Aristotle once said “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” For most of us the sum of 2 + 6 + 2 = 10, but for Fr. Bill Kessler the sum of 2 + 6 + 2 equals two parishes, six churches, two schools and a 160 hour work week, Monday through Sunday. Yet, for this priest from Calhoun County in the Diocese of Springfield, IL, Fr. Bill’s whole story runs deeper than just the number of hours he works in one week. His story is about how one man of God can effectively and efficiently use his God-given potential to shepherd his people, without sacrificing the joys that come from his unique calling.
In September of 2006, an average day for Fr. Kessler began at 6am and concluded sometime around midnight. Depending on what church, school or office he was visiting, his odometer could easily record 55 miles or more in a single trip. After celebrating morning Mass he would work in his office for a few hours; one-on-one meetings with his staff, including two school principals, followed his morning work. If time permitted, he would stop for lunch before he traveled to the hospital or to one of the two schools for which he is responsible.
The evening would give way to more meetings, typically lasting until 10pm. After the meetings concluded, more work beckoned which would find Fr. Kessler in his office for another couple of hours. On nights when he knew he had to be in the office early, driving back to the rectory hardly made sense, so he would find rest on an inflatable mattress he kept at his office. He was doing the best he could to serve and lead the 2,000 people of the Blessed Trinity and St. Francis of Assisi Parishes, but he simply could not work any harder. He decided he needed to work smarter.
In January 2006, with the support of Bishop George Lucas, Fr. Bill Kessler and 25 of his brother priests, embarked on Catholic Leadership Institute’s Good Leaders, Good Shepherds (GLGS) journey in an effort to find the tools to become more happy, healthy and holy shepherds. Having recently completed the fourth of six sessions of GLGS, Fr. Kessler is beginning to see his investment in the program have a positive impact on his life and the lives of those he shepherds. Since beginning the program he has learned to better manage his time. He has effectively delegated new responsibilities to staff members and organized new groups within the parishes to help relieve the demands on his day-to-day schedule.
“I’ve learned how to be more effective with less time; GLGS has opened doors for me that I never knew existed.” For Fr. Kessler, some of those doors were simple joys he had been denying himself because the complexity of his schedule didn’t allow for them. “I’ve found more time to study, exercise and even watch a little basketball,” Fr. Kessler happily explains. He has also found time to feed his savvy technological nature. He currently hosts an audio and video podcast which he produces in-between Saturday evening Masses at 4pm and 6:30pm. Listeners and viewers from all over the world tune in to hear the technopriest. “It’s a ministry,” said Kessler. “I want to use technology in a way that can bring life, that can share the light of the gospel.”
With double the workload, understanding how to maintain healthy and consistent flows of communication with his staff is imperative. In the third session of GLGS, participants learn the key concepts and approaches to developing the potential of individual staff members and volunteers. These techniques were particularly helpful to Fr. Kessler as he was seeking to find a productive balance supporting both parishes. “The community is improving and they (the staff) feel they can communicate better,” said Fr. Kessler. He admits “we’re not quite there yet,” but he confidently concludes, “my staff understands we will get there in time.”
Fr. Kessler’s goal is to reduce his hours slowly to a 130 hours, to a 120 hours and he thinks less than a hundred hours is “doable.” He is excited about the progress he is making and is grateful to Bishop Lucas for bringing this opportunity to his diocese. “I know without this program that I would not be in a very good place. I would not be a I would not be an effective minister without Good Leader, Good Shepherds.”
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