and wait mindfully. When leading others, mindfulness helps us to listen intently and empathetically to what the...

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Not all bullies are angry thugs reeking of attitude. Some can come across like Will Ferrell as an oversize cheerleader just bursting with enthusiasm. Wait, I thought enthusiasm is a good thing. Often – maybe even usually – it is. But not always, as Kate Nasser notes. She points out eight examples of how enthusiasm can turn into bullying. Fortunately, she also has three great suggestions for leaders who really want to lead like Jesus. In fairness, she doesn’t bring Jesus into the conversation. But given her suggestions, she certainly could. Jesus-like Leaders will want to see what she has to...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute As I write this, I’m quarantined not in my house but in a part of my house. My wife got notice two nights ago that she had been exposed two days earlier to a person who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. Crazy irony It’s a crazy irony. The person who tested positive to whom she was exposed is her physical therapist. That’s right. Dear wife Jane went to the PT’s facility to get therapy for her ailing shoulder and arm. The two were interacting for an extended period of time so that my wife could regain her health, not lose it. C&r...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute As I sit down to compose and compile this edition of The Catholic Leader, we find ourselves and our whole world amuck in uncertainty. On a global scale, there has been nothing remotely like this in any of our lifetimes. The stock market is trying to claw its way back from a 900-point drop Monday. Also on Monday, the nation’s confirmed Covid-19 cases hit a record daily high of 69,967 on a seven-day average, breaking the prior record set Sunday – and reflecting a roughly 20 percent increase compared to a week ago. Russia has seen a second surge in C...

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By Dan R Ebener Yeshua Institute Fellow Relationships are the stuff of leadership. A congregation is a web of relationships. To practice the people skills needed for leadership, ask yourself: What kind of a human being do I need to become… so that I can practice leadership? As Catholics, we are committed to inner change. Jesus calls us to form our hearts out of His love (Luke 10:27). Ashes during Lent are but one example of how we acknowledge that we are committed to change our hearts, our minds and ourselves to become better human beings. Research shows that we can become compassionate communicators ...

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By Owen Phelps, Ph.D. Director, Yeshua Institute Surely John Quinlan is spinning in his grave. John was the general manager of our publishing company in Denmark, WI, back in the 1970s and 80s. John had a gruff exterior. Very gruff. Although, fortunately, it was mostly an act. Mostly. But there’s no denying one thing about John’s management style: He wanted to keep an eye on everybody. When we moved into remodeled office space, John put his desk at the head of the office, looking out – and down, we thought – on everyone. We could all see him. And he could see all of us. In John&r...

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By Dr. Dan R. Ebener Yeshua Institute Fellow Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles by Dan Ebener on leadership in the Catholic Church. They are excerpts from his latest book, Pastoral Leadership: How to Lead in a Catholic Parish. * * * Pastoral leadership is a vocation. Anyone can be called to leadership. It is part of what Lumen Gentium called “the universal call to holiness,” a phrase quoted by our last seven popes. Recognizing this universal call raises the hope that the challenges of leadership can be embraced by clergy and laity – and that change will happen i...

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Steve McKee, author of When Growth Stalls and Power Branding, speaks to the huge difference between two similar words – and to the importance of fostering one of them in every organizational setting from family to global corporation. The two words are “consensus” and “contentious,” which sound similar and have a few things in common. Both come from Latin. Both are directions to which conflict can head. They both begin with "con" (Latin for “with”) and end in “us.” But what points to their differences is what comes in the middle. Consensus embraces &ldquo...

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As you may know, the pope traditionally announces a special prayer intention for each month of the year. For October, long observed as “Missionary Month,” Pope Francis has asked everyone to pray “that women be given greater leadership roles in the church.” And to highlight this intention, he has released a short video, that runs just over a minute in length. The video is a collaboration with the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. It highlights the role of the laity, whom Pope Francis considers “true protagonists in the proclamation of the Gospel.” Confronting a problem ...

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By David Coe Facilitator, Yeshua Institute After relocating to the mountains of Western North Carolina from Florida and before GPS systems became available, I was confused about how to get from point A to B. I needed directions. When I asked, the answer was, “You can’t get there from here.” Humorous? Perhaps. Frustrating? Yes. Today, all one needs is a smart phone, the proper application (“app”), an address and off you go with a guide to give you directions, assuring that you’ll arrive where and when you need to be. Despite the good news about simple geographic direct...

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