Does The Church Need Administration
“The body is a formal organization because it is a group of organs and tissues whose activities are deliberately coordinated for the achievement of specific goals or purpose. It is not a bureaucracy because there is no pyramidal hierarchy, instead, God teaches us through the apostle Paul that all members of the body are essential and that none id through to be more important than another.” Christian Perspectives On Sociology
Each legitimate corporate companies have normal administrative departments to deal with the company matters because the administration plays a big role in a company, such as in its technology, production, finance, sales operations and after-sales management. Again, the administration has been playing a significant role in monitoring and coordinating in business. When your business becomes more and more bigger, you will definitely think the necessity of administration. Perhaps there will be some small-scale industrial, and they think financial department or administrative department are not necessary. Bu the fact is that t the sparrow has everything it should have, if your business wants to grow up healthily, you have to have such “bureaucracy.”
Some relatively small companies, employees also realized that in the company, if there is no administrative or financial system, their interests are not guaranteed. Especially the emergence of the parent relationship or friends in the company’s system, they are wanton destruction the regulations or lack of the implementation in the works, it will put the middle managers into a headache situation. If you punish them, they do not care; if you report to your boss, the problem probably will still exist. So that middle managers are really difficult to deal the problems when they face the relatives and friends of the boss.
If there is an administrative system in the middle of the case, monitor and execute with a firm hand to the company’s various systems and requirements, that any unfavorable factors for the company will soon be resolved.
May be because of the enlightenment of Christian faith, I think we have to back to the Bible when we face the problems in the church. And I believe that the Church needs “bureaucracy,” it is not for preventing people come to know God but to help the church more become orderly for God entrusts His church to us.
If you ask church members some questions such as do you know any administrative system? Or do you know what does administration plays in the church? Many of Christians will not be able to answer those question.
In the early church, Peter, James, and some apostles were the leaders of the church, and they have made the decision of major church issues. Elders, deacons, and bothers and sisters formed a simple church management system. But it is different with the system from outside because all people are equal in the church, but just have different entrustments from God, and we are individually responsible to God. On page 275, author mentions that “The body is a formal organization because it is a group of organs and tissues whose activities are deliberately coordinated for the achievement of specific goals or purpose. It is not a bureaucracy because there is no pyramidal hierarchy, instead, God teaches us through the apostle Paul that all members of the body are essential and that none id through to be more important than another.”
There are many types of church administration in the church history.
Bishop system (supervision system):
Such as the Catholic and Anglican Church, there will be a priest in each district church, and there will be a bishop on top of its area. Also there will be a big bishop above the district bishops. The bishop has some power in the church to guide the church.
In the history of the church, there were people opposed to this model, because of the emergence of “authoritarian privileged and hegemonic phenomenon.” At the same time, the most important thing is that most people think that this model is contrary to the view of “all priests” in the Bible. This bishop-style management system also appears in some of the family business; the boss has the ultimate power, and he can make the final call.
Elders system
The Elders system is very likely to the British parliamentary system. All the believers elect the elders according to the biblical truth. After elders are elected, they are become the responsible group or lead the group in the church, and they are authorized to make decisions and do not have to discuss with the others congregations. They can directly determine the direction and affairs of the church.
In fact, such as the Presbyterian Church and Reformed Church in Christianity, they both follow this elder system. Elders are mature in spiritual and steadfast in adherence to the truth of the Bible. It is good for few elders is responsible for the church ministry, if all believers of the church involved in the church decision ministry, the consequence probably become the mess, lack of knowledge to the truth is very likely to bring damages to the church.
Membership system
The church decision making is not decided by the elders, but by the members of the church who have right to make the decision. The problem is each member has different reputation and identity in the church based on their offering and services. This type of system is not good for long term church development because a group people will rise is not based on the gift of the Holy Spirit, but according to the interpersonal relationship in the church. Those people to determine the major issues of the church could be good and bad for the church.
Messy system
It contains some of other systems, but it looks like none of them. They stressed that “everyone is a butler; everyone is a priest.”
In the church community, there are more and more people began to start their own companies and enterprises. I think those people will pay more attention to the role of administration, and have a clear mind to understand the importance of church administration. Some churches also need to begin to pay attention to this issue with more observation from some good business which is developed and managed well, learn about their management model and methods. for those church leaders who don’t have the knowledge of administration, management is an excellent opportunity to learn and to grow, in order to serve the Lord wholeheartedly.
I believe the Church must have a system to help people in the community can act appropriately. We are all sinners and we still in the process to be holy, so we need order and frame in the church. When Jesus asked 5000 people to sit down, he asked them to sit down orderly, “Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties.” (Mark 6:39–40) For the church is a “living, growing, feeling organism that loves, rejoices, and reproduces; in short, a body.” May the Holy Spirit himself to lead the Lord’s Body to the Glory with man’s good cooperation to glorify God.
