Scraps from notes for a new book????

I've been thinking about putting together thoughts on pastoral ministry-- although it has changed drastically even since I retired and beyond belief since I began in the '50s !!

Here is an excerpt from "Leadership and Management" called "Understanding Power Structure":
Understanding power structure
Every church has its own unique way of arriving at decisions great and small. This decision making may or may not coincide with the simple rules laid out in the denomination’s handbook or Robert’s Rules of Order, but it is a fact of life that in each church there is a core group of leaders who, for motives pure or not, pretty much guide the church on its way.
The pastor may or may not become a leader to this core group. It certainly makes a lot of sense if he or she understands something of the dynamics of how decisions are actually made. The pastor may think that simply by virtue of the authority of ordination and Manual he or she may expect full cooperation. In any healthy church the pastor is received with every good intention, and the governing boards stand ready to buy into his or her leadership. But leadership trust is to be earned, and a wise pastor will work with the people who have been carrying the responsibility of leadership long before he arrived on the scene.
Begin earning trust by being a specialist in appreciation. No matter how poorly organized or mis-managed the church business may seem there are always areas that can be sincerely appreciated; no matter how ‘incompetent’ the preceding pastor, that work can be remembered with kindness and understanding. It is always a mistake to bad-mouth a predecessor. It is also usually true that people who are quick to tell the new pastor the old pastor’s faults will soon be the ones who are most critical of the new pastor. Believe the best of everyone you can.