“Blessed are the nice.”

Many well-intentioned people who serve the church insert this ninth beatitude into their work — to the detriment of their ministry. Effective leadership instead is based on radical love, which is grounded in trust, does not eschew conflict and allows for commitment, accountability and, ultimately, results.

These were some of the key observations made by Patrick Lencioni, a management guru and founder of Amazing Parish — a Denver-launched parish revitalization movement — who shared his analysis of successful teambuilding at a national convocation for Catholic leaders in Orlando, Florida, this summer. On Aug. 1, staff of the Archdiocese of Portland Pastoral Center (the hub of church administration in western Oregon) gathered during lunch to hear a recording of the talk.

“We aren’t an insurance agency, we aren’t a business, we are a church,” said Archbishop Alexander Sample in his remarks following the video presentation. “But there are many principles used in organizations … that work and that help a team function better and in a healthier way.”

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