Our former rector (before all this blew up) was very much at keeping the church on focus to Jesus and what was important. He actually went on to work at the White House and is now the Anglican Mission in the Americas (Ellis Brust). I guess it shows that the leaders make a lot of difference. The rector who took his place was very ineffective in keeping the crap down, he actually helped fester it.
But yes, the leadership makes all the difference; it can make or destroy a parish, and I've seen too much of that first-hand.