At the NPM convention in Louisville, the big emphasis was on managing the transition to the Third Roman Missal. Speaker after speaker tried to put the best face on the new translations; others talked about managing the practicalities of putting the new texts into effect in real-life parishes and communities.

I inferred from all this that Jesus was a really terrible manager: he started at the bottom and pretty much stayed there. He picked the wrong folks as followers. The best manager he had was apparently Judas, and we know how well that worked out. And he didn’t have PowerPoint. (Gasp!—how on earth did he manage?)

I didn’t hear anyone talking about shepherds.

The problem with adopting the business vocabulary of the macroculture is that it completely skews the idea of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We are not selling widgets or derivatives or software; we are called to spread the good news (yes, even without PowerPoint). Note that most dictionary definitions of the word “manage” imply some degree of coercion.

I know one bishop who says he’s “like the CEO of a large corporation.” No, he’s not. That’s not his job. We are called to be shepherds, not managers. Jesus spoke of himself as a good shepherd.

He also told his followers that he would die for their sakes, and that they—we —must follow that example. Whoever heard of a manager laying down his life for his subordinates?

We are called to challenge the People of God to do their best, and teach what we’ve learned, and share our faith through