What qualities and talents would you like our next bishop to have, to move us forward?
We want so much in our next bishop. We know that no one candidate will have everything, but we all desire a bishop who will value this extraordinary place called the Diocese of New Jersey, with its hair-pulling diversity and its enormous variety. We need someone who is comfortable with diversity and is able to work with—and enjoy—our multicultural mix.
We think the next bishop should be a person of prayer, who lives the faith. We’d like to see tangible evidence of a deep spiritual commitment, whether that’s reflected through a formal rule of life or through other disciplines. But we don’t want someone with his or her head in the clouds, unable to administer the resources we’ve built through the years. We’d like evidence of reasonable administrative and personnel savvy.
Our
bishop should be honorable, open, honest, and transparent in his or
her dealings with the world. We need a bishop we can trust and confide
in. This is a large diocese, and being its bishop requires a great
deal of energy. We want a bishop who likes to travel, who finds time
out of the office perhaps more valuable than time in it, who will
spend time getting to know our parishes. 
We want someone who is accessible and personable, a bishop who really listens to all of us. We’re interested in a bishop who is genuine, not one who, during a conversation, watches the door to see what more important person may walk in.
We’d like someone who has “good chemistry” with this diocese, who can work with us as a peacemaker and spiritual diplomat as we continue to heal from the difficult times. We very much hope that our next bishop will want to know all our parishes by name: to know who we are, what our issues are, and what we can bring to the larger church.
While we don’t need a brilliant scholar-theologian, we do want someone who can answer the questions of faith that people ask of bishops. We’re interested in a person who reads, thinks, and reflects and who can communicate clearly and with grace. We should like to think our next bishop would have something to contribute to the media, whether newspaper, television, or the Web, in a time of spiritual crisis.
We think it important that our next bishop have the gift of preaching and thus be able to speak effectively both to us—for the church to the church—and to the world.
Above
all, we seek a bishop who will care for and love this diocese as much
as we do. Think of it this way: the Bishop of New Jersey isn’t
a job, it’s an identity.
Real words: What are you looking for in a bishop?
Sainthood. [Note: It gets easier after this.]
Someone who can be a priest to our priests: a confessor, communicator, taskmaster.
An innovative thinker and problem solver. This place requires it.
A sense of humor. New Jersey can be a little wacky. If someone doesn’t understand that, it can be a problem.
A peacemaker. Someone who can be there for clergy. Bring us together, we’re still fractured and alienated.
I’d like a bishop to listen to me, to know the bishop cares, not that I am being filed away. I want trust.
A bishop who focuses on youth: hoagies and pizzas every Sunday!
Someone who recognizes the value of youth ministry, so we don’t lose kids at 18.
Someone who can bring us together as a diocese.
A brief dialogue between two clergy:
—A CEO.
—No! Not a CEO, a wise parent.
—Not a parent!
—How about a partner?
—But we’re not equal to the bishop.
—But we are in this together.
An exchange between a lay person and a focus-group moderator:
Lay person: Not charismatic.
Moderator: Explain charismatic, please.
L: You know, those people who carry on…
M: A televangelist, you mean? Like a Jim-Bakker type?
L: Right. They are so destructive.
M: But you want the bishop to have charisma?
L: Yes.
A good preacher. It would also be nice if he or she can converse, can chat easily.
Someone you want to be around, who’s accessible and involved. A person with a spine. A person with a brain.
Someone who brings a sensitivity to minority groups and mission churches, who represents all New Jersey.
Like the bishop in The Quiet Man, where everyone was happy when he walked through town. (It was pointed out that this bishop was the Roman Catholic rather than the Anglican one.)
A spiritual diplomat, not a diplomat with a spiritual bent.
Stable, spiritual, grounded.
Next: What qualities do we need to develop in ourselves to assist the next bishop?