Introduction

After reading the entire book, I decided to focus on three articles, one article in each section of the book. In section one: How a Minister Relates to Organizations and People, I chose the second article entitled "Church Organizations" by Bruce Powers. In section two: How a Minister Performs Administrative Responsibilities, I selected the ninth article entitled "Planning Special Congregational Events" by Robert D. Dale. In section three: How a Minister Develops Leadership and Ministry Skills, I chose the fifteenth article entitled "Equipping the Saints to Serve" by Judy J. Stamey.

"Church Organizations" by Bruce Powers

I thought that Bruce Powers did a good job in explaining the typical organizational structure of the typical evangelical church. He seemed to mix the right amount of "description" - what is out there - with "proscription" - what should be out there. I can agree with his statement that our evangelical church organization should center upon five functions, "worship, proclamation, education, ministry, and fellowship (p 21)". I also agree that these five functions are held together by the glue of leadership. The challenge seems to be how can we address these five timeless functions in the context of 21st century America. That's where committees, councils and officers come into play. In another time and in another place; with a different legal system and a different social structure the organization structure that Powers outlines may not be appropriate. As he says "these are means, not ends". In other words, our Christian goals and ideals remain constant, but our methods change. Since I do plan to minister in the here and now and not in the bye and bye, I plan to follow much of what I read.

Having read this article, I does seem difficult to escape the obvious: that a minister must have his thumb on the pulse of his church through effective management. It becomes more obvious that pastoral leadership (and shall I say it "management") is not something that a good minister can delegate. As they are fond of saying in the military, one can delegate authority but never responsibility. I can only agree that the minister must also be the moderator and preside over business meetings, even if this may not be the minister's "gift". The minister must surround himself with capable committee chairs, but the buck must stop at the door of the minister. There is one thing that I might mention from my experience. In small churches, the organization may quite idiosyncratic. One strong and enthusiastic worker may shape the church in a particular direction. For example, if one person pours her life and passion into a prison ministry, then this ministry may flourish and consume a large portion of the church's resources. If this one person departs, the whole ministry may collapse.

"Planning Special Congregational Events" by Robert D. Dale

I appreciated the sample policy forms such as "funeral policies for our church (figure 9.2)" and "special event planning form church (figure 9.3)". As the article notes in its opening paragraph "Special congregation events put the minister's management skills - especially planning skills - on public display. These special events are common, high-profile happenings." Maybe I am overly anxious about weddings and funerals, because they are so high profile. I can just imagine myself being video taped and my stammering words becoming a priceless keepsake for some couple for all time. I know that weddings are high profile. For many people, the wedding may be the first glimpse of Christianity that have encountered in a long while. Funerals are also high profile. Some preachers are not subtle about their evangelical sermon at funerals, because they know this is the one shot that they have at many in the audience. Sometimes I wish that it was as simple as "I was called to preach" and that's what I am going to do. Perhaps that may work for a traveling evangelist, but a shepherd must not only exhort his flock, but also care for them and "manage" them. When the time comes to stand in front of a group of people and lead a wedding or funeral, I'm confident that I will just take a deep breath and do it. The samples and suggestions in this article will help quiet my unease.

"Equipping the Saints to Serve" by Judy J. Stamey

Once a person has felt the Christian call to serve, the next challenge becomes how to fit together the Christian's call to serve with the church's need for service. The author talks about spiritual gifts and trying to match them with human needs. In a perfect world there would be a perfect match. I agree that the overarching requirement for any church service is a healthy relationship with God. Since this relationship is sometimes difficult to discern, we can evaluate it by determining how the person relates to other people. The author ends with some practical advice on how to train, evaluate, and fire church workers. As is my nature, I enjoyed the first sections which dealt with theology and theory more than the practical end sections. I have seen other versions of these same charts before. I would like to propose one additional strategy for determining who is capable of high service in the church. I would recommend that anyone who wants to serve should first be entrusted with a small matter. If they carry out the small task well, then allow them more responsibility. As the parable points out "how can they be faithful in big things, if they are not faithful in small things?"

Conclusion