Book Preface – christianleadership.co

Preface

I began writing this book in order to talk about strategic planning and management from a Christian viewpoint. Now retired, I worked thirty-three years as an executive in one of the world’s largest corporations and also served as a deacon in the Orthodox Church for most of that time. More recently, I became convinced that planning and management principles, however valuable in themselves, are not fully effective unless the basic and critical aspects of leadership, especially Christian leadership, which underpin those principles, are grasped, understood, and practiced.

In the Church, newly ordained clergy, including bishops, are often thrust into the job with little practical experience in dealing with others in a managerial or leadership sense, let alone in assuming responsibility for their spiritual development and care. Lay members of a parish council or another ministry group may have difficulty relating with one another, seeing new ways of performing their responsibilities, or working with others in determining and implementing desired change. In the wider Church, i.e., “the world,” similar difficulties may arise when it comes time for one to undertake a leadership role at the office, factory, or home. And when one is a Christian, there can be confusion as to how to fulfill these leadership responsibilities as a Christian.

My hope is that this book will help leaders of churches and other organizations to address leadership issues appropriately in an effective, harmonious, and ultimately Christian way. It will also help individuals working outside the Church in secular occupations to exercise Christian leadership in what may be an agnostic or even anti-Christian environment. As in all spheres of human activity, any welcome change or positive development begins and ends with individual persons. Ultimately, Christian personhood and community is what this book is about.

There are scores of volumes on “leadership” that present varied and sometimes contradictory approaches for how to acquire and exercise leadership skills. Christians may wonder if there is any real Christian leadership model, or whether we just need to be content with secular offerings. This book presents such a Christian leadership model. It declares that the fundamental goal of Christian leadership is the simple statement in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done.” The questions that Christians need to ask are: What is the Lord’s will for me, our family, our parish, and our organization, here and now? How do we discover and agree upon the Lord’s will? In implementing his will, how should we best interact with each other as fellow leaders and parishioners, neighbors, and colleagues? Are we united in one purpose and, if not, how can we be? To answer these questions is the task of Christian leadership.

We might ask if such a Christian leadership model can be used in a secular setting, such as an office or factory floor. My answer to that is the same as the warning of our Lord: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one or love the other.”[1] We do not have to invoke our Lord’s name externally to others, but surely we should behave and act externally as though he is directing us inwardly, wherever we may be.

This Book

The title of this book refers not only to leadership, but also to strategic leadership, planning and management. Why the emphasis on “strategic”? And why include “planning and management”?

The word strategic comes from the Greek stratēgia, which means “leading an army; the office of a general.” It implies taking the resources that one has, improving them, and employing them to achieve a set objective. Strategic leadership means always taking into account the people with whom one works and the goal they wish to achieve together. It does not look at the leader alone, nor focus just on the leader’s desired characteristics, but goes beyond that to the way the leader relates to others in order to attain the goal.

Often, the concepts of leadership, planning, and management are opposed to one another. For example, it is frequently assumed that leaders are the initiators, planners are the thinkers, and managers are the doers. In fact, however, effective leaders are required to be both good planners and good managers if they want to ensure that their ideas are properly thought through and can be implemented as planned. Planners need to ensure that plans are grounded in a broad leadership vision, yet specific enough to avoid stumbling blocks when put into action. Managers must be involved in both vision and planning, and can effectively lead the individuals whom they are managing. All these functions need to be integrated strategically to ensure that appropriate goals are set, resources are properly marshaled, and the goals are achieved.

This book intends to enable the reader to:

Understand the fundamental goal of Christian strategic leadershipas consciously doing the will of God, not only personally but also in community, rather than fulfilling one’s own desires for influence and power.
Obtain Christian insight into what a leader is and how leadershipis exercised in specific Church ministries, as well as worldly responsibilities. The text provides specific Christian leadership guidance and principles synthesized from Scripture, the writings of the Church fathers, and Church tradition, as well as practical experience gained by the author over more than four decades.
Learn and be ready to apply practical principles of strategic planningand management to properly carry out the responsibilities of Christian leadership. The book outlines a specific process for strategic planning that can be used in personal, Church, community, and corporate situations. It provides focused recommendations to address issues with working with other people and to effectively carry out management responsibilities. It draws heavily upon the author’s personal experience in Church and corporate life.

Part One discusses the essential foundation for everything that follows: seeking the will of God and doing his will in practice. Part Two discusses the foundations and goals of Christian leadership, drawing heavily on the Scriptures and the writings of Church fathers. Part Three delves into the particular aspects of ministerial leadership, adding to the above sources the baptism and ordination services of the Church. Part Four outlines the basics of strategic planning, giving enough detail and guideposts to enable a Church organization or nonprofit to conduct strategic planning. Part Five discusses selected management topics of interest to both Church and general organizations.

About the Author

I have been a deacon in the Orthodox Church for forty years, serving in six countries, several different Church jurisdictions, and across varied cultures. I have organized new missions and worked with established parishes. I have served on various governing boards and councils of parishes, dioceses, metropolitanates, and other church organizations, including a seminary. I have consulted on administrative and strategic planning issues for various Church organizations, including parishes, a seminary, a monastery, and a summer camp for children.

While I was educated as an engineer, my professional work has been in international business development, negotiations, and management. Most of my responsibilities involved supervision, management, planning, and leadership as an executive in one of the world’s largest global corporations. At the same time, I was associated with various other organizations around the world, involving other industry advisory roles and educational governance responsibilities.

My corporate career development and continuing education followed a familiar pattern. First, I worked as a sole contributor, then supervised a few others. My role expanded to management of ongoing projects and organizations and, lastly, to leadership of new, creative, and breakthrough ventures. In business, this progression is known as career development and managed by committees within the corporate organization.

However, when it comes to Church organizations, this kind of organic yet intentional activity happens rarely, if at all. In fact, training in leadership, planning, and management skills is sorely lacking.

My hope is that this book will contribute to improved leadership development among Christians called to lead the Lord’s flock, whether it be large or small, many or few, in Church as well as secular environments. May his will be done.

[1] Mt 6.24