The Better Pastor

by Patrick Lencioni

"As he approached the door to the sacristy, Fr. Daniel Connor had no idea that his parish - and his priesthood - was about to be changed forever." THE BETTER PASTOR is a fictional yet realistic story, lovingly written for all those priests in the world who are not only spiritual shepherds but also leaders of the organizations we call parishes. Being the pastor of a Catholic parish is one of the most challenging jobs in the world. Whether they are responsible for a small rural parish, medium-sized urban one, or large suburban mega-parish, all pastors have one thing in they can t do it alone. Unfortunately, many wonderful priests find that becoming a pastor can be overwhelming and lonely, and can even diminish the joy of their vocation. This is a tragedy, and an unnecessary one. In his first book written for a Catholic audience, Patrick Lencioni tells the story of a priest who is challenged to think differently about his job. As he does in his other leadership fables written for the secular world, Lencioni quickly cuts to the heart of the challenge faced by leaders, and he provokes them to embrace simple but powerful concepts that can change the way they work and serve the people God has put in their lives.

Genres: Leadership, Church

101 pages, Hardcover

Published August 16, 2016

About the author

Patrick Lencioni is a New York Times best-selling author, speaker, consultant and founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to helping organizations become healthy. Lencioni’s ideas around leadership, teamwork and employee engagement have impacted organizations around the globe. His books have sold nearly three million copies worldwide.

When Lencioni is not writing, he consults to CEOs and their executive teams, helping them to become more cohesive within the context of their business strategy. The widespread appeal of Lencioni’s leadership models have yielded a diverse base of clients, including a mix of Fortune 500 companies, professional sports organizations, the military, non-profits, universities and churches. In addition, Lencioni speaks to thousands of leaders each year at world class organizations and national conferences. He was recently cited in the Wall Street Journal as one of the most sought-after business speakers in the nation.

Prior to founding his firm, he worked as a corporate executive for Sybase, Oracle and Bain & Company. He also served on the National Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.

Reviews

[Bo Majors · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very true and authentic book. Written by Patrick Lencioni, a man who knows a great deal about management, (has written some twenty-five other books) as well as has a passionate love for the Church, basically wants to make clear what many of us lacked through seminary training: a strong management foundation. Becoming a pastor for the first time in my life, of in fact, a very large parish with a school, I really appreciate his short book as I have been studying and reading everyday to assume my new role. (I was primarily formed to teach). Truly, it is overwhelming to think about in moments, but he gives very good and solid advice as well as other resources to look at. He points out that though the most important element of being a priest is pursuit of holiness and love of God and the Church, a pastor is the leader of an organization that requires management and leadership skills. Part of this (of which personally I am afraid honestly) is holding people accountable which as he says, “often involves difficult, uncomfortable, and loving conversations.” Prayer of course, is always the answer to all of this, but he cannot lead by himself. One lesson stands out: “Leading a parish to be one amazing is hard and takes time. It will involve pain, suffering, opposition, criticism and great humility. Try to avoid these things will lead a pastor to back off and accept mediocrity.” The only reason I would give this book four stars is because, for one-hundred pages, the price is somewhat steep.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fable illustrating what I wish my parish priest would understand about the questions I ask.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a leadership coach, and recently began coaching priests. As a long time fan of Pat Lencioni starting with The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, I was pleased to read this book, and feel it could be a start for a Pastor to consider how to be happy, healthy and holy, and build a strong culture in his parish.

In the fable, Fr. Daniel is told by a parishioner to be more of a leader, hold people accountable and give feedback, and to help the congregation pray by seeing him pray.

While the book doesn't have the details of how he did it, he does get help, by creating a leadership team, and meeting regularly with that parishioner, who is an organizational development consulting.

It's a start - I believe this book could open the eyes of many on how to build the kingdom of God through having healthy parishes.

Thank you!

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike other Lencioni books I've read, this one is almost solely the parable. And like any parable, the author gets to manipulate the narrative to both suggest a point and prove its merit. But he addresses a theme common to almost every church: how to create a culture of excellence from a community of volunteers. It's one thing to make demands about quality or responsibility from employees, but quite another from church members who just want to give their time to something they enjoy or find meaningful. So I'm not sure it's quite as cut and dry to transform a parish as Lencioni makes it out to be. There are limits on resources and personnel that for-profit companies don't face in the same way. But the point of leadership and modeling what pastors hope to see in their parishioners, as well as cultivating a singular devotion to the mission of the church within every ministry area, are ideas worth exploring for all clergy.

[Sean Nemecek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read that encourages pastors to do three things: 1. Become a better leader, 2. Have the difficult conversations that will make the church better, and 3. Let the people join you in prayer (let them see you praying). Some of the applications of these will be tough in a small church, but that doesn't mean they are impossible.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fine and helpful. As a pastor, I found the ideas of Five Dysfunctions more helpful and applicable. This book is in a certain sense a pastoral introduction to that book. I would personally recommend pastors wrestle with Five Dysfunctions.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another home run fable by Patrick.

[Gab Nug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was recommended to me by my seminary formator.
I didn’t really wanna pick it up in the first place, but I read it in one sitting.
And one of the most frightening books I’ve ever read.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple story which can provoke thought into how your ministry may develop and how you may work well as a missionary

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

simple but thought-provoking if this is a subject you're investigating

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little book that probably won’t find its way into the right hands.

[James Millikan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictional account of a business administrator confronting a parish priest about his shoddy management style and thereby "improving" the parish. The fictional nature of the book makes for a page-turner (most chapters end with a sort of cliff-hanger to keep you reading), but the failure to engage with the real case studies that reflect the complexities of pastoral work limits the value of the text. The Better Pastor is to the priesthood as Freedom Writers is to teaching: a good story but too sensationalized to be of real educational value.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s was super easy ready and interesting but not being a pastor I don’t know what I can do with the ideas in it other than ask my pastor to read it. Some great insites into how a parish should run and how pastors may struggle with confronting those areas and volunteers who are not the best fit or doing their best.

[Larry Leland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick Read. Valuable Stuff for leading and shepherding a congregation faithfully. I've been a fan of Lencioni since the first time I heard him at the Global Leadership Summit, and this is a wonderful addition to his writings.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Condescending