About the Presentation
Church can be improved by selectively adopting best practices from industry. It would benefit from four points in particular – (i) better leadership skills, (ii) team-based approaches, (iii) a more flexible view toward hierarchy that recognizes individual gifts in addition to hierarchical position and (iv) an organizational design that recognizes the reality of their particular Church.
The Roman Catholic Church operates on several levels, but for our present purposes we’ll look at the importance of church, its parishes, and its dioceses.
About the Author
Deacon Tom Collier is the Pastoral Associate / Business Manager for St. Ann Parish in Midland, Texas. Deacon Tom is a married father of four, and grandfather of three. After concluding a forty-year career in the upstream oil and gas industry, he moved to looking after the souls of St. Ann parishioners and staff, human resource functions of the parish staff, as well as managing the finances and facilities of the parish. He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering, and master’s degrees in business and theology.
About the Conference
“The National Association of Church Personnel Administrators promotes leadership in human resources, finance and administration that models Gospel values, promoting justice in the workplace.” “NACPA’s annual convocation allows members to learn from experts in HR and the world of HR in the Church; from those who have succeeded in creating a better and more prosperous environment, through the field of HR, within their communities. During the three-day meeting, delegates attend a spirited Opening Ceremony, uplifting prayer services, and networking opportunities”.
The following summarizes the discussion of the topics that were covered in a ninety-minute breakout session.
Priority of Doing Church – Just how important is what we do?
Apple puts technology at our fingertips, GE brings good things to life. Ford provides transportation to everyone. Big pharma promises us better life through chemistry. I ask this question because over the years I have heard and seen church operations used primarily as a means of providing employment as charitable outreach.
What about the Church? What do we offer? We offer life – a happier, more joyful life followed by an eternity of bliss. When we fail, what is the consequence? At its worst eternal damnation.
None of the industries I mentioned earlier deal in eternal life – or death for that matter.
Again, I ask, is what we do as Church important? Vitally. Is it then important that we do it well? Absolutely. Should we each go back home, raise our performance expectations, dismiss the lowest performers and replace them with better employees? Absolutely not. How we do what we do is also of vital importance. How we reflect the gospel of Jesus Christ is always part and parcel to our mission.
What we do and how we do it are critically important. We don’t offer a product. We offer life, joy, and happiness that lasts for an eternity. We are a gateway and guide to a deeper relationship with God almighty in the person of Jesus Christ.
How is Church Different?
The Church – the work that we do – is every bit as important as any secular industry. What sets us apart in how we operate? How, exactly is the church different?
Prayer & lots of it
The first and to me one the most obvious differences is the role of prayer in our organization. First of all, we claim to represent Christ on earth. Unless we check in “the boss” regularly we can easily lose our focus. Secondly, prayer is something we should be inculcating in those we serve, and to do that we need to model it. We need to pray.
I remember discussing prayer during a leadership team meeting where we were assessing our progress. We were discussing the level of prayer we thought we had amongst our parishioners and I noted that I had yet to catch one of them praying with or for another. The point is that our leadership team discussed the results we were trying to achieve. Eventually, I did catch a few parishioners praying for one another.
Prayer, lots of it. We want our people to be closer to the Lord. We want our staffs to be closer to the Lord. We know that prayer is essential in that regard. Therefore we need to be models of prayer to our staff and to our people. It is okay not to answer the phone, especially if word leaks out that we place a high priority on prayer.
Witness to Christ – how and who we manage employees gives witness to Christ
Church must give witness to Christ. If you say it quickly enough it almost sounds easy. It is not. Giving witness to Christ does not mean being spineless. Remember, what we do is too important to do poorly. Remember also that the witness we give is too important to do poorly as well.
I would suggest that the central concept in giving witness through organizational design is to honor the dignity of the human person. Let me spend a minute or two fleshing this out. Much of what I am about to say may sound pretty simple, but I’ll say it anyway and see if it jogs any memories or new ideas.
How we treat others is critical. Respect here is the key. I almost don’t need to say that, almost anyway. I have seen personally (in one the many dioceses) and heard so many stories of people not acting respectfully to one another. Here I differentiate between church staff, parishioners, clients, and outsiders. Church staff need not and should not always agree, but they should always remain respectful in tone and character. Parishioners are generally respectful, but on those rare occasions when they are not they should still be met with respect. Christ did not always agree with those around him. He was at times quite blunt. He was rarely, if ever disrespectful (other than perhaps that “brood of vipers” remark). Clients are another matter. Before I go on I need to let you know that I have developed a bad habit of referring to demanding parishioners as “clients”. I can tell you that it is hard work bringing someone from a client to a disciple. But in this context, I am referring to those who approach us with a legitimate need. For instance, someone calls needing sacramental records, or wishes to rent church facilities, or the like. Once again, a timely respectful response is in order.
One particular class of people that fit the client definition who represent a challenge are the angry poor. They approach us looking for material help, and it is our job to help where and how we can. Even if it is only to listen and perhaps provide a cool drink of water, we should do that with respect. If can do more, we should. I remember a Paulist priest saying that sometimes the only thing that some people can truly call their own is their anger, and they are not inclined to give that up no matter how much you help. The hard case is when things get out of hand. It is hard to give good witness to Christ when the other person is shouting at you or is threatening violence. Here, remaining calm (as best as one can) but asking them firmly to leave seems to me the best way forward.
Also, let me circle back to the need for prayer. It is vital that we pray for all the people with whom we come into contact. This is doubly important for the challenging ones.
Finally, there are the outsiders. We must do our best to be inviting. We don’t change our teaching, but we don’t use it as a wedge either. We invite.
Today, we are here mostly to talk about how we handle staff within the church. I think the best example I can give for how a church should be administered is to use the worst example from industry. A very influential company made a point to attract and retain only the best talent. So far, I have no issue with this. On the way to that goal, they rated every employee every year and gave significant bonuses to the top ten percent. They fired the bottom ten percent. The program was called rate and rif. RIF for reduction in force. There are reasons why this does not work well in all businesses. Here is a prime example of treating people simply like factors of production.
This also involves how we adapt to changes. We hire an employee to do a job and then things change. This is true in every case. If nothing else, as an employee gains experience they learn how to better do their job. But what if the trend goes the other way? What if their job demands change due to changes in the world around us? What if an employee’s abilities diminish with time? At this point, we need to differentiate whether the issue is related to a decision made by the employee or whether it is reasonably outside of the employee’s control. I would argue that this is a departure from industry practice. For instance, illness and aging tend to diminish an employees ability to contribute and not their willingness. The case, which I’ll nickname “Want-to-but-can’t” deserves considerable deference from management.
This makes employee selection a very important activity. The so-called contract is a longer term one. It is vital that we work hard to assess both the aptitude and the attitude of prospective employees. These people will be with us for a long time. We want them to be right for our organization. Every employee needs to add to the mission and to the team.
Dealing with dispute – a more patient & loving approach that finds the right voice
Finally, an area that makes church different from industry is how we resolve disputes. Legitimate disputes arise wherever two or more are gathered for any length of time. I recall a supervisor of mine in the corporate world ask just how much time I was going to spend on a dispute related to a lower paid position. Although this is reasonably efficient, I would suggest that it has no place in church management. In church management, I would recommend that the facts be determined, a way forward decided, and hurt feelings addressed promptly. I would recommend giving deference to the lower paid employee in the dispute. This is a means to prevent a utilitarian approach from taking hold.
In the end it is important to recognize that we will have disputes, sometimes over the forward course, sometimes over the way we reach our goal, and sometimes over the way we treat each other along the way. It is very important that we not let the sun go down on our anger, but promptly and respectfully move toward resolution.
Which leads to where Church and Industry are alike and experiences that might be brought to bear. The next part of my talk will address a few areas where church can learn from industry…
Industry Experience Brought to Bear
The Parish – Where the rubber meets the road
Coming Soon!
Additional content to be added in the coming weeks…