Leadership in Religious Life

Part 1

Abstract

Leadership in religious life is a vocation and a journey rather than an administrative occupation. Religious leadership, therefore, demands spiritual formation. The nature of the spirituality of religious leadership differs according to the kind community that one is entrusted with. Religious leadership should emerge out of an encounter with the divine reality. Leading a religious community requires great sensitivity as well as a skill to see God in action in the life of individuals. The purpose of religious leadership is to ensure a continued commitment to the religious life among its members. It is possible to give guidance in a religious community only on the basis of an unshakable trust in God’s guidance. Leaders must entrust persons entrusted to them to the guidance of God and to their own spiritual expedition.