Good teams essential for effective ministries: Fr Mallon

Fr Mallon, who leads the Divine Renovation parish renewal ministry, spoke at the Hope and Renewal Summit in Palmerston North earlier this month. During the event, he was interviewed by Joanna Kearney from Hamilton Diocese in the third episode of the new podcast series from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

Asked how he manages his workload, Fr Mallon replied that “one of the things that we teach in our ministry is leadership and the starting principle in leadership is that there is no such thing as a well-rounded person, but there can be a well-rounded team”.

“Teams are key to it. Bringing people around you, recognising their gifts and empowering them and delegating not just tasks, but responsibility and authority. Therefore, I can manage all of this because we have great people and great teams,” he said.

Fr Mallon said it is not hard work that burns a person out, but rather meaningless work. One can be exhausted but also deeply satisfied and fulfilled by what one is doing if the work is meaningful.

The interview with Ms Kearney touched on many aspects of Fr Mallon’s faith journey and ministry. He spoke about his Catholic upbringing in Scotland, a teenage experience of God’s love, a relationship with a non-Catholic woman when he was a biochemistry student, learning more about his faith and a call to priesthood that he described as “intense”.

He spoke about his early assignments as a priest and his discovery of the Alpha programme that he used to transform a dispirited parish community.

The transformation of this parish came down to one thing, he said: helping people encounter Jesus and experience the Holy Spirit.

“Without the Holy Spirit, Christian life is just a burdensome system of morality. It is dry. It doesn’t come to life”, Fr Mallon said.

Fr Mallon spoke about developing a culture of evangelisation in a parish, and also discussed the changing dynamics of believing, belonging and behaving in a parish community at different times in the Church.

Asked by Ms Kearney about his favourite saint, he said that he had always had a devotion to St Francis of Assisi. And he expressed fondness for the Catholic custom of bowing one’s head at the mention of the name of Jesus.

FULL STORY

Catholic Kiwi Podcast: Season 1, Episode 3 – Fr James Mallon