Satisfacción laboral

UNIT 2 PASTORAL ADMINISTRATION

word “Church” is used here in reference to a specific Christian community which assembles under one roof. It is not being used in reference to, for example, one founding a Church. The focus here is not on how to found and run an ecclesial community or Church. Therefore, a Church in this unit is used to describe a self-contained local Christian community with an independent administrative structure commonly called a parish, but is dependent upon, and part of a larger administrative structure which is commonly called a diocese. Some ecclesial communities do not use the word “Church” to refer to such an entity, but similar appellations such as “chapel” and “hall”, “assembly”. A Church or parish may have other Church communities administratively attached to it, as outstations. Different dioceses make up an ecclesial community, which is also referred to as Church.

Excluding the exercise of liturgical ministry, the pastoral administration of a Church involves three basic areas: personnel administration, the administration of temporal or material goods, and program planning. In personnel administration, the pastoral administrator seeks to collaborate with other members of the pastoral team for the duration of their assignment or ministry. Usually, members of a pastoral team have a term of office. The pastoral team may be people assigned to the pastoral minister from the Bishop, Superior, Coordinator, General Overseer or Superintendent, to assist him or her. They may be people he or she came to meet in the Church already exercising pastoral responsibilities, or they may be people that he or she may have to appoint. For instance, the pastoral administrator may have a close collaborator such as a principal assistant. Other pastoral collaborators or co-workers could be the directors, coordinators, leaders, presidents and chairpersons of the different arms of administration and of pastoral roles such as those of the word ministry, evangelical ministry, prayer ministry, finance team, singing, youth, men and women. It is advisable to design an organogram or organizational chart for the Church. This clarifies the structure of authority, and enables all to know to whom they are responsible, and to whom they are answerable.

By exercising good management or leadership styles and skills, the pastoral administrator seeks to collaborate with these people, working with them as a team, being genuinely interested in bringing the best out of their areas of responsibility. The pastoral administrator has to coordinate all the activities of the Church by guiding, directing, monitoring, and controlling all the activities of the Church personnel. He or she should delegate as often as necessary, and positively motivate the personnel by being attentive to their pastoral, career, social and personal needs, so as to help them to keep alive and achieve the goal of ministry.

The administrator does these, being fully aware of the organizational goals of the entire ecclesial community, the demands of the board of

trustees or central administration of the Church, and in line with the policies and guidelines of the specific Church community being administered.

Pastoral administration of personnel may include also the management of office and house staff, such as secretaries, managers or directors of different Church projects, security men, drivers, cooks and stewards, in a way that their services would be harnessed towards the effective running of the Church. The personnel of the Church should be assisted in every way to make their ministries and services smooth and effective, for each person’s role would definitely affect the running of the entire Church. Where salaries are paid, efforts should be made to pay them justly and promptly. Moreover, the administrator should see to the welfare of the collaborators according to Church principles and directives. Good personnel administration through effective planning, directing, coordination, evaluation, reporting and communication leads to good teamwork, and a sense of common ownership of the Church and of its activities.

The pastoral administration of the temporal or material goods of the Church has to do with the administration of the physical plants and finances of the Church. These are the Church’s assets and liabilities, including the land on which the Church is built, the buildings on the Church premises and others under the administration of the Church. It also includes equipment and cash. A yearly or periodic inventory of Church property should be made, and these properties adequately monitored in their use and maintenance. Church insurance policies and pension schemes, bank accounts, investments, wills/bequests, endowment funds and projects should also be closely monitored, and expert assistance sought where necessary. The use of modern information storage and retrieval system can be of immense help in record keeping and tracking. The pastoral administrator represents the Church in all juridical transactions of the Church. However, the Church should have its legal adviser or lawyer to assist the Church in all legal matters.

The pastoral administrator should ensure that Church funds are very well accounted for. Good accountability has to do with transparency. At the beginning of the fiscal year, a budget should be drawn up based on realistic expectations of income, and a record of expenditure kept, based on the norms approved for expenditures. At determined periods during the year, a financial report should be given. At the end of the fiscal year, the Church account should be audited by external auditors, and a full financial account and financial report presented to the Church. Adequate financial returns should also be made to the appropriate quarters.

In program planning, the pastoral administrator of a Church sets about mapping out the day to day pastoral programs of the Church. This can be done on a short term, medium term or long term basis. For greater effectiveness and to ensure maximum collaboration by the Church members in the pastoral plan of the Church, the pastoral administrator needs a council, such as a Church executive council, a Church council, or a parish pastoral council. It would be the responsibility of the council, making use of its standing and ad hoc committees, to deliberate on, make decisions about, and carry out specific tasks on behalf of the Church. They would gather information and data, and correlate them towards effective planning. They would authorize certain persons to engage in certain activities, certain activities to be held, and certain expenditures to be made. Such a council would plan the budget and fundraising activities of the Church through its finance committee, resolve conflicts in the Church through its reconciliation committee, maintain order and discipline in the Church through its disciplinary committee, and seek to improve the quality of worship in the Church through its worship committee.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1

i. Mention the three areas of pastoral administration.

ii. What is the usefulness of a Church or parish pastoral council?

4.0 CONCLUSION

From the above, you have been introduced to some of the dynamics of the pastoral administration of a Church. Through the unit you have been able to understand some general principles that can help you to appreciate the different dimensions of the pastoral administration of a Church, such as personnel administration, administration of the temporal or material goods of the Church, and programme planning.

5.0 SUMMARY

The following are the major points you have learnt in this unit:

In personnel administration, the pastoral administrator seeks to collaborate with other members of the pastoral team.

The pastoral administration of the temporal or material goods of the Church has to do with the administration of the physical plants and finances of the Church.

The pastoral administrator should ensure that Church funds are very well accounted for. Good accountability has to do with transparency.

In programme planning, the pastoral administrator of a Church sets about mapping out the day to day pastoral programmes of the Church. This can be done on a short term, medium term or long term basis.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. In what ways can a pastoral administrator collaborate with the pastoral team?

2. How should the pastoral administrator ensure that Church funds are accounted for?

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Forman, R., J. Jones and B. Miller (2004) The Leadership Baton: An Intentional Strategy for Developing Leaders in your Church, Michigan: Zondervan.

Kouzes, J. M. and B. Z. Posner (1987) The Leadership Challenge: How to get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

O’Meara, T. F. (1983) Theology of Ministry, New York: Paulist Press.

Oden, T. C. (1983) Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry, San Francisco: Harper & Row.

Ogungbangbe, J. A. (2000) Church Administration: A Practical Approach, Lagos: CSS Limited.

Okoh, I. E. (1997) Church Finances and Accounting, Lagos: Mbeyi &

Associates.

Umoren, A. I. (2007) Leadership Styles and Skills for Christian Service, Abuja: Ugwu Printing and Publishing.

UNIT 3 PASTORAL COUNSELLING