The Pastor and Church Administration

 

Is Administration for Pastors?

 

The New Testament’s First Administrators
by Brad Thayer

Administrators: Playing with Calculators or Building Up the Body of Christ?
by Mike Carnicella

Pastors, Don’t Forget to Shepherd Your Deacons
by Gus Pritchard

From the Archives: Why an Administrative Pastor
by Ryan Townsend

 

Staffing

 

Hiring and Firing
by Brad Wheeler

What Job Titles Should Churches Use? Two Simple Rules
by Jonathan Leeman

Evaluating How an Elder Is Ruling
by Bob Johnson

Why Clear Job Descriptions and Staff Structures Serve the Church
by Ryan Townsend

Why Pastors Should Submit to Each Other
by Jeff Wiesner

 

Buildings

 

Are Buildings Essential to Healthy Churches?
by Adam Sinnett

The Benefits of Having a Building
by Benjamin Woodward

What to Do When Your Building Is Full
by Mike Carnicella and Greg Gilbert

A Theological Framework for Buildings and Renovations
by John Henderson

 

Budgeting

 

How to Talk with Your Church About Money
by Jamie Dunlop

Handling Your Church’s Finances with Transparency and Integrity
by Jenny Terry

Who Should Know How Much Everyone Makes?
by Jason Read

Preparing Pastors for Retirement
by Brad Thayer

How Much Should We Pay Our Staff
by Jamie Dunlop

Addressing Staff Salary Discrepancies
by Dennis Blythe

Advocating for Your Own Pay
by Jamie Dunlop

 

Policies

 

Principles for a Benevolence Policy That Is Both Merciful and Wise
by Philip Duncanson

Why a Church Constitution Is More Than a Necessary Evil
by Greg Gilbert

How a Lack of Trellis Undermines Ministry
by Jonathan Rourke

How to Have a Well-Run Elders’ Meeting
by Aaron Menikoff

How to Use a Care List in Elders’ and Members’ Meetings
by Alex Bloomfield

LGBTQ+ Policies: What Do We Do about Youth Group?
by Zach Carter

Sabbaticals for the Shepherds
by Garrett Kell

Sample Constitution and Elder Meeting Bylaws

 

Editor’s Note:

Church administration is not my favorite church topic. Probably not top twenty, in fact. Yet when you need it, you need it. 

Who should you hire? When should you fire? How much should you pay? What job titles should you use? What about pastoral sabbaticals and retirement contributions? What’s a constitution good for? These might not be soul-energizing questions but answering them well is a mandate of love for the church. 

I learned as a young husband that, while I might want to celebrate “spontaneity” or “taking it easy,” loving my wife sometimes meant making plans, thinking ahead, establishing a few structures. This is what living with someone else, and not as a single man, means. So it is in a church. Working together well and peaceably requires attending to administration. 

We asked a number of lead pastors and administration or executive pastors to help us think through matters like staffing, building, budgets and other policies. As I read every article, I found myself asking a host of further questions I would not have thought to ask before. I trust you’ll discover the same. Even if we don’t answer every question you have (far from it, I assume), you’ll have a better sense of which questions to begin asking. 

Paul left Titus in Crete to “put what remained into order” (Titus 1:5). He also told the Corinthians, “all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). He was talking about the church gathering, of course, but the lesson applies more broadly. Pastors and deacons build up the body of Christ by caring for the staffing structures, pay policies, and building budgets. We pray this Journal will help. 

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