I sometimes recall with nostalgia that courageous country church that called me as its college-student pastor. This group of deeply committed Christians allowed me to gain valuable experience and also served to mentor me since many of them knew more about being a pastor than I did. They were patient with me as I learned the fundamentals of preaching and pastoral care and as they introduced me to basic church administration. For this congregation of 30 on Sunday mornings, administration was not complex and designated members handled virtually all of it — for which I was profoundly grateful.
Chances are when pastors answer the call to ministry, administration is not what they have in mind. Usually, they believe that God is calling them to make a difference in people’s lives. They envision sharing their faith in Christ from the pulpit and person to person, being present with families during times of tragedies or making hospital visits. They see themselves performing weddings and funerals, baptizing new converts and leading in worship. Very few get excited about formulating budget reports, raising money, repairing aging buildings, mollifying disgruntled staff members and settling their disputes, sitting in committee meetings and managing church conflict.
In their seminary training, most pastors-to-be spend more time in Greek classes than taking church administration courses. But in the real world of church life, administration is a major component. No wonder many pastors feel unprepared for the realities of the pastorate. Pastors must quickly adjust or chafe in the administrative role. Sometimes they become frustrated at having to devote so much time to tasks for which they had so little training and which they find unrewarding. At times, personnel committees, too, can become frustrated — sometimes with the pastor.
“Most pastors don’t have good administrative skills,” notes Billy Burford, church administrator and associate pastor for support ministries, at First Baptist Church in Richmond. “But administrative tasks are part of the mix whether they are good at them or not. This does not mean, however, that they are not good organizers.”
While some pastors have administrative gifts, many others find the work sheer drudgery. They long to be with people rather than dealing with paperwork. Pastors respond to administrative demands in a variety of ways, not all of them helpful. Some have painfully discovered that ignoring administration is usually a ticket to an early departure. Those who choose to respond positively to administrative needs either by developing proficiency, noting that to minister and to administer are often the same, or by delegating administration to another staff member or a volunteer.
Delegating is often the best solution, says Burford. “To the extent pastors are distracted by these tasks, they are not dealing with other significant needs in the church. Those other needs are probably the ones the pastors are gifted for and trained to handle, and the ones that give them a sense of satisfaction in what they do.”
Pastors and churches that choose to consider delegating administrative tasks to someone other than the pastor might find likely volunteers right in their own fellowship. “With all the downsizing that has taken place in recent years, there might be someone with significant business or managerial experience who would be happy to serve the church as administrator,” Burford offers.
But he cautions that the church administrator is as much a minister as any other staff member. “If you are working toward making the church more efficient, it is sometimes easy to look at things in black and white. But ministry is seldom only black and white. Sometimes it is more important to be involved in the lives of people than to be more concerned about the line item in the budget. People are more important than proper management principles, and I say this very carefully. Sometimes a person coming out of the business field doesn’t see that.”
Still, Burford is careful to emphasize that the financial bottom line can’t be ignored or church ministries begin to suffer.
As churches grow in size, they also grow in administrative complexity. Larger budgets require greater oversight, larger buildings need careful maintenance, cleaning and scheduled repairs, larger staffs require coordination and supervision and the greater the number of ministries, the greater the need to distribute resources strategically. Although every church and every pastor are different, at some point larger churches usually decide that a full-time administrator makes sense. The position may be called by different names but the primary functions usually involve handling the church's financial matters, physical properties, food service and sometimes staff management.
Church business administrators, whether volunteer or full-time, will find help from the National Association of Church Business Administrators. This organization, headquartered in Dallas, has local chapters in most metropolitan areas and regions of the country. Mid-Atlantic chapters exist in the metropolitan Washington area, Richmond, the Virginia Tidewater, Charlotte, High Point and Raleigh.
NACBA offers online education workshops, some of which lead to certification as a church administrator. In addition, courses dealing with such issues as legal concerns and personnel matters like workman’s compensation and health care benefits are provided.
Although several valuable books are available, Burford favors a classic, Church Administration Handbook, by Bruce Powers.
Very few pastors are equally gifted in all areas of pastoral responsibility, and for many administration is a lesser strength. Even so, if a pastor is willing to admit that he or she needs help, and if the church is willing to offer it, general frustration can be replaced by the joy of mutual service.
Jim White is executive editor of the Religious Herald.