There are perks to leadership and there is a price to leadership.
One cost of leadership is there are some items which simply must be owned by leaders and cannot be delegated to others. This is especially true for pastors.
In Ilan Machori’s Inc.com article titled “3 Things a CEO Should Never Delegate,” entrepreneur Dan Shapiro, who recently sold his company Sparkbuy to Google, is profiled. His upcoming book, Startup CEO Secrets, shares his learnings from those experiences.
As he discussed those things CEOs should never delegate, I felt the information had significant application for pastors.
Read the following Three Things a Pastor Should Never Delegate and see if you agree.
1. Fundraising.
Kings talk to kings, and financial leaders want to speak with the pastor.
Machori says, “Investors will always want a direct line to the CEO.” The same is true with pastors.
Whether documented or not, all experienced pastors know one of their primary job responsibilities is CFO—Chief Fundraising Officer.
2. Financial leader relations.
A financial leader is anyone who tithes $10,000 or more annually OR the top 10 percent of those giving to your church. Wise pastors know relationships with these individuals is critical to the success of the church.
Financial leaders who are fully engaged help ministry go farther, faster. Listen to Machori’s brilliant insights, “Fundraising is the actual act of raising money. … Investor relations are all of the conversations you’ll have with your investors afterwards, explaining to them how you’re spending the money. … [I]f you’re building a company for the long-haul, you will know these investors for a long time. … [H]appy investors will continue to nourish your company and help it grow.”
3. Church culture.
The pulpit drives the ministry. Therefore, like it or not, the pastor becomes the embodiment of the vision.
The pastor should be the desired destination at which others should wish to arrive. Shapiro concludes, “Whatever the culture is, it comes from the leader.” He goes on, “You may be forming a cult of personality around your best or worst quirks. … [T]ry to guide it toward something positive.”
Fundraising, Financial Leader Relations and Church Culture. These are the Three Things a Pastor Should Never Delegate.
Pastors, is engaging financial leaders difficult for you? If so, tell us why.
