Pastors, when we talk shop together, will gossip over the good and bad of other churches, and one afternoon a Pastor and I were talking about another pastor and church where there were problems. This wasn’t the first time this other pastor had run into trouble, and my friend summarized the problem, “He doesn’t listen.” It was clear what my friend was saying about this pastor: he didn’t hear the perspective of the people. Communication traveled in only one direction, and he didn’t hear what his people said.

A leader constantly balances pulling people to places they might not go on their own and listening to them when they say, “We want to go somewhere else.” Leaders live somewhere between being a dictator and being completely passive. Either extreme causes problems. Benedict understood this. Benedict understood the need for there to be an Abbot of a monastery, someone who has authority to lead and make decisions. Benedict, too, understood the need for the Abbot to call together the community for counsel. He knows the abbot must make a decision, but there may be wisdom from others the abbot must hear before making that decision. In chapter three of the Rule, Benedict advises the Abbot to summon the brothers to give him advice, understanding “the Lord often reveals what is better to the younger.” This isn’t, though, to be a Town Hall gathering where citizens yell at the politician. “The brothers, for their part, are to express their opinions with all humility.”

Leaders in all situations--in churches, businesses, and communities--could learn from Benedict, here, to listen to their people. Those under leadership might learn, too, how to best share with leaders so they might be heard. Healthy communities happens when leaders lead and listen.