The Rule of St Benedict was written in the turbulent context of Italy in the 6th century to answer the questions of how shall we live, as communities, as individuals, as churches, as businesses etc in an uncertain and fast changing world? The Rule has been rooted in Anglicanism and Benedictine communities are growing while many denominations are in decline. The aim of the Rule is to shape a society that is truly Christ centred and provides the tools to accomplish the task.
The Rule is heavily based on scripture and particularly the wisdom literature of the Bible. It comprises a Prologue and 73 chapters developing into three dynamic sections: Formation, Administration and Renovation. While originally aimed at monastic communities the Rule can help us in the search for wisdom in the 21st Century.
For St Benedict the starting place for this was the state of the human heart and gaining a greater definition for our own lives and taking responsibility for ourselves.
Following that the next step is for an individual to subordinate oneself to the higher principles and purposes that energise, integrate, balance and anchor ourselves with a greater integrity. This means laying aside where we have come from and taking up the new identity of being a Christian. Now, new rules, new values and new goals apply to our lives because of our new identity.
As I said earlier, the rule was directed towards the monastic lifestyle but in our lives we are then called to self-manage, to exercise personal stewardship and oversight in the use of time, setting goals and prioritising, keeping commitments, focusing on the important but not necessarily urgent tasks.
These first disciplines are about the formation of our character and next set look are interpersonal disciplines that create trust. This is the transition from independence to interdependence. As the great Irish poet, John Donne said, ‘No man is an island’. Aimed at leaders this is about creating a team to shape the community set free creativity but kept in check by boundaries. An example would be creating new ways to worship but ensuring that this is done within the canons of the church as set out in the constitution.
And it is for the leader (an abbot in the original thinking) to keep the morale up, to be observant of those who form the community and maintaining their ‘emotional bank account’ but also facilitating the corporate discernment of the community. Neither of these things are easy to do but keeping the spiritual life of the individuals of the community is essential
One question to ask at this time is who is caring for the leader (the abbot) and the answer is that it is the community’s responsibility to care for the leader through the team effort by the exercising of the gifts and talents of the community. If the community works well together, then the leader can lead.
While making no specific rule about holidays and time off the Rule of St Benedict does insist on a balanced, ongoing daily and weekly regimen and rhythm. It does, therefore, promote self-care, as being constantly available to others does sap the strength and therefore, diminishes the effectiveness of the leader to lead.
In addition, though the rule states that it is the leader who determines the working climate of the organisation. In St Benedict’s case, a monastery, but applicable in other situations as well. It is the leader who has to create the climate of trust but in order to be Christlike they should also be the doctor who cuts out and the good shepherd who seeks out. Not an easy role to balance.
And finally, the community grows if the leader seeks out new sources of energy and information which empowers and generates energy in others which will then drive the organisation forward.
This is just a brief view of the Rule of St Benedict from my point of view following my retreat week based on the Rule of St Benedict for Church Leaders.