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Source: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press
Peter Danilchick, a protodeacon [Protection of the Mother of God Church, Falls Church VA – Romanian Diocese] and retired corporate executive, brings his experience and expertise to bear on the meaning, challenges, and techniques of strategic leadership, planning, and management for Christians in his new book: Thy Will Be Done: Strategic Leadership, Planning, and Management for Christians. Many books examine these skills from a business perspective, but none have incorporated the timeless wisdom of the Orthodox faith. Thy Will Be Done serves as a bridge between the ecclesiastical and corporate worlds, drawing on Scripture and the Church fathers, together with the strategies and best practices of the business world.
In this unique book the meaning and goals of leadership are explored, and readers discover their vocation as Christian leaders: prophets, priests, and kings who by virtue of their baptism are called to servant leadership. We further learn about those called to ordained service (deacons, priests, and bishops), who exemplify the threefold ministry of service, sacrifice, and oversight.
Danilchick then unfolds the steps of strategic planning, and the day-to-day concerns of strategic management: board governance, ethics and compliance issues, organizing and running meetings, reaching agreement with disagreeable people, HR management, organizational finances, stewardship reports, and fundraising. From the mystical to the practical, from the hesychastic fathers to compliance with tax regulations, Christian leaders will find the tools that equip them to lead, to plan, and to manage as Christians, in both the Church and the world.
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Peter Danilchick is a retired ExxonMobil executive with over three decades of international operations, planning, and management experience. He is also an ordained deacon in the Orthodox Church, serving parishes and missions for over forty years, domestically and overseas. He brings these diverse talents to bear upon current issues of leadership, governance, strategic planning, management systems, organizational development, and negotiations for both profit and nonprofit organizations.
His ExxonMobil career was principally focused in the international arena, working in six different countries. He led and managed many diverse groups in Exxon, ranging from an operations division in its Singapore refinery, to country-wide planning groups in Australia and Germany, to new business development in China. He was particularly called upon by Exxon to lead project, commercial, and joint venture negotiations involving third parties from many different cultural groups, ranging from Western European to Chinese and Saudi Arabian.
At the same time, he worked in the Orthodox Church in these locations, either supporting existing parishes or establishing new missions. He also served on two national church governing boards in the USA and Southeast Asia, and also served as the board chairman of a major European international school. These experiences give him a unique perspective on how to develop common ground among individuals from vastly different origins and backgrounds.
He is currently active as a trustee of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary and as a member of the secretariat for a National Assembly of Orthodox Bishops—bringing financial, governance, and organizational best practices to bear upon critical issues.
