Clergy obviously need more than spirituality, academic preparation, and field education to become great bishops, deans, rectors, and vicars.
Retired Navy chaplain George Clifford recently included the above quote in a blog post emphasizing the importance of the skill of selling within the framework of leadership. He writes:
Spend a day with the bishop, dean, rector, or vicar of one our relatively few growing, thriving dioceses or congregations and you will observe a leader who is a highly effective salesperson . . . Good ordained leaders are constantly selling the organization they lead to other staff, volunteers, members, and the non-affiliated.
So What?
In an era when many churches are declining, much is being written about that trend. Thankfully, the amount of literature is growing that considers the smaller number of churches that are growing, including commonalities and best practices.
- Is pastoral competency in selling something far more common in growing churches than in declining ones?
- Should leadership bodies at the level of the local church as well as denomination be allocating additional resources to aid clergy in attaining and improving competency with the skill of selling?