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Congregational Management The primary role of management is to provide the systems and structures that work in an integrative pattern to undergird the fulfillment of vision, and the implementation of relationships and programs. Vision is the current understanding of God’s strategic spiritual direction for a congregation that is cast by leadership and owned by membership. Relationships are the spiritual and relational process by which persons are brought to faith in God through Jesus Christ, become connected to a local New Testament congregation, are assimilated into the fellowship life and care ministry of a congregation, have opportunities for spiritual growth and leadership development, and are mentored to use their gifts and skills through Kingdom involvement. Programs are the functional attempts to provide projects, ministries, services, activities, and training for people related to the congregation by membership, fellowship, or through relationship processes. What is Congregational Management? Management is the administration of the various resources of the congregation, the formal and informal governance and decision-making structure of the congregation, the formal and informal traditions and culture of the congregation, and the readiness of the congregation for change and growth. Management also relates to how congregations handle their day-to-day operations. This includes its operational planning process, and how this is implemented to bring about growth and change in the congregation. This factor provides a basis for deciding how the people, financial, facilities, and equipment and materials resources of the congregation are utilized. Finally, management deals with the efficiency of a congregation. Once a congregation attains the stage of Maturity on the life cycle, its progress tends to be fueled by management rather than vision. During Maturity, Empty Nest, and early Retirement these management principles become increasingly controlling. By late Retirement these management principles begin to break down. What are the Key Elements of Management? Resources: The resources of a congregation are people and things. People include the pastor, staff, and lay leadership. Thus management will relate to the process of calling a pastor or other staff ministers. The infrastructure that mobilizes laity is addressed here. Lay mobilization as a movement is part of relationships. Things include the finances, the facilities, the equipment and various materials. These things are not intended to be in a lead role in the life of a congregation. They are intended to be resources that help the congregation fulfill its vision by empowering relationships. Many congregations have this reversed. Governance: Governance relates to the administration and decision-making structure of the congregation. This includes the formal committees, councils, and boards, as well as the process for making decisions. Governance and decision-making is intended to help guide or navigate the congregational processes, and to continually develop ownership within the congregation. Some congregations mistake governance and decision-making as the manner by which they are to control the congregation. Tradition and Culture: Management may seem like an odd place for tradition and culture. In reality they are commodities that congregations deposit like financial assets in a bank. Their tendency is to maintain more than it is to empower. Some congregations add elements of tradition and culture to the list of core values of the congregation, and overload core values with things that are really negotiable. Readiness for Change and Transition: When management is handled in a flexible, supportive way, it helps congregations to be prepared for the new innovation or the new sense of God’s movement. When management is used to control, it shuts down the readiness for change and transition in favor of maintaining the tradition and culture of the congregation. This is because change, even when for the better, is seen as loss. Operations: Operations describes the day-to-day operations of the congregation. Operations should be first of all effective, and then efficient in support of the future of the congregation. Efficiency often dominates effectiveness. What is the Role of Management in the Life Cycle and Stages of Congregational Development? Management is present during the growth side of the life cycle, and helps organize the various stages, but is not fully developed until Adulthood. On the aging side of the life cycle it leads or fuels the process. This begins with Maturity when the vision of the congregation is no longer dominant. Management is empowering when it is in a support role, and controlling when it is in a lead role. In its lead and controlling role it keeps congregations from redeveloping because they prefer to manage the resources they have rather than taking risks to acquire new and different resources. It is important for congregations to see that the role of management must diminish, or unfreeze, during a change and transition process that is being attempted on the aging side of the life cycle. The controlling aspects of management, which include the tendency to keep things as they have been, will need to loosen for a congregation to try new patterns, create new energy, from which a new vision can emerge. What is the Difference Between Management and Vision? Vision fuels the birth and growth side of the life cycle and stages of development of a congregation. Management is present in these early stages, but not expressed in a fully developed form. When a congregation reaches Adulthood both vision and management are dominant. Vision is near the completion of its journey, and management is still gaining strength. The vision journey is characterized by a high amount of flexibility until near the end of its journey. Management is characterized by increasing controllability until the Retirement stage when controllability begins to break down. Once congregations reach the aging side of the life cycle they are being sustained by their management rather than fueled by their vision. At a time when congregations should be seeking to develop new vision as the next step or solution to their current situation, they instead redouble their efforts in management. Norman Shawchuck and Roger Heuser in their book, Managing the Congregation, share these words about the management response on the aging side of the life cycle: Religious organizations have “focused tightly on organizational structures as the source of their major problems. So when congregations get into trouble they almost always seek to apply structural remedies; i.e., firing the pastor, cutting the budget, excommunicating a few members, rewriting the church constitution and by-laws, or moving from a bicameral board system to a unicameral board.” [p. 136] Shawchuck and Heuser feel that the appropriate response to management is to address the congregational belief systems and then deal with the organizational structure to align it with the belief system. This conforms to the idea of dealing with issues related to vision, which include values, vision, and belief systems. | 
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