Preventing Turf Wars 

Everything you do has as its goal putting people into intimate communion with Jesus. Think about what that means for a moment. It means that you may not have to worry as much that people know enough, attend enough sessions, fill out the proper forms, say the right words, do the right things, or follow all the instructions. All these things are important, but none of them is the goal. At the end of the day, if the catechetical ministry of the parish has put people in touch with Jesus, you have done your job.

So how do you do that? How do you put people in touch with Jesus every day? The first thing you have to do is get help. Catechesis cannot be a "Lone Ranger" ministry. You are going to need the help of the pastor, the liturgy planning team, the music ministry, the youth ministry, the parish school -- all the ministries in the parish. The way to get all these helpers on board is to continually hold up the vision of catechesis in the parish. Tell them as often and in as many ways as possible that your goal is to put people in touch with Jesus -- in communion and intimacy. Ask them, as often and in as many ways as you can think of, how they can imagine contributing to that goal.

Getting cooperation

Boundaries

Good ministerial boundaries are best set up by having written job descriptions. This is true even of volunteer ministers. Let’s imagine the youth minister and the liturgist engaged in a struggle over who plans the confirmation liturgy. If that task is set out in one or the other’s job description, there could be little dispute about whose job it is. Another example might be a struggle between the DRE and the school principal about what first communion preparation program should be used by the children of the parish. A clear description of who is responsible for that decision could help avoid conflict. Or suppose the head communion minister took it upon herself to correct the way in which the teachers serve communion at a school Mass. Is that in her job description? If not, it would be easier to call her attention to the fact that she had crossed a boundary.

Good fences make for good neighbors and good boundaries can make for good ministry.

Competency

And that is the key to understanding competency. Competency is not first of all about academic training. It is about the ability of the minister to put people in touch with Jesus. A music minister will do that through liturgical music, a liturgist through ritual prayer, a principal through teaching and administration, etc. Each of these ministers needs to be skilled and trained in his or her job in order to put people in touch with Jesus through that ministry. However, a musician can be a talented pianist but fail to bring people into intimate communion with Jesus. Competency for ministry is not just about how well a minister can perform the technical aspects of what is listed in the job description.

That does not mean, however, that proficiency at the required skills is unimportant. An interesting thing happens when a minister has a little -- but not enough -- training in his or her area. Undertrained ministers tend to be more defensive about what little they do know and tend to see "constructive criticism" as a threat to themselves. Well-trained ministers, on the other hand, are confident in their abilities and can take criticism for what it is and not as a personal affront.

Let’s suppose the DRE in the parish has done post-graduate study, has worked in parishes for 20 years, has served on the boards of several diocesan and national organizations, and has a working knowledge of all the catechetical documents relevant to parish ministry. In the same parish, the newly hired liturgist has served on the liturgy committee "forever," has been to the Los Angeles Liturgy Conference twice, has taken several of the liturgy courses in the diocesan lay ministry training program, and has a bachelor’s degree in computer science. After a somewhat bumpy rite of acceptance into the order of catechumens, the DRE suggests at the next staff meeting that some time be set aside to evaluate the liturgy. Turf-ism begins to rear its head. It is not in the DRE's job description to evaluate the liturgy, and the liturgist, who must know things did not go well, feels threatened because he does not know why the liturgy did not go well.

Several things can happen in this example to avoid turf-ism, but the first is to take on a loving, gracious attitude. The DRE, in this example, is clearly the person who knows what should have been done and what did not work. The first question she needs to ask is: Did the rite put people in touch with Jesus? Liturgy, like most ministries of the church, is somewhat indestructible. No matter how badly we mess it up, the assembly still seems to find a way to pray. So, while the DRE may hope for better things next time, she can begin by acknowledging what worked. By staying within her own boundaries and focusing on the positive, the DRE can begin to build a trust relationship with the liturgist. It may take a year or more; however, that is the primary aim of catechesis -- to put people in relationship with Jesus. Nothing is more important. Then, once a secure relationship is established, the DRE might be able to serve as a mentor to the new liturgist, guiding him to the proper coursework, commentaries, and concepts about liturgy.

Creative tension

Dealing with discouragement

My final suggestion is to pick your battles. Sometimes people can get into turf wars over insignificant issues. If you get stuck, ask yourself how important the issue is to you. Are you just defending your turf on "principle"? Even if it is an important issue, can you let go of it this time and hope for a better resolution next time? Will more people be touched by Jesus if you stand firm than if you turn the other cheek?

What works?