Grooming the Organization
Don Cousins
I want to manage the church to God's glory. Anything less contradicts the Creator, who after creation surveyed his work and said, "It is good." He didn't say, "Oh, it'll do."
—Don Cousins Few pastors graduate from seminary hoping to become administrators. The term administration, itself, hardly sets feet dancing. In many people's minds, administration stands precipitously close to bureaucracy. It smacks of endless details, of rigidity, red tape, and routine. Yet, administration—managing the affairs of a church—often spells the difference between pastoral effectiveness and ineffectiveness. The ministry philosophy of Willow Creek Community Church, where I'm associate pastor, has been adopted by a number of other churches. One pastor, who started a ministry like ours several years ago, recently returned to Willow Creek. "We duplicated Willow Creek's philosophy and strategy pretty well," he told me, "and that led us to about four hundred members. But now we've hit a wall." He came back to figure out what was missing. Finally he discovered it. "I underestimated the role of leadership," he confessed. "I see now that strong, effective management is as important as the teaching gifts and the format of the services." I couldn't agree more. While administration may be an unpopular word, the task of leading and managing a church effectively remains at the heart of ministry. Management and Leadership
Management is one way leadership manifests itself in the church; it's leadership being implemented in the day-to-day operation of a complex organization. One of the great biblical leaders was Nehemiah. He exhibited three abilities that every leader needs to develop and demonstrate. First, a leader needs the discernment—the street sense—to assess ...
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