Now that the groundwork is laid and we have a few models to use in our day to day efforts, we turn to the parish, where the rubber meets road. Most people are brought to relationship (or deeper relationship) with Jesus through the activities of a parish. More specifically, parishioners are the key points of contact in ongoing faith development. Parishioners support the families who are seeking to inculcate the Faith into their children in a culture that is not supportive of faith.
Once again, the job is too important to be done poorly. A few words on parish management are in order.
Parish Management – Best practices derived from business
Let’s start with a management lesson from Exodus…
35:30 And Moses said to the sons of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with ability to do every sort of work…
36:2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every able man in whose mind the Lord had put ability, every one whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work; 3 and they received from Moses all the freewill offering which the sons of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. Exodus 35:30–35, 36:2-3 (RSV2CE):
Moses selected the best, those with skills, and provided more than adequate resources. Contrast that with the all too common outlook that the pastor must control every step in the process. The pastor is accountable but that does not mean that he must do it all himself. Actually, the fact that he is accountable demands that he effectively delegate.
The pastor must work with his parishioners (and with his bishop) to define a very specific mission for the parish. He must in every case develop a team to support the mission of his parish. He must do this in every case, not because canon law requires it but because the pastor has neither the time nor the expertise to do so himself. It is that simple. Additionally, opening the door to volunteers is an invitation to active discipleship. The idea that a pastor can utilize volunteers as his eyes and ears to do exactly as he would do is simply not workable. A pastor can set expectations and establish boundaries with both employees and with volunteers. He can follow up to see if he is getting the results he is seeking.
As the parish grows, he can establish teams to advise and consult on parish issues. In addition to a parish pastoral council and parish finance council, I would recommend a so-called kitchen cabinet of key employees and key volunteers to inform the pastor and support him. To quote the Quaker pastor Richard Foster, “Sheep bite, sometimes even when you are feeding them”. A group of advisers dedicated to the pastor’s well being as well as the parish can go a long way to help.
Parish Witness – Social justice lived out in HR practices
All parishes should work toward social justice, certainly by meeting people’s needs, and by changing structures if at all possible. Nothing on the HR front will substitute for that, but as I discussed earlier, the church gives witness to Christ (or not) by everything she does, including HR practices.
The key here is seeing that people are not reduced to mere inputs, to factors of production. I would highlight three areas, (i) pay, (ii) working conditions, and (iii) job security.
Let’s start with pay. Can your parish really afford to pay beyond minimum wage? I hope it can. If you have more than one paid employee, a pastor plus one, then you have made a conscious decision. How much a parish offers is dependent on its resources. The pastor decides how many programs to offer, how many employees to hire, and how many volunteers to use in these efforts. Imbedded in those decisions is the salary level of those people the church hires as employees. My strong suggestions is that church pays a living wage for all employees. I use the NACPA published figures for this.
Working conditions should reflect Catholic values. Job design should result in a reasonable workload. Benefits should include affordable health care and flexibility for parenting in the form of paid leave and workday flexibility. Church should endeavor to become a prayerful, joyful place to work.
Industry has all but abandoned the “job for life” philosophy in favor of competitive marketplace philosophy. Church HR policies, while not guaranteeing a job for life should attempt to reverse this trend. At its best, job loss would be attributable to behavior and not simply the level of job performance. We show love and respect the dignity of those who honestly try to serve.
That said, the industry standard of departure in three conversations (verbal warning, written warning, disciplinary action) prior to dismissal still holds for behavioral or ethical issues. Actually, effective witness may require appropriate disciplinary action of dismissal for certain infractions such as gossiping or habitual rudeness.
Parish Finance – Spending only what comes in; leveraging what we do by relying on volunteers
Parish finances are extremely important, even though they are only indirectly related to organizational design. They bear discussing because they are often used to delay or dismiss parish initiatives. I simplify parish finances to a quote from Charles Dickens:
Annual income twenty pounds,
annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six ,
result happiness.
Annual income twenty pounds,
annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six,
result misery.
The one great financial lever that parishes have at their disposal is volunteers. Most costs are staffing costs. Many parishioners are willing to volunteer to help, and that is the answer. Actually, the staff versus volunteer decisions goes across just about all churches. With few exceptions at the very low income end, an organization design that relies on volunteers can be adjusted to deliver parish programs within the parish budget.
It also important to recognize the interplay between parish programs and parishioner giving. Simply cutting costs cand cost you. Find what priorities you can fund.