OUR FUTURE AND TREASURE | KAIROS GLOBAL | JULY 2024

Author:  Fr Tomy J Puliyan MSFS

Intro: Our youth need leadership styles like ‘servant leadership’ and ‘transformational leadership’ to mould them into tomorrow’s leaders, writes Fr Tomy J Puliyan MSFS.

Youth is hot and bold, age is weak and cold. – William Shakespeare.

The future of any nation lies in the strength of its youth – not just in their age but in their passion, power, action, attitude, and spirit! If a nation’s youth have these qualities and calibre, great is the future of that nation!

It does not just become the story of a nation, organisation, or an institution, but the story of our Church and our families also. Well-formed youth are a great treasure; we can rely on them for our future. The future of our Church lies on the shoulders of today's youth. They must take up the ownership, leadership, and stewardship of our Church, families, and individual lives. 

Healthy and functional families bring a healthy society and a holy Church! Therefore, forming and raising our children the best way possible, moulding and making our youth responsible, accountable, prudent, and diligent citizens is an important and serious task today. Parents, families, churches, and schools play a very vital role in this process. It is from the homes and living environments that they develop their value systems, moral conscience, life principles, and a vision to live their lives. The American Mental Health Association speaks of different styles of parenting, such as authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting, permissive parenting, and uninvolved parenting. The best-promoted style is authoritative parenting, where children are heard and loved, their options are respected, and spiritual, moral, and social values are inculcated into their lives. They are made responsible and accountable for their actions; clear expectations and boundaries are set before them, and a healthy amount of freedom is provided. Youth from these functional family backgrounds are creative and successful citizens and members of their faith communities. Thus, we form future leaders for the Church and society. The role of parents and church communities as mentors and moulders is crucial in this process.

All of us face different types of problems today. Our youth's primary problem today is a lack of direction and purpose, leading to meaninglessness and purposelessness. Therefore, they follow that which gives them momentary gratification and satisfaction, such as drugs, sex, violence, revolt, and retaliation, destroying the very fabric of a civilised human society. Some data shows that youth suicide is the second leading cause of death between the ages of 10-24 years. It is saddening and sickening that we are losing our future treasures due to our failure to take care of them. This failure occurs because we lack altruistic, goal-oriented, and service-minded people who could be our parents, teachers, Church and secular leaders. Quality leaders are formed at home, and it is a collective effort; as the golden saying goes, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’ It is here the Church comes as a village or faith community to play a vital role in forming a moral and spiritual conscience in the lives of today's young people that will serve as the ethical compass for their daily lives. 

The tragedy of our time is that some of our budding leaders (youth) are losing the sense of right and wrong, sin and virtue, and moral and immoral. This sense creates a blurred vision of life in them and makes them tread the path of a non-productive and non-creative lifestyle. When they are habituated to this style of life, we may lose great treasures for the Church and the world. It is both a personal and national loss! 

Our young people today live not just in their individual homes or native countries but in a global village. They think and act globally and have higher expectations and goals. It is a task to keep them hopeful and motivate them to reach their dreams and goals. They look for success, accomplishments, happiness, affection, intimacy, empathy, recognition, and non-judgmental attitudes from others, especially elders. When they are provided with these ingredients, our youth will bring their best, and bloom the way they were meant to be.  

I feel there are two ways to keep our young people creative and productive – through ‘Servant Leadership’ and ‘Transformational Leadership’ styles. 

In servant leadership, the leader shares power, puts the needs of others first, and helps others develop and perform as best as possible. A servant leader emphasises helping others grow, harnessing their maximum potential, and enabling and empowering others to be happy and prosperous. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of this kind of leadership. He said, The Son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). All the saints and holy men and women are excellent examples of this style of leadership.

Transformational leadership is where the leader works with team members beyond their personal interests to identify the needed changes through their commitment and inspiration. This leadership style will change the followers' attitudes and actions and empower them to advance to a higher level of morality and motivation, leading them to do the best for themselves and others. Martin Luther King Jr of the United States, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, and Mahatma Gandhi of India are some of the best examples of the transformational leadership style.

When leaders of both spiritual and secular responsibilities live out these leadership styles in their daily lives, it will make a tremendous difference in the life perspectives of our young people. These changes must come from grassroots level, beginning from our own homes where parents become first teachers, leaders, and models for their children. It has to be lived and manifested in our local parishes and ministries, regarding our relationship with others, especially our young people, in the diocesan levels and corporate administrative structures. 

As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, ‘He who knows the why of life will certainly learn the how of it.’ When we know why we do what we do, we will know how to do it best. Once we inspire our young people and make them aware of their duties and responsibilities for the future, they will work miracles in their lives. Our youth is a great treasure; at the same time, they are fragile and need to be handled diligently and carefully. If we don't win them today, our churches and structures will remain empty tomorrow. We need them and have to love them more than ever. 

Fr Tomy J Puliyan MSFS currently works as the pastor of St Marguerite parish in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, as  well as a psychotherapist with Holy Family Counseling Centre, Atlanta, USA. He is also an editor, blogger and writer.         

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Rev. Tomy J. Puliyan, MSFS 

St. Marguerite d' Youville Catholic Church

85 Gloster Road NW 

Lawrenceville, Georgia 30044- USA.

Office: 770-381-8062, 770-381-7337

Residence: 770-931-0099 

Email : tjpuly@gmail.com