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How many parishes do you know of that are truly great?

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins makes the point that good is the enemy of great. What does a great parish look like? Obviously it nurtures the spirituality of its parishioners, but it must do more than that. To be truly great, a parish must also have the temporal side in order. It must be a welcoming, community building place where people want to be. And it must be well-managed.

Let's be very clear. The Church is not a business. But it does have a stewardship responsibility to use all of its resources efficiently in pursuing God's work on earth. These include human as well as financial resources. Often this involves employing business management techniques, albeit in a faith-based context.

This new series covers the core basic management topics with which you should be familiar. The pastor need not have an extensive accounting or human resource background, but he must know enough to direct those, both paid staff and volunteers, who do have those responsibilities in the parish.

Most pastors will acknowledge the importance of the topics covered in this series, such as leadership, dealing with parish advisory groups, conflict management, planning, and stewardship. They might be less certain of the importance to the parish of activities like performance management, parish measurement systems, or internal financial controls. But all of the topics covered in this collection, when properly applied, will assist your parish in transforming itself from being merely good to becoming truly great.

With this order you will receive, free of charge, a detailed Electronic Study Guide. With your confirmation email, you will receive a link that will take you to this Electronic Study Guide, which includes outlines for each topic, review questions and suggested readings for further study. The link to access this Electronic Study Guide will also be included on the case of your CDs or DVDs. You are allowed to print up to 7 copies of your guide. Simply click on the link, or type it into your browser, to access the file.

About Your Presenter

Chuck Zech is Professor of economics at Villanova University where he has taught since 1974. He also serves as the Director of Villanova's Center for the Study of Church Management at Villanova. He received his B.A. in Economics from St. Thomas University (MN) and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Notre Dame University. He is the author or co-author of over 75 books and articles. He is a regular presenter at the Annual Conference of the International Catholic Stewardship Council, which recently awarded him their "Christian Stewardship Award", and at diocesan and parish stewardship days across the country. He has served as a consultant to a number of U.S. Catholic parishes and dioceses. He is the father of four grown children and lives in a Philadelphia suburb with his wife Ann, an economics professor at St. Joseph's University.

Topic Titles

• Introduction to Church Management: What Must a Pastor Know?
• Leadership in a Faith-based Organization
• Hiring and Motivating Parish Staff and Volunteers
• Managing Conflict in a Parish Setting
• Forming and Assessing Parish Staff Through Performance Management
• Identifying Critical Success Factors: Parish Performance Measurement Systems
• Myths and Realities Concerning Parish Stewardship
• Reaching the Home Church Through Technology
• Effective Use of Parish Advisory Groups
• Parish Internal Financial Controls
• Parish Pastoral Planning
• Parish Reconfiguration: Managing Parish Mergers and Clustering