Christlike leadership in an african influenced catholic church

Christlike leadership is rooted in the life and acts of Jesus Christ as presented in the Bible. This type of leadership centers on others and not the self. Jesus Christ was always busy finding ways to uplift others not only for His own glory but more for the good of humanity. His unique approach to leadership challenges today’s leaders perception of the situations, how they think and see others, how they understand the daily experiences of their people, how they handle struggles and goals of their followers. Looking at the way leadership is being exercised in some of our small Christian communities, societies, groups, parishes, and dioceses, can we be courageous enough to say that our today’s leaders are Christlike? What has been the influence of our African cultural values and approaches to leadership in the Catholic Church? Has Christlike leadership style influenced our African leaders in the Church? No doubt, there is a growing trend of some bad leadership in the Catholic Church portrayed by Big-Boss Syndrome, authoritarian or autocratic leadership, cliques within a community, and the fights for power or special privileges. This attitude deprives the faithful of Christlike leaders they wish to have. This article, therefore, seek to treat the topic; “Christlike leadership in an African influenced Catholic Church”. Its objectives are: To ascertain whether the failure of being Christlike in leadership has something to do with being African or not; To state reasons why some African leaders find it difficult to practice Christlike leadership; and To give the way forward for true Catholic Church leadership.