Yesterday I reviewed Robert Welch’s Church Administration: Creating Efficiency for Effective Ministry, 2nd edition (2011). In that post, I noted that his research shows most pastors graduate from seminary with little or no preparation for church administration even though the average pastor spends around half of her or his time on such tasks.
When I entered seminary, I already had a solid educational and experiential background in administration outside of the for-profit sector. I had worked in management in the social services field and overseen multiple projects for a few congregations. I already knew I enjoyed administration and was perplexed that so many in pastoral positions found it tolerable at best. Since my undergraduate degree was in ministry and leadership, I completed a number of courses including perhaps the most practical course I have ever taken: Pastoral Administration. I took a number of other courses that provided significant preparation as well, including Human Resources Management, Biblical Theology of Leadership, Group Leadership, Case Studies in Leadership, and International Business Management.
In seminary, I was required to take a few courses focused on leadership and administration: Leadership for Ministry and Life and Work of the Pastor. Interestingly, the latter course was a repeat of the Pastoral Administration course I had taken a few years earlier; it was a course that covered the material in Welch’s text and provided the basic know how any would be pastor needs. I also took several courses in ethics, which included examples and case studies of church and denominational matters that I later faced in parish ministry. I also took courses focused on creating and overseeing (heavy on administration) specific functional ministries within the church from education to recreation. Additionally, my two semesters of field work/interning required me to engage in specific ministry areas within the life of a local church, which offered me hands-on learning opportunities in church administration.
So What?
I am glad that I am not tasked with creating degree plans for a seminary or determining what courses should be required. I do, however, believe that in addition to engaging in supervised ministry experiences/internships all seminarians would benefit from taking at least one course in church administration.
If you are a pastor: Did your seminary studies include church administration? Is a course in this area of ministry now required by your denomination’s seminary(ies)? What has been most helpful to you throughout your ministry in learning more about this aspect of ministry?
If you are not a pastor: Does it surprise you to learn that pastors are often not required to study administration in their preparation for ministry? How could your congregation assist a pastor in learning more if he/she arrived with limited knowledge and experience?