mgpcpastor's blog

Will Mancini adapts six key leadership tasks for pastors who make a difference from a chapter of Peter Drucker’s book Management.
In avoiding the usual reactions against bringing management theory to bear on a pastor’s workload (praying, preaching, discipling), I think these can be read as perspectives that can be brought to bear on the way that pastors seek to carry out their work.

#1 To define the meaningful outside of the organization. This is a very interesting way to think about a leader who keeps the church on mission. This would be Drucker’s articulation of “external focus.”
#2 To work on getting the information “outside” into usable form. Beyond an external focus, a leader must translate and infuse the most important information into the “bloodstream of the church;” to the staff, leaders and members of the church.
#3 To decide on what results are meaningful for the church. The problem here is that the functional bottom line for most churches is still attendance and giving which does not constitute the true measure of mission. That’s why I use the Vision Frame everywhere I go to help pastors focus on output results.
#4 To decide the priorities. On this point Drucker’s words need no translation for church leaders: “In any but a dying organization, there are always far more tasks than there are available resources. But results are obtained only by a concentration of resources.”
#5 To place people into key positions. Drucker reminds leaders that, “In the last analysis this task determines the performance capacity of the institution”
#6 To organize top leadership. Of course your church’s governance heritage will shape  your leadership structure. Yet, the question remains, who wakes up thinking about the necessity to restructure and organize top leadership?