When management is effective, it will not be highly visible. Everything will flow without much attention being called to the management process. People who look on may not realize how and when things were done. It was because of good management that the organization brought the activity off smoothly and successfully.
By Tim Massengale
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“I don’t understand it,” Pastor Gordon said sadly, stirring his coffee. “I’ve done everything I know to make it work. I asked Sister Judy to oversee the Visitor Follow-up program. She accepted. I explained how everything was to work. I gave her a detailed job description. I even worked with her for several weeks and trained her how to do it. Everything looked great.
“Now, less than six months after she started, I just found out the whole thing has fizzled. Guest cards are not being filled out, follow-up assignments are not being made, letters are not being sent – nothing! When I asked why, she said that Brother Jones, our head usher, wasn’t getting the visitor cards to her. Why didn’t she tell me that sooner? And the computer program that prints out the follow-up assignments is not working right. How was I supposed to know? Doesn’t anyone feel a sense of responsibility anymore?
And not only Visitor Follow-up, but Bus Ministry, Home Bible Study, Saturday Door Knocking, – they’re all struggling. Do I have to sit right on top of every ministry and ‘bottle feed it’ for it to work? My whole outreach program is falling apart! What’s wrong? Don’t my people have a burden? What’s a pastor to do?”
A Common Problem
Pastor Gordon’s problem is a very common one. All across our fellowship pastors are launching programs and starting ministries, organizing departments and training directors, spending hours developing a plan to reach their city, only to look around in amazement and see all their hard efforts gradually crumbling, almost before they were fully started. What’s wrong?
It’s not from lack of effort. Pastors often can pull from their files one outreach plan after another – all have failed. No wonder many sincere shepherds have become so despondent that they now say, “I preach, I pray, and I leave the rest to God.”
But is that all God called them to do? Is it getting the job done? No! But the problem is not a lack of burden or poor delegation. The problem lies with administration and management.
The Church Is A Body
Nothing is more finely organized and intricately designed than a healthy human body. The human body is often used as an analogy for the body of Christ. Christ is the Head of the church. He controls and coordinates all activities for His body. For a local church to operate properly, it must be effectively organized and administered. If the human brain does not operate properly, sending the right signal to the body at the right time, then it makes little difference how wonderfully organized and designed it is. It will only stumble and falter along.
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