Beginning to Administrate

This is a little off track, but not too far out there. I have been thinking about what happens when I "administrate" something. What happens, practically? Whether you are in a position that requires overall responsibility or just responsible for a small part, I think there are a couple of key things we need to do.

We need to think! Seems obvious. Not so. We need to take some time and think through all of the things that need to happen for a successful "event." Let's use a Sunday service as an example. You are the pastor (theoretically) so you have the overall responsibility for the service. You may delegate parts of it but they still have a strings attached to you. If you have been at this for awhile some of this may seem unimportant or unnecessary. OK for you, but perhaps, not for some one else.

There is no way I am suggesting that the pastor do all of this or even have his fingers in it other than as an overall leader (administrator).

Who does the bulletins? It's in good hands and I've given all of my announcements to the person.
Who handles worship? Ah, yes, the worship leader. Is he aware of any special things (music, drama) that I want to use because of my message that day? Do I communicate enough with the worship leader?

Do the ushers/greeters know their job? Do they have the handouts that they need? Are the baskets in the right place - if there is an offering? Is my message ready or being worked on faithfully? Did I get my PowerPoint to the sound people? And the list could go on.

Understand, again, most of these things are in other peoples hands as delegated responsibilities. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be aware of them. If we are unaware of these things we cannot appreciate the work that others are doing and good communication breaks down. Nothing will disgruntle your workers more than lack of acknowledgement and encouragement and training.

So as you sit in your chair or stand at your desk (recommended these days) on the day you work on this - THINK. Think of what could go wrong or right. Pray and ask God to make you aware of needs for the Sunday service.

As you journey through your service, notice what is going on. Look at the congregation, workers and see  what is working and what is not. I think a big part of administration is having eyes that see.

As always, throw in your comments. That's how we all learn.

The Options

For many years I was a faithful "Day-timer" person. The system served me well. Day-timer is one of many systems that you can use to keep track of your life and administrative duties. It is a paper system. I, and many of you, have moved to a digital system. The basic rule remains the same! USE IT!

There are many options out there for keeping track of contacts, lists, projects, etc. The important thing is to find one that you can and will use. Currently, I am committed to Google Email, Contacts and Calendar. These I use all of the time, often on my phone. It works pretty well for me - WHEN I REMEMBER THE BASIC RULE - USE IT!.

When you are using a system you need to make it your own. I cannot create labels or tags for you. I cannot sort the various items for you. You have to create that part of your system. I know artist-type people whose system looks like they used a 64 crayon box of Crayola Crayons. Others are strictly black and white. Some of the things you need to do follows.

1. Have a way to sort and store your email. You might use names or projects dates (pretty difficult over a long time). Learn to create rules in you digital system and these things can be done automatically.
2. Have a way to prioritize your to do list. Again, you can color code or letter code the list. Sometimes by altering an item simply you get a better list. For example, I will add a "0" (zero) to an item if I want it at the top of my list (in a digital system). Numbers always come before letters in sorting in ascending order.
3. Use your calendar to help with you list. Put a list item in the day you need to be working on it or the name of someone you want to contact at a later date in that day.

The bottom line for all of this info is,

Have a system and use it.

Administration for the Pastor

As always, your current position or responsibility is unknown to me. Many time the suggestions that are given can be adapted to your particular situation. If you find that you can't do that feel free to ask a question in the COMMENTS section and we will see what we can do.

Today let's be a pastor. It is your first workday after the weekend - for some that is Monday and for others it might be Tuesday. We will pass on the "at home stuff" for now. You arrive at your office or the place you do your "pastor" work. What has to happen between now and the next weekend?

Let's try and create a list. This is a one pastor office.

• teaching preparation (study, writing, thinking, praying)
• financial review (How is the income vs. expenses going? Do we need to cut some expenses?)
• pastoral meetings (marriage counseling, mentoring, discipling, meetings with various leaders)
• elders' meeting planning (agenda, resources)
• Christmas Service planning (children's program, choir, musicians, gifts, etc)
• Emails (reading and answering)
• Facebook (reading and responding where appropriate - some use Facebook instead of email)
• Write missionaries (often this is overlooked)
• review curriculum (Sunday school at all levels)
• Find a new usher (John just quit. Can I ask Luke?)
• Answer phone calls (listen to answering machine and return necessary calls)
• Visit hospital (hopefully this isn't necessary but...)
• Developmental reading (your own development as a pastor and leader needs to be nourished)
• Men's Bible Study (this is a group you lead on a weekly basis)
• Prayer (start you day in the office with this and take some prayer breaks through the day)
• Review various ministries of the church (What do they need? Where are the strengths and weaknesses? Are they doing OK?)
• Update Blog (only if you started one - should be done regularly to be effective)
• Follow-up on past meetings - do my action list from those meetings (What was it I had to do after the last elders' meeting? Leaders' team meeting?...more later)

This only a small part of what you need to do in your ministry but it is enough to get us panicked and/or overwhelmed. How do I begin?

This is the first day of your week. Pray first. Take several minutes just to lift up the planning you need to do. 

You should have a CALENDAR and LIST with you. Whether the CALENDAR is paper or digital makes no difference - IT DOES NEED TO BE THE SAME CALENDAR EACH TIME. The LIST may be considered a TO DO LIST or not. I like to call it MY LIST. It can be on paper or on a computer BUT as with the CALENDAR it is the same LIST you used last time and will use next time.

Enough for today. If you want an assignment, make up your own list of what you need to do in your ministry similar to the one I just listed. That is a key important part of administration - know what you have to do. 

Be sure to add any thoughts to the COMMENTS.