"This book should be read by every bishop, every vocation director, every member of every seminary staff, every person involved in the recruitment, formation and evaluation of ministers of every kind, and any and every individual who has ever written or lectured or just 'sounded off' on the so-called vocations crisis. When the Lilly Endowment initially funded this important project, it suggested that it be 'practical, realistic and helpful'. This book meets all three requirements. And more." [Richard P. McBrien].

The administration of Pre K – 12 Catholic schools becomes more challenging each year. Catholic school leaders not only have the daunting task of leading a successful learning organization, but also to serve as the school community’s spiritual leader and the vigilant steward who keeps the budget balanced, the building clean, and maintaining a healthy enrollment in the school. Each of these tasks can be a full time job, yet the Catholic school principal takes on these tasks day after day, year after year, so that teachers may teach as Jesus did. The goal of this book is to provide both beginning and seasoned Catholic school leaders with some insights that might help them to meet these challenges with a sense of confidence. The words in this text provide research?based approaches for dealing with issues of practice, especially those tasks that are not ordinarily taught in educational leadership programs. This text helps to make sense of the pastoral side of Catholic education, in terms of structures, mission, identity, curriculum, and relationships with the principal’s varied constituencies. It also provides some insights into enrollment management issues, finances and development, and the day in day out care of the organization and its home, the school building. As a Catholic school leader, each must remember that the Catholic school is not just another educational option. The Catholic school has a rich history and an important mission. Historically, education of the young goes back to the monastic and cathedral schools of the Middle Ages. In the United States, Catholic schools developed as a response to anti?Catholic bias that was rampant during the nineteenth century. Catholic schools developed to move their immigrant and first generation American youth from the Catholic ghetto to successful careers and lives in the American mainstream. However, most importantly, Catholic schools have brought Christ to generations of youngsters. It remains the continuing call of the Catholic school to be a center of Evangelization—a place where Gospel values live in the lives of faculty, students and parents. This text attempts to integrate the unique challenges of the instructional leader of the institution with the historical and theological underpinnings of contemporary Catholic education.

Follow the Path of the Greatest Leader of All Time Each of us is not only called to be a leader, but we are all leaders by default -- whether we like it or not. How effective are you at making a positive impact on the people around you? Discover the power of Christ's personal and practical example, and make a measurable difference in the lives of those around you -- at home, at work, in the community, or in your parish. Transform your leadership style in light of Jesus' compelling combination of servant, steward, shepherd. Whom do you influence in big or small ways? How will you be remembered? What is your legacy? What is the source of true power and influence over others? How do you fit into Christ's mission and message for the world? "Its purpose is not to revise the principles we present in the Lead Like Jesus movement, but only to enhance them for a particular audience. I am pleased that we have found a member of the Lead Like Jesus movement who is a Catholic family man to step up and take on this task." -- Ken Blanchard, entrepreneur, speaker, and co-author of Lead Like Jesus and The One-Minute Manager

From the age of fourteen until his death at the age of eighty-two, Pope John XXIII kept what he called his 'Journal of a Soul' - the record of his growth in holiness. Elected Pope at the age of seventy-eight he impressed the world with the breadth of his mind but also with his simplicity and his will to be at the service of others. This book covers the full span of his long career from the seminary at Bergamo to his brief but transformative papacy.His journal is a rare and intimate record of the spiritual life of a much-loved figure. As he wrote, 'my soul is in these pages.'

Contemporary Catholic education is of critical importance to communities and the Church as a whole, and what follows from this is that good leadership within Catholic schools is crucial.Leading Catholic Schools has two main purposes in mind. The first is to guide the professional learning and development of aspiring leaders and to encourage teachers to consider movement into leadership positions.The second is to unite Catholic schools around a vision of agreed leadership practices - 'the standards' - and to provide a foundation for formalised assessment against these practices.This book looks briefly at the story of Catholic schools in Australia. In the process of doing so it explores secularisation, culture, community, and charism and identity, before re-examining the mission of Catholicschools and leadership. Servant leadership is explained and explored in detail, as is the very important topic of formation for leadership.Leading Catholic Schools is a book that will equip you and your community with the tools to ensure the most effective Catholic school education. It is a contemporary approach guided by both history, life, andeducation in the modern world, and the resources available to the Church in its mission to educate. Above all, it is a scholarly approach grounded in the earliest teachings of the Church.

During the first decade of the 21st century the Catholic Church in the developed world has faced a decline in its moral authority, increasing accusations of irrelevance to a secular age, and a steep and steady decline in commitment among successive generations from the 1960s on. Despite this Catholic schools have multiplied and grown in popularity and educational achievement. The book sets out a programme for the contribution of Catholic schools to the future of the Church, covering such topics as the religious education curriculum in its cognitive and affective aspects, the sacramental life of the school, selection of staff, the issue of staff and Catholic witness and many other topics. Engebretson argues that Catholic schools are a powerful key to the future of the Church and shows how, within their diversity, Catholic schools can be ecclesial communities, which have at their heart the building up of the Church.

One of the world’s foremost religion journalists offers an unexpected and provocative look at where the Catholic Church is headed—and what the changes will mean for all of us. What will the Catholic Church be like in 100 years? Will there be a woman pope? Will dioceses throughout the United States and the rest of the world go bankrupt from years of scandal? In THE FUTURE CHURCH, John L. Allen puts forth the ten trends he believes will transform the Church into the twenty-second century. From the influence of Catholics in Africa, Asia, and Latin America on doctrine and practices to the impact of multinational organizations on local and ethical standards, Allen delves into the impact of globalization on the Roman Catholic Church and argues that it must rethink fundamental issues, policies, and ways of doing business. Allen shows that over the next century, the Church will have to respond to changes within the institution itself and in the world as a whole whether it is contending with biotechnical advances—including cloning and genetic enhancement—the aging Catholic population, or expanding the roles of the laity. Like Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat, THE FUTURE CHURCH establishes a new framework for meeting the challenges of a changing world.