In the secular world, I have been a part of management for many years. My undergraduate degree is in management and several years before making a call to ministry known at Macland Baptist Church and beginning seminary I earned an MBA. It goes without saying that I am a believer in the need of administration in the business world. Organizations need administrative systems in order to carry out their missions. The church is certainly not a business but it is an organization in need of direction to accomplish the tasks which we have been called to carry out. As such, I am very much in favor of administration in the church.
God appoints leaders and expects them to be effective.[1] Fortunately, those leaders are not alone in their task. We clearly see in Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 that the people who make up the body of Christ also have spiritual gifts.[2] We are to use those gifts to edify the body (Eph. 4:1-15).
Administration seeks to lead a church to understand its purpose and then fulfill that purpose. Administration is a helper and a servant to the body.[3] There are financial matters to be attended to. There are plans for discipleship and the various other ministries of the local church to attend to and those serving in administration work to ensure each ministry has the guidance and leadership it richly deserves.
Administration is a ministry (1 Cor. 12:28) to which some are called. It is also an area of ministry that some who are ill prepared too often find themselves. If you have experienced this then you know firsthand how challenging that situation can become. When the wrong people are in the wrong places the ministry of the church, at best, is inefficient. Poor administration can be a source of frustration, friction, and division in the local church. Unfortunately, many leaders prefer to avoid conflict rather than speak the truth in love when matters of administration are being discussed. What say you?