This is the final and hopefully memorable good soup posting, the coup de soup if you will. If you go back to Que Viet with me (see my October 23 blog post), there is one more missing ingredient in Team Leadership, the complementary role of the asparagus (administration). I said at that time that you could keep adding crabmeat (leadership) and at some point, you will not like the imbalance of the broth (shepherding) and the meat. What we need is some asparagus (management)!
I maintain that there are four types of churches. The Anemic Church is under-led and under-managed. It has the chicken broth, but it needs some crabmeat and asparagus. The Church of Unfulfilled Dreams is over-led and under-managed. It is choking on ideas and vision and lacks the ability to execute the plethora of ideas. The Bureaucratic Church is under-led and over-managed. It is lacking vision but has an overwhelming amount of administration/management that is choking the life out the church. Ideally, we will all live and love and rejoice in The Church of Mission Accomplished that is both well-led and well-managed. This type of church knows where it is going and how it can get there.
From my experience, and based on the counsel of many on my reading list to the left, the only way this balance comes about if you have a leader, is for the church to affirm new forms of administration. Peter said each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. Administration comes in various forms. In the small church it is detailed tasks of ministry to support the shepherding programs. In the medium size church, it is that and typically a significant contribution of management skills from the board. And in the large church, there is one or more staff person in addition to the Sr. Pastor: a Church Business Administrator or an Executive Pastor.
I maintain that there are four types of churches. The Anemic Church is under-led and under-managed. It has the chicken broth, but it needs some crabmeat and asparagus. The Church of Unfulfilled Dreams is over-led and under-managed. It is choking on ideas and vision and lacks the ability to execute the plethora of ideas. The Bureaucratic Church is under-led and over-managed. It is lacking vision but has an overwhelming amount of administration/management that is choking the life out the church. Ideally, we will all live and love and rejoice in The Church of Mission Accomplished that is both well-led and well-managed. This type of church knows where it is going and how it can get there.
From my experience, and based on the counsel of many on my reading list to the left, the only way this balance comes about if you have a leader, is for the church to affirm new forms of administration. Peter said each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. Administration comes in various forms. In the small church it is detailed tasks of ministry to support the shepherding programs. In the medium size church, it is that and typically a significant contribution of management skills from the board. And in the large church, there is one or more staff person in addition to the Sr. Pastor: a Church Business Administrator or an Executive Pastor.
So … how’s your soup?
No comments:
Post a Comment