Youth learn that leadership flows
from being obedient to Christ

By Brandon A. Evans

One of the focal points of the Catholic Leadership Conference, held from June 13-17 at Marian College in Indianapolis, was to teach youth how to be followers of Christ.

About 30 high school youth turned out for the annual conference, which seeks to help them learn how to be leaders not only among their peers but also in parish life in general.

In explaining leadership in Church life, Father Robert Robeson, director of the archdiocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, said that the leadership of those in the parish flows from the leadership of a pastor or parish life coordinator, whose leadership flows from the archbishop.

The authority of the archbishop, as successor to the Apostles, flows from Christ—and the authority of the chief of the Apostles, the pope, successor to Peter, also flows from Christ.

It is in obedience to Christ through the Church and its structures of leadership that true success is found, Father Robeson said.

To illustrate his point, he showed the young people a clip from the movie Remember the Titans.

The clip featured actor Denzel Washington, playing the part of a football coach for a high school team, confronting a star player who had his own plans for the team.

The coach, who is loading the players onto a bus leaving for training camp, tells the player that if he gets on the bus, it is going to be under the coach’s authority as a father figure.

“Who’s your daddy?” Washington asks him. In the end, the young man abandons his rebelliousness and becomes a better player for it.

“It’s much the same way in the Church,” Father Robeson said. “If we are to become the people that God made us to be, we have to submit.

“The Church is our coach, in a sense, and the Church teaches us, and we have to conform our lives to what the Church teaches.”

And what the Church teaches, he said, is Jesus Christ, who is the chief teacher.

“If we get on that bus, as Catholics,” he said, “if we get on that bus to heaven, we live according to what our teacher says.”

Good leaders, he said, also listen to those under their authority, as pastors should do.

Catholics bring their own gifts to the table through the various commissions and councils of a parish, he said.

“Lay people are important in running a parish,” he said. “A good pastor listens to the commissions. A good pastor listens to the wisdom of the people in the parish.”

To help the youth learn about real parish situations, he divided them into four groups, each of which were given a specific scenario. Each person in the group was given a specific role to play.

For example, one group was given a situation in which an imaginary parish school desired to expand its program for teaching the Catholic faith.

The youth had to play the parts of a youth minister, a vice principal, a priest chaplain, a teacher and varying grades of students. They then had to work together to come up with a plan of action to recommend to the principal.

Together, they discussed the possibility of an apologetics course, teachings on chastity, a class on world religions, a yearly class retreat and other ideas.

The weeklong conference was also host to many other activities, such as youth-planned liturgies, shared meals, “breakout” sessions on Catholic topics and recreational time.

Tina Schnarr, a member of Our Lady of the Greenwood Parish in Greenwood, is on the leadership team at her parish and helps plan youth events.

She heard about the conference and “figured it would be a great chance to expand my faith and come closer to God.”

Tina said that she particularly liked the in-depth discussions led by Father Robeson and others who planned the conference. Not only were they engaging sessions, she said, but she felt like she was being talked with, not being talked at or lectured to.

Eric Connor, a member of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis, was recently confirmed and is trying to be more involved in his parish. Next year, he hopes to be a peer leader for others being confirmed.

He said that he enjoyed the small-group sessions and felt that his group was able to have fun and be lighthearted.

Sarah Selby, also a member of St. Monica Parish, was a returning participant.

After attending the conference last year, she became more involved in youth ministry and joined the teen council at her parish.

“I learned how to get out of my comfort zone and meet other people,” Sarah said.

The event also had spiritual benefits.

“Before, I didn’t really like Mass all that much,” she said. “But I really like it now—I love it.”

One thing that Sarah said she particularly likes about the conference is that those youth who come are not forced to do so, but rather are there on their own accord.

She said that last year she met “a ton of people” and made some friends that she’s still in contact with.

“It was definitely the best week of my year,” she said. †