4 Ways Pastors Operate as Effective Managers
Whether they like it or not, most pastors hold some responsibility for the management of the church as an organization. They run point as a director of operations or team-leader or manager. In other words, the buck stops with them for many areas of church life. This reality is especially prominent for pastors of small congregations.
While most pastors hold this responsibility, little attention has been given to it. One is hard-pressed to find a conference on “The Pastor as Manager” or a book on the subject. Most of the focus in the last few decades has been on the pastor as leader, a somewhat oppressive reality for pastors without the gift of leadership. Of course, you may think the responsibility of management to be of little importance. Yet, here in Chicago, where I live, people can’t stop talking about the impact of a great manager, whether it be of the Cubs or the Bears. Add to that, you have surely experienced the impact of a restaurant manager who oversees a team of employees and manages operations to ensure his or her establishment functions effectively. You don’t return to restaurants that are poorly managed.
I wonder if it is time to affirm the role of pastor as manager. Before doing so, it may be helpful to distinguish between management and leadership. In his book On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis composed a helpful list of the differences:
The manager focuses on what is seen; the leader focuses on what most don’t see.The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.The manager administers; the leader innovates.The manager maintains; the leader develops.The manager imitates; the leader originates.The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.
The theoretical distinction between manager and leader may be clear, but in reality, every leader needs to manage, and every manager will find opportunities to lead. The manager’s most significant form of leadership is influence, and this influence is three-dimensional: up, in, and out. An effective manager will be noticed by those higher up the food chain who may even begin to rethink some of their strategies. The organization led by an effective manager will be noticed by people in the community, who will share their observations with others. Most importantly, the effective manager will shape the culture of his or her organization; in time, it will mirror the values of the manager.
Most pastors have been called to serve their congregations as managers or as directors of operations. Of course, they do more than manage. A pastor’s role typically includes four responsibilities corresponding to four groups of people: the congregation that gathers on Sundays, the individual members (the church scattered), the organization, and the community.
FOUR RESPONSIBILITIES PASTORS HOLD
FIRST, and most importantly, pastors have been called to preach and teach. This responsibility is often coupled with that of planning and delivering Sunday morning services for the community gathered.
SECOND, pastors provide spiritual direction for members of the congregation. They offer timely pastoral care for those seeking baptism, marriage, healing, encouragement, and spiritual direction.
THIRD, pastors manage the organization by guiding, encouraging, and empowering congregational leaders, ministry leaders, and other volunteers. Hopefully, they do so in such a way that the ministries are delivered without a hitch.
FOURTH, pastors represent the congregation in the community and in the denomination.
PASTOR AS MANAGER
How does a pastor improve his or her game as a manager? For help answering this question, I reached out to Jesse Lopedito, one of the finest Directors of Operations I know. He is with Chick-fil-A, an organization with a great reputation for customer service. With his help, I developed the following suggestions for pastors who would like to improve their management skills:
1. Own the responsibility and own your influence as a manager. The longer you serve a congregation, the more it thinks and acts like you.
2. Second, prioritize quality over quantity, effectiveness over efficiency. This may mean doing fewer things better.
3. Create systems that work for you rather than becoming the system yourself. If you build a system around yourself, the church will break down with your absence. Build systems that volunteers plug into.
4. Consider adopting the S.E.R.V.E model, notably used by Chick-fil-A.
S: See the future.
E: Engage and develop others.
R: Reinvent continuously.
V: Value both results and relationships.
E: Embody the values.
The pastor will manage well by envisioning and communicating a compelling and attainable portrait of the future. The pastor who manages well prioritizes recruiting and developing volunteers. Like Jesus, he or she raises successors. The pastor who manages well reinvents himself or herself continuously; that is, he or she doesn’t get stuck in a rut by surrendering to that which is easy rather than consistently pursuing that which is best. The pastor who manages well works hard at the very difficult task of balancing results with relationships. Pastors, who love pleasing people, tend to prioritize relationships over results. They would rather, for example, keep an ineffective ministry going rather than change ministry leaders with the hope of greater effectiveness. The pastor who manages well improves the culture of his or her congregation by living out aspirational values until they become core values of the church.
Most pastors hold four responsibilities, one of which is management. The level of management differs from congregation to congregation. But, in closing, let’s not forget that every manager will have opportunities to exercise leadership. Each element of the SERVE model, for example, allows for both management and leadership. Take this model as an example. In order to reinvent yourself, you will need to do things right and do the right thing. In order to see the future, you will focus on what is seen but also envision what most people don’t see. In order to embody values, you will not only ask how and when, but what and why. Sure, you may be more of a manager than a leader, but you will have opportunities to lead. Leaning into those opportunities will increase your effectiveness as a manager.
Sam Hamstra, Jr.
Executive Search Consultant
Rukes Group
