The Downward Slope of Leadership 08/25/2010
Shouldn't ministers (especially paid ministers) be the lead servants in the churches they "serve"? I've been thinking about how it is that ministers serve. I spend most of my time in an office preparing three lessons each week, planning projects, and doing administrative work. I spend a minority of my time with people, maybe 30% of my time. This includes phone calls, meetings over lunch or coffee, or home visitations (mostly with church members, by the way). This is what it takes to "run" a church. But what if "running" a church is the wrong way of looking at things? What if spending the majority of my time in lesson prep, planning, and administrivia actually prevents me from serving others? I know the first objection here--preaching and teaching groups is a form of service to them. I guess I agree--in part. But I wonder if this is an excuse we concoct in order to sound righteous while serving and pleasing ourselves? I don't mean to sound too harsh or critical here, but while serving the word to others has its place, it shouldn't be the only way we have real, personal service-oriented contact with members of the congregation. A second objection I can think of is this: If the ministers led in this way, by serving members of the congregation through personal contact, who would run the church? My answer is this: maybe the question is wrong. Are we ever called in scripture to "run" anything? We're taught to love others, to serve them, to encourage them, and to build them up. We do this through personal contact and service. And in my opinion, evangelism is more likely to lead to conversion through personal contact and service than through public teaching or preaching. We lead and influence others by serving them. It's that simple. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my points? Comments08/25/2010 13:38
These are great questions to be thinking about. (Let me preface my comments by saying I am not a pastor). I believe there is going to be some % of time "running" the church. "Running" will vary depending on the size of staff and particular needs of the church. But I love how you caution everyone that "running" can take a pastor out of the mainstream of face-to-face service/compassion. 08/25/2010 13:44
Thank you, Scott. In today's church world, there is indeed a % of time that needs to be given to administrative-type work. But I still wonder if we've missed the mark. My line of thinking is like this: Perhaps there reaches a point where a church-as-an-organization is too large? Perhaps this point is reached when a minister is unable to serve members and visitors through personal contact? Liz 08/25/2010 22:15
Do we take advantage the time we do have?Do we make the most of every opportunity? 08/26/2010 04:01
Good point, Liz. Serving by God by influencing others is difficult. We need to constantly (re)balance our priorities. In my experience, starting with serving those closest to us can be one of the most difficult but rewarding way of keeping God first in our lives. The question you have to ask yourself, are you a minister or a deacon. The apostles were being bogged down from spreading the gospel because of serving the widows, so they created a group of people called "deacons" or servants. Their job was to serve the people, while the apostles preached Jeremy Hoover 08/26/2010 08:16
Thanks for sharing, Brian. I see administration as a spiritual gift, but I'm not sure it means what we take it to mean today in larger, organized churches. At the same time, the apostles were still servants. Though they were preachers and teachers, they still did so among the people, often individually and in small groups. For example, when Peter preached to Cornelius (and his household), he did so in private--he was away from Jerusalem and not preaching "in public." Obviously they did in small groups, there was no church buildings back then. The synagogues didn't open their doors for Christians to preach in. 08/26/2010 08:57
@Brian: If by doing this--having a place for the flock to come to--you understand us to be serving people, I am kind of on board. On the flip side, nothing has changed that indicates we shouldn't serve people (I know you didn't say this). To serve them, imo, means we go to them. We serve them on their turf, meeting their needs. As one who does administrative work for a church, I would agree that perhaps church-as-an-organization has become too big. Too many people don't see their role, assuming someone else will take care of things. Rather than being bystanders of the church experience, church should be a collective effort. People have forgotten that serving others, serves ourselves. 08/26/2010 09:13
Awesome point, Janet. I was talking about just that thing last night in bible study--"serving others, serves ourselves." There is definitely a sense in which some congregants expect everyone else to do the work so they can *be* served. Others expect the paid ministers to do all the work. A good balance might be: as the lead ministers lead by serving, they equip others to do the same. In that way, the objective of all serving each other could happen. I love this article because it questions the status quo of how church has been done in our culture for quite some time. With the unfortunate state of the church in our country we should be asking questions just like the ones in your post. Thanks for putting those tough questions out there. I agree it seems that too often churches get put into such a position that forces them to run more like a business than a church. With mortgages, bills, expenses and staff to pay, a church must always pay attention to the "bottom line" but this seems to then take the church away from being at one with the people and makes it seem more like an institution. 08/31/2010 17:35
Thanks, Sarah. I agree. While preaching was central to the experience of the early church, my feeling is that the preaching we experience today befits an institution more than the pastoral care of individuals and groups. I think preaching can function more like a shorter encouraging talk than a longer exposition. Bible exposition has its place--but it shouldn't be the primary task of a minister. My belief is the minister should be the lead servant--among the people. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply | On this blog I typically post audio devotionals, Bible study notes or resources that I'm working on for use at the Otisville Church of Christ, where I preach, or short articles about ministry and church leadership. Occasionally I post a book review.
For more regular "microblogging," or to connect with me online, do so at Twitter or Facebook. I upload and post my sermon from Sunday each Monday. You can find sermons and an RSS link at my Sermons page. You can listen to sermons online or download them in MP3 format. Although I work for the Otisville Church of Christ in Otisville, Michigan, this blog represents my own thoughts and does not necessarily correspond to the views and workings of the Otisville Church of Christ.
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