1.When you’re at college if you don’t get along with someone, it’s so easy just to go to your room and shut the door (unless it’s your roommate, then you just avoid them until the last possible moment). At church, you can’t ignore them, you see them all the time, and there is no getting away from them.
2.When you’re at college and you don’t get along with someone, you can just ignore them by walking away before they talk to you, never leave your room, hang out with other friends, etc. However, when you are at the church, you can only go so far with that before you hurt the other person.
3.When you are at college, it’s so easy to be friends on a superficial level with those who fit your personality and form a clique that fits you. However, when you are in a church you don’t always have that option, you work with those who you have to work with and sometimes you may not always like the people you have to work with in a group setting.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Church Conflict Story (Tyler)
I interviewed Aaron Cloud on February 24th. It was difficult for Aaron to come up with an example of conflict in his church. It is a small church in which the majority of people are related to each other or in some way close friends that have been there for a long time. However, there are small "kinks" in the system that seem to cause some strife every once in a while. One of those examples involved the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army had asked Aaron if they could give a short presentation before the congregation one Sunday in order to share some of the wonderful things that they are doing. Aaron asked the board and the board approved it. However, there is a woman in the church who is not a part of the board, but feels the need to know everything that is happening in the church every Sunday. Well, somehow the word did not get to this woman that the Salvation Army man was going to be speaking. Well, she didn't like it one bit when that man went up to talk. She was "thrown off" and had no idea what to think. It really wasn't that big of a deal, but they created some emotional strife among the members of the board and the congregation. In fact, during the testimony of the Salvation Army man, this woman verbally said, "Good grief". Now, this seems harmless, but it is still harmful to the congregation and the visitor. It was sort of a shame to see and experience. After church she actually approached Aaron and said, "I have four members of my family on the board and not one of them told me that the Salvation Army man was coming today! What do you think about that?" Aaron really didn't know what to say so he simply apologized. I was impressed with how Aaron and the congregation handled her, but I was a little disappointed in the way she acted both publicly and privately. I'm not sure the S.A man knew what was going on, but he certainly felt some tension. It is a shame that conflict can arise and ruin what potentially could be a great moment for the church.
Week 7 (Michael Berens) Church Conflict
Week 7
Michael Berens
Church conflict story
Tuesday February 23, 2009
I spoke with Chris Demarse on February 4th, 2009
At a church near here there is a rotation of worship leaders that lead every couple of weeks on Sunday mornings. Mainly there are younger College aged students that lead, but there are a few older men and women. One particular couple that lead together on a pretty regular basis were beginning to have some problems. They seemed to do ok until emotional issues started to service. Apparently at previous churches this couple had been scorned and burned. Like humans do, they carried it with them and brought there past hurts into their worship. They started to become unruly and it was very evident that whatever sores they had were being wiped onto the church they were in now.
What is a pastor to do? Well talking was one of the pastor suggestions, but somewhere along the way it never happened. The couple did not get scheduled to lead again for the next few months and were very upset. Their worship was extremely distracting and hurtful in the service and they did not understand that. A younger pastor now has to talk to them about their emotional past hurts and their worship leading. That is a hard situation to be in.
It is not resolved yet and is breeding discomfort in the relationship that couple has with the church. Something needs to change for them to be able to come back and be leaders again. Something needs to be resolved in their past.
Michael Berens
Church conflict story
Tuesday February 23, 2009
I spoke with Chris Demarse on February 4th, 2009
At a church near here there is a rotation of worship leaders that lead every couple of weeks on Sunday mornings. Mainly there are younger College aged students that lead, but there are a few older men and women. One particular couple that lead together on a pretty regular basis were beginning to have some problems. They seemed to do ok until emotional issues started to service. Apparently at previous churches this couple had been scorned and burned. Like humans do, they carried it with them and brought there past hurts into their worship. They started to become unruly and it was very evident that whatever sores they had were being wiped onto the church they were in now.
What is a pastor to do? Well talking was one of the pastor suggestions, but somewhere along the way it never happened. The couple did not get scheduled to lead again for the next few months and were very upset. Their worship was extremely distracting and hurtful in the service and they did not understand that. A younger pastor now has to talk to them about their emotional past hurts and their worship leading. That is a hard situation to be in.
It is not resolved yet and is breeding discomfort in the relationship that couple has with the church. Something needs to change for them to be able to come back and be leaders again. Something needs to be resolved in their past.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Week 6 (Thursday)
When I enter into the ministry full-time, I’m sure that there will be a shift back towards 70s, maybe, or else it’ll just stay the same. The change in approach to administrative work came probably because of the baby boomers coming into their careers and wanting to look more important or something like that. They wanted to be “official” by doing office work, hence the home office was taken to the church office and made to look more professional. The pastor stopped spending all his time in preparation for sermons and began to take care of administrative tasks as well. If anything happens during my time, I would love to see the administrative tasks that the pastor does be lightened or become more balanced, some pastors spend a lot of hours doing administrative tasks and not too much time preparing for sermons. That is where I hope it will go eventually.
If I was to think of an ideal situation when it comes to hours spent in doing church work, this would be my ideal world. I would want to spend as little as possible in Administration tasks (1-7 hours), and would prefer to spend most, if not all of my time preparing for ministries and sermons (39-33 hours). I am not really interested all that much in administrative tasks, because sometimes I think that they are nothing more than a time waster, but that’s my opinion and my perfect world, unfortunately that’s not the world we live in today.
If I was to think of an ideal situation when it comes to hours spent in doing church work, this would be my ideal world. I would want to spend as little as possible in Administration tasks (1-7 hours), and would prefer to spend most, if not all of my time preparing for ministries and sermons (39-33 hours). I am not really interested all that much in administrative tasks, because sometimes I think that they are nothing more than a time waster, but that’s my opinion and my perfect world, unfortunately that’s not the world we live in today.
Week 6 (Tuesday)
I interviewed Pastor Mary Eileen Spence on Sunday, February 15
1. How do you set boundaries in your schedule so you are not totallycontrolled by others?
a. She sets boundaries every time she’s in the office; however, she sometimes breaks those boundaries. She has gotten better over the years concerning the boundaries she sets. Makes a set time (or tries to, doesn’t always work) for meetings on a weekly basis. Sets aside 3 days a week, for several hours to do administrative work. She sets aside time in the early morning hours for devotions and exercise time, because otherwise she might not ever get it in.
2. Two best pieces of advice for a new church staffer to efficiently get their work done in the time available.
a. Set times for answering telephone calls and coorespondence and doing mundane administrative work. Do them all at once if possible. Try to respond to someone the same day or at the very least the next day. Get the monkey off your back.
b. Close your door at work or your home office. Avoid the temptation to do home tasks when in your home office, at the office the door closed usually means no interruptions. However if someone does interrupt, be quick in assessing whether or not its something that needs to be attended to or to invite them to set an appointment.
1. How do you set boundaries in your schedule so you are not totallycontrolled by others?
a. She sets boundaries every time she’s in the office; however, she sometimes breaks those boundaries. She has gotten better over the years concerning the boundaries she sets. Makes a set time (or tries to, doesn’t always work) for meetings on a weekly basis. Sets aside 3 days a week, for several hours to do administrative work. She sets aside time in the early morning hours for devotions and exercise time, because otherwise she might not ever get it in.
2. Two best pieces of advice for a new church staffer to efficiently get their work done in the time available.
a. Set times for answering telephone calls and coorespondence and doing mundane administrative work. Do them all at once if possible. Try to respond to someone the same day or at the very least the next day. Get the monkey off your back.
b. Close your door at work or your home office. Avoid the temptation to do home tasks when in your home office, at the office the door closed usually means no interruptions. However if someone does interrupt, be quick in assessing whether or not its something that needs to be attended to or to invite them to set an appointment.
Office Work (Tyler)
My "ideal" office work situation is going to look different, because I don't really see myself in the traditional view of a local church. If I am hearing God's call correctly, I'm supposed to make my ministry a coffee shop/bakery of some sort. Because this is the case, my time spent in the "office" will look a little different. I think that mostly I will be available to pray or discuss things any time that I'm not making bread or coffee. I'll be pretty available to love and talk at all points during the day. I'm pretty excited about this fact. There have been many times where I have gone to talk to my pastor about an issue that I felt was urgent and he simply told me that I would need to come back during his "office hours". This really hurt. When did ministry begin to have "office hours"? Even our professors in the religion department don't have office hours, technically. They have an open door policy that says, if my door is open, you are welcome to come in. I love and would embrace this philosophy. If my door/building/business is open, you are welcome to come in and feel love and compassion. People that seem closed out usually are closed out. Pastors can easily shut themselves out from the world and reverse the very thing they have been called to do. In this individualistic society, it doesn't surprise me to hear of this shift in culture, but it does disappoint me. As a future pastor, I hope to be one of many people reversing this shift.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Week 6 Office Work Michael Berens
Week 6
Michael Berens
Thursday, 19, 2009
Office Work
I think the shift in the church was a shift that culture induced. The shift from the seventies to the eighties was a bi product of the increase in communication over the phones. Also people had more of a business mind about church during the eighties and nineties. Recently, another change is brewing. The relational church is on the move. The church still may utilize the phones like they use to, but face-to-face, intimate interaction is what people want. Authenticity does not translate on the phone. People want to know that their pastor is real. I wonder if more pastors will be hired to be conversationalists rather than entrepreneurs.
In an ideal church I would be in the church office about 25 percent of the hours I am required to be in. I feel like my ideal life as a pastor still involves being bi vocational. I would still like to work a job outside of the church. I see this as a means fro getting a paycheck and a way to be connected to the community around the church. Even if the hours only add up to a short percentage of the week, it is still worth it to be involved in something outside of the church office. The other part of the 75 percent of not being in the office will be meeting with people over meals and coffee. I would also like to do a daily community project for the least, last and the lost. It would be a way that I could continually serve rather than just a Saturday to appease my serving quota. Finally the actual 25 percent that I would spend in the office would be to tend the administrative tasks. Phone calls, emails, and preparation for the up coming Sunday would fill the majority of that time. Whatever other time is left goes to creating the church staff family and relationships. It would be about a fifty hour a week commitment between my side job, church business, and relationships.
Michael Berens
Thursday, 19, 2009
Office Work
I think the shift in the church was a shift that culture induced. The shift from the seventies to the eighties was a bi product of the increase in communication over the phones. Also people had more of a business mind about church during the eighties and nineties. Recently, another change is brewing. The relational church is on the move. The church still may utilize the phones like they use to, but face-to-face, intimate interaction is what people want. Authenticity does not translate on the phone. People want to know that their pastor is real. I wonder if more pastors will be hired to be conversationalists rather than entrepreneurs.
In an ideal church I would be in the church office about 25 percent of the hours I am required to be in. I feel like my ideal life as a pastor still involves being bi vocational. I would still like to work a job outside of the church. I see this as a means fro getting a paycheck and a way to be connected to the community around the church. Even if the hours only add up to a short percentage of the week, it is still worth it to be involved in something outside of the church office. The other part of the 75 percent of not being in the office will be meeting with people over meals and coffee. I would also like to do a daily community project for the least, last and the lost. It would be a way that I could continually serve rather than just a Saturday to appease my serving quota. Finally the actual 25 percent that I would spend in the office would be to tend the administrative tasks. Phone calls, emails, and preparation for the up coming Sunday would fill the majority of that time. Whatever other time is left goes to creating the church staff family and relationships. It would be about a fifty hour a week commitment between my side job, church business, and relationships.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Time Management Advice
Michael Berens
Week 6
February 17, 2009
Time Management Advice
Chris Demarse
February 11, 2009
Boundaries
1.Chris mentioned that he has certain days where he can meet with people. When someone asks him to meet he brings up those two days and gives them a time within that structure. This helps with sporadic meetings and also helps create freedom on other days. Sometimes on the days he meets with people he becomes over booked and figures out another time if it is pertinent, otherwise he sticks to the two-day rule. Being bi-vocational is a time nightmare if he is not careful. Besides meeting with people, he does random things for the church that a normal church staff would have other pastors do. So he does not plan as well at nights, other than having set times throughout the week to especially be with his wife. Wednesday night is staff meeting, Thursday night is bible study and Sunday night is either board meeting or prayer at the church. Other than that he tries to keep free for his wife, if he can. The church does call at odd times. If a pipe bursts or a wall needs to be mended he goes. So these boundaries are more for meeting with people rather than small church tasks that continually need to get done.
Two pieces of Advice
2.The first is that you need to have a plan and try to stick to it as best you can. It can be tentative, but when you make it, say I am going to stick to it. The second is; learn to say no. The problem with new staff members is that they don’t understand that they cannot handle taking every project the pastor throws out at staff meeting. Take only what you can and say no to the rest until you get what you said yes to, done. New staffers can get lost in the sea of jobs and responsibilities right away. Ease into understanding the new schedule and work load.
Week 6
February 17, 2009
Time Management Advice
Chris Demarse
February 11, 2009
Boundaries
1.Chris mentioned that he has certain days where he can meet with people. When someone asks him to meet he brings up those two days and gives them a time within that structure. This helps with sporadic meetings and also helps create freedom on other days. Sometimes on the days he meets with people he becomes over booked and figures out another time if it is pertinent, otherwise he sticks to the two-day rule. Being bi-vocational is a time nightmare if he is not careful. Besides meeting with people, he does random things for the church that a normal church staff would have other pastors do. So he does not plan as well at nights, other than having set times throughout the week to especially be with his wife. Wednesday night is staff meeting, Thursday night is bible study and Sunday night is either board meeting or prayer at the church. Other than that he tries to keep free for his wife, if he can. The church does call at odd times. If a pipe bursts or a wall needs to be mended he goes. So these boundaries are more for meeting with people rather than small church tasks that continually need to get done.
Two pieces of Advice
2.The first is that you need to have a plan and try to stick to it as best you can. It can be tentative, but when you make it, say I am going to stick to it. The second is; learn to say no. The problem with new staff members is that they don’t understand that they cannot handle taking every project the pastor throws out at staff meeting. Take only what you can and say no to the rest until you get what you said yes to, done. New staffers can get lost in the sea of jobs and responsibilities right away. Ease into understanding the new schedule and work load.
Time Management Advice (Tyler)
Who did you interview and when? (I interviewed Pastor Aaron Cloud and the date was February 16th, 2009)
1) How do you set boundaries in your schedule so you are not totally controlled by others?
One of the ways that Aaron sets boundaries in his schedule is by blocking out times in his actual calendar. By doing this he is able to actually declare himself as "busy" during certain times of the day. For example, he has a time slot from 12-4 every Tuesday and Thursday as "busy". He actually uses this time to do study and catch up on some internet research. This is important time to him that allows him to stay grounded and true to himself. If he didn't have this time, then he would be overused and abused. It is a difficult time being the only pastor of a relatively small church in the middle of nowhere. There are many issues that are tied to the difficulty of this fact. One of the issues is the fact that living in the country, Aaron has to travel great distances in order to simply visit a group of people. I have been with him on a weekend when he put in close to one hour worth of travel. This was a startling fact for me. I don't know where I will "do" church, but if it is in the country, I need to be prepared to travel a ton. The travel time is something that Aaron anticipates and includes in his boundaries. If he knows that there is going to be a lot of time spent traveling, then he is going to have to include that time in his visiting. If he says that he is going to visit multiple people, then he needs to factor that into his boundaries. It would be extremely easy to become controlled by others in serving a small church. Because he is the only pastor, he is the only person that people call on when there is an issue that needs taken care of. So, his boundaries could be easily jumped if the congregation desired to get in touch with him. If someone in the congregation decided that they needed Aaron to come to his house, they know where to reach him and what his hours are. While this is convenient for them, it is a direct line to Aaron's time. He must be careful, and he intentionally sets up strict boundaries in order to prevent the abuse of these boundaries.
2) Time Management Advice
Two of the best pieces of advice for a new church staffer that Aaron recommends is both publishing his calendar and scheduling time for himself. Aaron mentioned that when he took his church leadership class, Dr. Drury mentioned the fact that he would block out entire hours in his daily schedule that was purely meant for writing and research. So, Aaron practices this as well (like I mentioned above). He blocks out that 12-4 time slot in order to have time saved for himself. If it wasn't for this time he would be constantly busy with ministry stuff. One of the ways he lets people know that he doesn't have entire hours dedicated to just traveling and ministry is through letting his calendar be public. When people see that he has events planned for studying and relaxation by himself, they know that this is his time and not theirs. This has come in handy in being able to tell people "no". Instead of Aaron saying, "no", he can simply tell them to look at his schedule and see if he has time. If he does, then he can say "yes". If he doesn't, then he can say "no". He lets the calendar do the talking.
1) How do you set boundaries in your schedule so you are not totally controlled by others?
One of the ways that Aaron sets boundaries in his schedule is by blocking out times in his actual calendar. By doing this he is able to actually declare himself as "busy" during certain times of the day. For example, he has a time slot from 12-4 every Tuesday and Thursday as "busy". He actually uses this time to do study and catch up on some internet research. This is important time to him that allows him to stay grounded and true to himself. If he didn't have this time, then he would be overused and abused. It is a difficult time being the only pastor of a relatively small church in the middle of nowhere. There are many issues that are tied to the difficulty of this fact. One of the issues is the fact that living in the country, Aaron has to travel great distances in order to simply visit a group of people. I have been with him on a weekend when he put in close to one hour worth of travel. This was a startling fact for me. I don't know where I will "do" church, but if it is in the country, I need to be prepared to travel a ton. The travel time is something that Aaron anticipates and includes in his boundaries. If he knows that there is going to be a lot of time spent traveling, then he is going to have to include that time in his visiting. If he says that he is going to visit multiple people, then he needs to factor that into his boundaries. It would be extremely easy to become controlled by others in serving a small church. Because he is the only pastor, he is the only person that people call on when there is an issue that needs taken care of. So, his boundaries could be easily jumped if the congregation desired to get in touch with him. If someone in the congregation decided that they needed Aaron to come to his house, they know where to reach him and what his hours are. While this is convenient for them, it is a direct line to Aaron's time. He must be careful, and he intentionally sets up strict boundaries in order to prevent the abuse of these boundaries.
2) Time Management Advice
Two of the best pieces of advice for a new church staffer that Aaron recommends is both publishing his calendar and scheduling time for himself. Aaron mentioned that when he took his church leadership class, Dr. Drury mentioned the fact that he would block out entire hours in his daily schedule that was purely meant for writing and research. So, Aaron practices this as well (like I mentioned above). He blocks out that 12-4 time slot in order to have time saved for himself. If it wasn't for this time he would be constantly busy with ministry stuff. One of the ways he lets people know that he doesn't have entire hours dedicated to just traveling and ministry is through letting his calendar be public. When people see that he has events planned for studying and relaxation by himself, they know that this is his time and not theirs. This has come in handy in being able to tell people "no". Instead of Aaron saying, "no", he can simply tell them to look at his schedule and see if he has time. If he does, then he can say "yes". If he doesn't, then he can say "no". He lets the calendar do the talking.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Week 5 - People (Thursay)
If you are typing up a bulleting an you are printing the songs for the week inside the bulletin, you could think of the needs of the elderly people in your congregation. What I mean is that you could print off the songs and the bulletin in large print so that a person who has a hard time seeing can read the words. Another way is dealing with answering the phone; instead of sounding harsh and judgmental, you can try to be more accommodating; even if people might not always be the nicest when on the phone. Basically what I am saying is that when you are doing administrative work, do it for the LORD, but also have the right attitude when you are working on those things; and remember to try and meet peoples needs when you are doing administrative work (larger print, louder volume when on the phone, etc).
People Essay (Tyler)
It is a difficult thing to involve people in what is essentially a people-less task. Administrative tasks may deal with people indirectly, but it is hardly ever directly involved with focusing directly on people. As I was thinking about how to make people more involved in the administrative side of ministry, a couple of ideas came to mind. One of my ideas was practical and one of my ideas was more philosophical. The practical idea involved the minister doing the administrative task in some social setting. Now, I don't mean going to a party and pulling out your laptop to “get some work done”. But I would suggest a pastor on his office hours doing his administrative paper-work at a coffee shop. Some of the greatest ministry I have ever seen has been at a coffee shop just sitting there reading or typing. If we could get this type of contact in a simple coffee shop interaction while completing administrative work, I think we are killing two birds with one stone. You are ministering to people, and you are getting work done. I'm not sure how truly impactive this could be to people, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. I'm sure there are better ways and more creative ways, but doing administrative work in a coffee shop is a start. Secondly, my philosophical idea deals with doing administrative work as a way to create and facilitate the focus back on people. If it wasn't for administrative work, then it would difficult for some of the church programs that deal solely on the development and growth of people with one another to succeed. You need to sometimes just crank away at a project that you know will be successful at bringing people together. It may seem ironic that you must get away from people in order to complete this task, but sometimes solitude is necessary in a situation like this. So, while there is no actual human contact, the work that you are doing will create human contact that is improved because of the time you spend in administrative work. It's almost like agreeing to go through a lonely time to create a lot less lonely times.
People (Michael Berens)
Week 5
Michael Berens
Thursday Essay
02/11/09
People
I think that it is about an understanding that the things that Church administration accomplishes eventually lead to helping people. Of course church revolves around people. That is why a church prints out a bulletin, or creates a database for people to meet each other. Church Administration gets a bad rap for being the boring parts of being a pastor, but I think it is just part of the stepping stones that are part of the path of leading to God’s kingdom.
If you were to meet with people the whole time that you spent in ministry, I think you would burn out. Church administration relieves a pastor of giving himself or herself too much socially, emotionally and spiritually. It breaks up the work of a pastor’s shepherding. God may give grace, but I think that God also gives administrative breaks in the relationship building process.
Church administration can be worship in itself. If you look at what the Levites had to do in the temple (exodus and Numbers), you would see that most of the things they did were routine jobs that involved cleaning and packing up the tabernacle. To them the honor of taking care of the Tabernacle was worshipping God the way they were supposing to. The special stuff they got to do, like teaching torah and entering the holy of holies, one day of the year, has a much smaller section in the first five books of the bible. The Levites worshipped God in every process and in turn helped the people.
If we see that Church administration is a means to an end then it becomes a lot easier to do. If we realize that it is important to serve the “people” by dong some of the mundane church work, then we see that Church is not just having coffee or sitting at a table. It is about paying the water bill so that you can fill up the baptismal pool fro everyone to be baptized in. It is about making sermon DVDs so that people can hear the word all week. Eventually, when your mind transfers to the “means to an end” approach, then church administration becomes a lot easier to do.
Michael Berens
Thursday Essay
02/11/09
People
I think that it is about an understanding that the things that Church administration accomplishes eventually lead to helping people. Of course church revolves around people. That is why a church prints out a bulletin, or creates a database for people to meet each other. Church Administration gets a bad rap for being the boring parts of being a pastor, but I think it is just part of the stepping stones that are part of the path of leading to God’s kingdom.
If you were to meet with people the whole time that you spent in ministry, I think you would burn out. Church administration relieves a pastor of giving himself or herself too much socially, emotionally and spiritually. It breaks up the work of a pastor’s shepherding. God may give grace, but I think that God also gives administrative breaks in the relationship building process.
Church administration can be worship in itself. If you look at what the Levites had to do in the temple (exodus and Numbers), you would see that most of the things they did were routine jobs that involved cleaning and packing up the tabernacle. To them the honor of taking care of the Tabernacle was worshipping God the way they were supposing to. The special stuff they got to do, like teaching torah and entering the holy of holies, one day of the year, has a much smaller section in the first five books of the bible. The Levites worshipped God in every process and in turn helped the people.
If we see that Church administration is a means to an end then it becomes a lot easier to do. If we realize that it is important to serve the “people” by dong some of the mundane church work, then we see that Church is not just having coffee or sitting at a table. It is about paying the water bill so that you can fill up the baptismal pool fro everyone to be baptized in. It is about making sermon DVDs so that people can hear the word all week. Eventually, when your mind transfers to the “means to an end” approach, then church administration becomes a lot easier to do.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Hours Worked in Ministry (Tyler)
I met with pastor Aaron Cloud on February 8th, 2009. We were able to sit down and talk after he had just given his message to his congregation.
I asked him about an average week as a pastor and what he does as far as ministry hours are concerned. Something that makes Aaron unique is the fact that he is actually only part-time according to his pay-scale and expected hours. However, this does not show in the amount of work he actually puts in. Regardless of the fact that Aaron is only paid part time, he works his job as if he is a full-time employee of the Wesleyan Church.
Here are a few of his hours broken into different categories:
Study(Alone): 7 Hours
Aaron spends a decent amount of his part-time work doing study. He finds this to be one of the more enjoyable aspects of ministry and likes to dedicate a decent amount of time to it.
Administrative/Office Work: 2 Hours
Because it is a rather small church of about 40 people, there is not a whole lot of administrative work to be done at the church. Aaron considers paying his bills for the church and helping the church treasurer with money issues as one of his administrative duties.
Services: 2 Hours
There is a brief youth service on Wednesday nights and then a typical Sunday morning service every Sunday. Aaron usually considers Sunday to be a full 8 hour work day because of his preparation on that day and the house calls that I will talk about in a little bit.
People: 6 Hours
Aaron spends much of his time with people. Because he lives in a rural area, there is need to travel great distances and this takes up a majority of his time. Then he chooses to stay with most people from between a half hour and an hour. These visits (even if they are only twice a week) are very time consuming, but necessary.
What Else: 2 Hours?
What I listed above is pretty much an accurate description of the duties that Aaron has to deal with on a typical week. If there is a hospital call/visit, that usually adds a few hours to his week, but besides that, it is pretty predictable and typical.
I asked him about an average week as a pastor and what he does as far as ministry hours are concerned. Something that makes Aaron unique is the fact that he is actually only part-time according to his pay-scale and expected hours. However, this does not show in the amount of work he actually puts in. Regardless of the fact that Aaron is only paid part time, he works his job as if he is a full-time employee of the Wesleyan Church.
Here are a few of his hours broken into different categories:
Study(Alone): 7 Hours
Aaron spends a decent amount of his part-time work doing study. He finds this to be one of the more enjoyable aspects of ministry and likes to dedicate a decent amount of time to it.
Administrative/Office Work: 2 Hours
Because it is a rather small church of about 40 people, there is not a whole lot of administrative work to be done at the church. Aaron considers paying his bills for the church and helping the church treasurer with money issues as one of his administrative duties.
Services: 2 Hours
There is a brief youth service on Wednesday nights and then a typical Sunday morning service every Sunday. Aaron usually considers Sunday to be a full 8 hour work day because of his preparation on that day and the house calls that I will talk about in a little bit.
People: 6 Hours
Aaron spends much of his time with people. Because he lives in a rural area, there is need to travel great distances and this takes up a majority of his time. Then he chooses to stay with most people from between a half hour and an hour. These visits (even if they are only twice a week) are very time consuming, but necessary.
What Else: 2 Hours?
What I listed above is pretty much an accurate description of the duties that Aaron has to deal with on a typical week. If there is a hospital call/visit, that usually adds a few hours to his week, but besides that, it is pretty predictable and typical.
- I noticed the comment that Michael made concerning Chris being bi-vocational. This same fact applies to Aaron. While he isn't bi-vocational, he is only part time. It is sort of a shame that he is only paid part-time, because he works as if he is a full time employee. I know he doesn't mind and that he loves his job, it just doesn't seem entirely fair.
- Aaron spends much of his time traveling, and yet still considers it time spent in ministry. The simple fact of traveling to see someone who lives out in the middle of nowhere says something about Aaron's heart. It doesn't matter where you live, God loves you and Aaron wants to share that love.
- Finally, Aaron works with such a humble heart. He loves the people that he minsters to, and if it wasn't for the bills that he must pay, he would do it for free (don't let the district know I said that). He has such a compassionate heart, and each and every hour that he spends is worth something, and I find that to be inspirational.
Week 5 - Hours Worked in Ministry (Tuesday) - oops forgot the observations
Oops, I forgot the observations.
1. You spend A LOT of time doing ministry, whatever form it may come in; there is no off button to your ministry as a pastor.
2. You have to be willing to either share the duties or find some way so that you don't burn yourself out, because if you are not careful it could lead to a burn out rather quickly.
3. The majority of the work it seems is Administration based or people based. Sure you may spend time getting ready for the service, but overall you are working for the people.
1. You spend A LOT of time doing ministry, whatever form it may come in; there is no off button to your ministry as a pastor.
2. You have to be willing to either share the duties or find some way so that you don't burn yourself out, because if you are not careful it could lead to a burn out rather quickly.
3. The majority of the work it seems is Administration based or people based. Sure you may spend time getting ready for the service, but overall you are working for the people.
Week 5 - Hours Worked in Ministry (Tuesday)
I interviewed Pastor Mary Eileen Spence on February 1, 2009.
Study: (part of services)
Administrative/Office: 12 hours (5-6 hours in meetings or committees)
Services: spends a minimum of 12 hours
People: 6-8 hours
What Else? Remaining hours spent on visitations, other administrative work, etc.
Spends a total of 40-50 hours a week on ministry in general.
Here’s what she said, see if you can make heads or tails of it.
“As far as the hours specifically spent on some items I am not sure I can give that to you accurately. I know I spend a minimum of 12 hours preparing for worship, bible studies etc. Over the week I probably spend at least 6-8 hours meeting with people for various reasons on an individual basis. Most weeks I probably spend 5-6 hours in some sort of committee or other called church meetings. On average I spend another 12 hours on administrative type duties. With any remaining hours I try to do visitations. I probably spend much more time on administration than I think, especially in answering e-mails since so much of our communication is now done this way. If any area suffers it is probably the area of visitations, especially to our homebound and nursing home patients. This past week I spent a day with my clergy peer covenant group which is done on a monthly basis. I am sorry I can not be more definitive on some of these times but I do know. I also know I probably spend at least 45-50 hours each week doing ministry. I have very few weeks that actually equal out to 40 hours a week.”
Study: (part of services)
Administrative/Office: 12 hours (5-6 hours in meetings or committees)
Services: spends a minimum of 12 hours
People: 6-8 hours
What Else? Remaining hours spent on visitations, other administrative work, etc.
Spends a total of 40-50 hours a week on ministry in general.
Here’s what she said, see if you can make heads or tails of it.
“As far as the hours specifically spent on some items I am not sure I can give that to you accurately. I know I spend a minimum of 12 hours preparing for worship, bible studies etc. Over the week I probably spend at least 6-8 hours meeting with people for various reasons on an individual basis. Most weeks I probably spend 5-6 hours in some sort of committee or other called church meetings. On average I spend another 12 hours on administrative type duties. With any remaining hours I try to do visitations. I probably spend much more time on administration than I think, especially in answering e-mails since so much of our communication is now done this way. If any area suffers it is probably the area of visitations, especially to our homebound and nursing home patients. This past week I spent a day with my clergy peer covenant group which is done on a monthly basis. I am sorry I can not be more definitive on some of these times but I do know. I also know I probably spend at least 45-50 hours each week doing ministry. I have very few weeks that actually equal out to 40 hours a week.”
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Week 5 Hours Worked in Ministry
Michael Berens
Week 5
Tuesday 10, 2009
Hours Worked in Ministry
Met with Chris Demarse
On Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Study: 9 hours
The church also meets with other churches to study together for the scripture passage that week for three hours
Administrative/ Office: 3-4 hours
He does emailing, scheduling volunteers and writing devotional stuff.
Services: 6-7 hours for Sunday worship 3-4 for Thursday night Bible Study
People: 3 hours for staff meeting; 7 hours for one on one meetings, such as worship leading and practicum students
What else: 15 hours
Because it is a smaller church He does Maintenance and other church management duties that take up around this time. He also does coffee management and equipment maintenance. He also does odd jobs that come up unexpectedly for the church. They call him a Jack-of-all-trades,
Three observations
Week 5
Tuesday 10, 2009
Hours Worked in Ministry
Met with Chris Demarse
On Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Study: 9 hours
The church also meets with other churches to study together for the scripture passage that week for three hours
Administrative/ Office: 3-4 hours
He does emailing, scheduling volunteers and writing devotional stuff.
Services: 6-7 hours for Sunday worship 3-4 for Thursday night Bible Study
People: 3 hours for staff meeting; 7 hours for one on one meetings, such as worship leading and practicum students
What else: 15 hours
Because it is a smaller church He does Maintenance and other church management duties that take up around this time. He also does coffee management and equipment maintenance. He also does odd jobs that come up unexpectedly for the church. They call him a Jack-of-all-trades,
Three observations
- It takes many extra hours to do the small things in the church, even if you are bi-vocational. You would think that working another job would take up all your time and energy, but I guess there is always room for things to do.
- The smallest, most insignificant things that you do in the church may take the longest. Something like mopping a floor in the sanctuary can take four hours. Meeting with a student or someone new to the church may only take one fourth of that time. What seems more important? It needs to be done and someone has to do it.
- Studying and the worship service planning may take up most of my time as a pastor. That seems right but I have heard that administrative things take the most time. Maybe because it is a bi-vocational church that gets flip flopped and the time given is to the social aspects of the church.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Week 4 - Staff Report to the Board (Thursday)
A Staff Report to the Board or a Staff Report to the Pastor should include details of what is going on in their ministry. If it’s the youth pastor, they should include such things as: average attendance, how many accepted the Lord as their savior, upcoming youth events, results on last youth event, ministries that are attached to the youth ministry. I have seen a staff report that was very, very vague. There was basically just a list of what might be going on, the results from the last youth event and when the next youth leadership team meeting was. It wasn’t very detailed, and the youth director wasn’t even there to present it. If you are giving a report, I think that you should attempt to be there to give the report yourself, though I don’t really know all that much on boards and reporting to the board.
What that report should accomplish is tell the board what exactly is going on, how the ministry is going so far, is there any signs of growth or is there a decrease. It should be as detailed as necessary so that if you aren’t there, the board can understand what your report is trying to convey. But as I said, I know little to nothing about boards and reporting to them, I guess that where taking this class comes in.
What that report should accomplish is tell the board what exactly is going on, how the ministry is going so far, is there any signs of growth or is there a decrease. It should be as detailed as necessary so that if you aren’t there, the board can understand what your report is trying to convey. But as I said, I know little to nothing about boards and reporting to them, I guess that where taking this class comes in.
Staff Report to a board: Michael
Week four
Michael Berens
02/05/09
Staff Report to a board
Here are some guidelines I found on various sites concerning reports. The basic idea is to simplify and keep a template that can be used from week to week so that the board can read the report more effectively. Organization and simplicity is the key.
• Limit the body of your report to two pages, including an abstract. Because Board members receive so many reports, they appreciate brevity.
• Provide the following information in your report:
o Indicate whether the report is an information or action report:
o Information Report. Most reports are information reports. They update the Board on the progress of the committee.
o Action report: Only those reports requesting funding or a policy change are action reports. Procedural changes are usually handled by Advisory Committees. For example, a change to the names of tracks in a conference would be approved by the conference committee, not the Board.
• Abstract: The abstract summarizes the main points of the report. For example, if you manage the Operations Manual Committee and the main point of the report is that the first drafts of your manuals are complete, that's the crux of your abstract. If you have an action item, the abstract should include the proposed motion. The rationale would be described in the detailed report or attachments.
• List of goals. This list should be the same in each report to the Board. This list tells the Board what you propose to accomplish in the coming year and when you plan to accomplish it.
• Accomplishment towards goals. Describe the accomplishments made towards each goal, and a preview of accomplishments expected before the next Board meeting. For example, although you might plan to publish a manual by the end of the year, it will go through a series of drafts. Let the Board know which draft has been completed.
• List of committee members. Identify not only the names but also their chapters.
• Send in your report by the deadline. This is really a practical matter. If you mail the report late, it might not be received in time for Board members to review it before the meeting.
• The purpose of Board meetings is to review the status of the organization. The reports of each committee provide Board members with most of the information on which they base their assessment.
http://saulcarliner.home.att.net/leadership/committeereportformat.htm
http://philanthropy.com/forums/index.php?topic=424.0
Michael Berens
02/05/09
Staff Report to a board
Here are some guidelines I found on various sites concerning reports. The basic idea is to simplify and keep a template that can be used from week to week so that the board can read the report more effectively. Organization and simplicity is the key.
• Limit the body of your report to two pages, including an abstract. Because Board members receive so many reports, they appreciate brevity.
• Provide the following information in your report:
o Indicate whether the report is an information or action report:
o Information Report. Most reports are information reports. They update the Board on the progress of the committee.
o Action report: Only those reports requesting funding or a policy change are action reports. Procedural changes are usually handled by Advisory Committees. For example, a change to the names of tracks in a conference would be approved by the conference committee, not the Board.
• Abstract: The abstract summarizes the main points of the report. For example, if you manage the Operations Manual Committee and the main point of the report is that the first drafts of your manuals are complete, that's the crux of your abstract. If you have an action item, the abstract should include the proposed motion. The rationale would be described in the detailed report or attachments.
• List of goals. This list should be the same in each report to the Board. This list tells the Board what you propose to accomplish in the coming year and when you plan to accomplish it.
• Accomplishment towards goals. Describe the accomplishments made towards each goal, and a preview of accomplishments expected before the next Board meeting. For example, although you might plan to publish a manual by the end of the year, it will go through a series of drafts. Let the Board know which draft has been completed.
• List of committee members. Identify not only the names but also their chapters.
• Send in your report by the deadline. This is really a practical matter. If you mail the report late, it might not be received in time for Board members to review it before the meeting.
• The purpose of Board meetings is to review the status of the organization. The reports of each committee provide Board members with most of the information on which they base their assessment.
http://saulcarliner.home.att.net/leadership/committeereportformat.htm
http://philanthropy.com/forums/index.php?topic=424.0
Staff Report to a Board (Tyler)
Reports are the most common types of documents that we are required to create, writing about what we do at work most of the time. There are many different kinds of reports; each report has a different structure, depending on its purpose, audience and discipline. For example, in economics and business, you may have to write a financial report on a given financial situation. In chemical engineering, you may be required to write a technical report. But whatever the topic, the purpose is to provide factual information: telling someone the facts about something.
For many of us in public human services, writing a board report is often the hardest of all types of writing, because in these reports we are not allowed or required to be persuasive, critical and analytical or to effect change. Most of us were trained to write with such aims; when suddenly we are asked to write plainly in a reporting style--merely to inform, we often lose our way.
To make matters worse, board reports are expected to be crisp, fast reading, devoid of all the usual details, adornments and secondary- and third-tier information that we are used to adding whenever we write. This straight-laced, crisp style makes it even harder for us.
The challenge in writing a report is in the way in which we analyze the information and then organize it in a logical way to present to our reader. Often amateur writing is killed by a gaggle of secondary detail, an emphasis on how something is announced rather than what is said, and an entanglement in the chronology of an event. Imagine wading through seaweed. If you follow the tips below, you may be able to craft a crisp, fast-reading, informative report that pleases your boss and the board of directors.
Things to remember:
1. Simplicity, clarity and conciseness
2. There are three types of language: pompous, pedantic and plain. Stick with plain
3. Good grammar (e.g., "between you and me," not "between you and I")
4. Good spelling (e.g., misspelling, not mispelling)
5. Economy of words. If you can reduce a sentence to a clause without losing the context, do it. If you can reduce a clause to a phrase, do it. If you can reduce a phrase into one word, do it
6. Steer clear of fad words, cliches and overused words that have been drained of all blood (delete "strategic," "strategically" whenever you see it.)
7. Trim little qualifiers
8. Show, don't tell. And don't overstate; it comes across like advertising copy
9. Use active verbs. Avoid adjectives and adverbs
10. Eliminate archaic phrases
11. Avoid exclamation marks, dashes, quote marks, italics, boldface types, underlines and anything that you think would draw the reader's attention. They are amateurish, and serve as a distraction
The following might help us craft a clear report structure:
1. Start with a short, one-paragraph summary
2. Group similar activities under headings
3. Differentiate between categories (major meetings, preview)
4. Whenever possible, use bullet points rather than huge paragraphs
5. Try to limit to three to four sentences per item
6. If different staffers write your items, edit, shorten and standardize their versions before you submit
The following might help you garner an appreciative note from the board:
1. Focus on accomplishments, not activities. What was achieved, not how it was done
2. Say who resigned, who got hired, how long the person has been there. Leave everything else at the office
3. Keep your report short
Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/169679298.html
For many of us in public human services, writing a board report is often the hardest of all types of writing, because in these reports we are not allowed or required to be persuasive, critical and analytical or to effect change. Most of us were trained to write with such aims; when suddenly we are asked to write plainly in a reporting style--merely to inform, we often lose our way.
To make matters worse, board reports are expected to be crisp, fast reading, devoid of all the usual details, adornments and secondary- and third-tier information that we are used to adding whenever we write. This straight-laced, crisp style makes it even harder for us.
The challenge in writing a report is in the way in which we analyze the information and then organize it in a logical way to present to our reader. Often amateur writing is killed by a gaggle of secondary detail, an emphasis on how something is announced rather than what is said, and an entanglement in the chronology of an event. Imagine wading through seaweed. If you follow the tips below, you may be able to craft a crisp, fast-reading, informative report that pleases your boss and the board of directors.
Things to remember:
1. Simplicity, clarity and conciseness
2. There are three types of language: pompous, pedantic and plain. Stick with plain
3. Good grammar (e.g., "between you and me," not "between you and I")
4. Good spelling (e.g., misspelling, not mispelling)
5. Economy of words. If you can reduce a sentence to a clause without losing the context, do it. If you can reduce a clause to a phrase, do it. If you can reduce a phrase into one word, do it
6. Steer clear of fad words, cliches and overused words that have been drained of all blood (delete "strategic," "strategically" whenever you see it.)
7. Trim little qualifiers
8. Show, don't tell. And don't overstate; it comes across like advertising copy
9. Use active verbs. Avoid adjectives and adverbs
10. Eliminate archaic phrases
11. Avoid exclamation marks, dashes, quote marks, italics, boldface types, underlines and anything that you think would draw the reader's attention. They are amateurish, and serve as a distraction
The following might help us craft a clear report structure:
1. Start with a short, one-paragraph summary
2. Group similar activities under headings
3. Differentiate between categories (major meetings, preview)
4. Whenever possible, use bullet points rather than huge paragraphs
5. Try to limit to three to four sentences per item
6. If different staffers write your items, edit, shorten and standardize their versions before you submit
The following might help you garner an appreciative note from the board:
1. Focus on accomplishments, not activities. What was achieved, not how it was done
2. Say who resigned, who got hired, how long the person has been there. Leave everything else at the office
3. Keep your report short
Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/169679298.html
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Week 4 - Administrative Work (Tuesday)
I interviewed Pastor Mary Eileen on Sunday, February 1, 2009.
- Answering Telephones (throughout office hours)
- Cleaned parts of the Church
- Meet with People
- Do Church business
- Prepare for Meetings
- Committees at the District Level and Conference Level
- Spends time in the church office working on some things (typing, copying, etc.)
She didn’t give exact answers on how long she spends on each, but she did tell me what she does administratively. She couldn’t answer them after the service because she was drained after preaching, so has asked me to conduct these interviews by email or by phone. This was done by email.
Even though you may be the senior pastor or the solo pastor of a small church, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get off easy when it comes to administration work; you still have to do, even if you might not want to. It’s apart of your job description. I also observed that in some cases the administrative work can be more than your studying time, but most likely it will not be like that.
- Answering Telephones (throughout office hours)
- Cleaned parts of the Church
- Meet with People
- Do Church business
- Prepare for Meetings
- Committees at the District Level and Conference Level
- Spends time in the church office working on some things (typing, copying, etc.)
She didn’t give exact answers on how long she spends on each, but she did tell me what she does administratively. She couldn’t answer them after the service because she was drained after preaching, so has asked me to conduct these interviews by email or by phone. This was done by email.
Even though you may be the senior pastor or the solo pastor of a small church, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get off easy when it comes to administration work; you still have to do, even if you might not want to. It’s apart of your job description. I also observed that in some cases the administrative work can be more than your studying time, but most likely it will not be like that.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Week four
Michael Berens
Week 4
02/03/09
Administrative work
Pre- Statement
I go to a church where the staff of the church is bi-vocational. The outcome of the hours actually worked in the church building are far different than how many hours are put into the church. The staff is eight people strong right now and the burden is shared so that everyone ca still have jobs so the church does not have to fully support them.
1.I met with Rachel and Chris Demarse, Wednesday 28th, 2009. They are the associate pastors at Exit 59
2. The List and the Totaled Time
a. Making sure everything is running
i. Muffins Mingle
ii. Coffee on Sundays
iii. Cleaning the church
iv. Administering volunteers in Ministries
v. Preparation for Wednesday staff meeting
vi. Maintenance
vii. Treasury
viii. Stock supplies
ix. Shoveled sidewalks
x. Chairs on Sundays
xi. The detailed things of the church
xii. Connections between folk
b. News letter writer
c. On the Budget committee
d. Staff Meetings
Total Time: 20 hours a week
3. Observations on What I saw and heard:
a. To be a Bi-vocational Pastor would be tough. The hours seem low compared to a full time pastor but add an extra 20 hours onto a 40 hour a week schedule and bam, you got yourself one tired couple. I think they have developed a pattern and a way to be together in serving the church. Also I think these responsibilities are shared with other staff members throughout the month.
b. There is a lot to think about when it comes to church administration. I wonder how I would keep it all on track. I have noticed that the pastors I have been around lately have some sort of planner on them at all times. The IPhone may be a bit pricey for a starting pastor but I think a simple notepad could do the same. As long as I find a system, I think I could manage these types of jobs in the church.
c. Lastly, I have noticed that these pastors are incredible delegators. In fact that is what our staff is made of. There is no way that a staff of eight people; working extra jobs could do all that the church needs. The ministries alone would be a killer. At Exit 59, the motto is if you feel called, please start and run it. We will support you in any way we can. So, I learned that administration is not only doing things yourself, but asking for help and being relieved of duties as well.
Week 4
02/03/09
Administrative work
Pre- Statement
I go to a church where the staff of the church is bi-vocational. The outcome of the hours actually worked in the church building are far different than how many hours are put into the church. The staff is eight people strong right now and the burden is shared so that everyone ca still have jobs so the church does not have to fully support them.
1.I met with Rachel and Chris Demarse, Wednesday 28th, 2009. They are the associate pastors at Exit 59
2. The List and the Totaled Time
a. Making sure everything is running
i. Muffins Mingle
ii. Coffee on Sundays
iii. Cleaning the church
iv. Administering volunteers in Ministries
v. Preparation for Wednesday staff meeting
vi. Maintenance
vii. Treasury
viii. Stock supplies
ix. Shoveled sidewalks
x. Chairs on Sundays
xi. The detailed things of the church
xii. Connections between folk
b. News letter writer
c. On the Budget committee
d. Staff Meetings
Total Time: 20 hours a week
3. Observations on What I saw and heard:
a. To be a Bi-vocational Pastor would be tough. The hours seem low compared to a full time pastor but add an extra 20 hours onto a 40 hour a week schedule and bam, you got yourself one tired couple. I think they have developed a pattern and a way to be together in serving the church. Also I think these responsibilities are shared with other staff members throughout the month.
b. There is a lot to think about when it comes to church administration. I wonder how I would keep it all on track. I have noticed that the pastors I have been around lately have some sort of planner on them at all times. The IPhone may be a bit pricey for a starting pastor but I think a simple notepad could do the same. As long as I find a system, I think I could manage these types of jobs in the church.
c. Lastly, I have noticed that these pastors are incredible delegators. In fact that is what our staff is made of. There is no way that a staff of eight people; working extra jobs could do all that the church needs. The ministries alone would be a killer. At Exit 59, the motto is if you feel called, please start and run it. We will support you in any way we can. So, I learned that administration is not only doing things yourself, but asking for help and being relieved of duties as well.
Administrative Interview (Tyler)
I interviewed Aaron Cloud on Monday February 2nd, 2009.
1.Pay Bills/Financial Records (2 hours): Aaron spends a good amount of his time on dealing with financial records and bills. Everyday he feels as if there was a new bill that came into the mail that day. He usually opens it and makes sure that there isn't any irregularities in the bill and then gives the paper to the treasurer. He doesn't do too much with the bills directly, but he is aware of the financial situation of his church.
2.Attendance (1 Hour): Aaron likes to keep a good record of the attendance in his church. He likes to watch as the attendance both rises and falls from week to week. Because he is an analyzer, he usually tries to figure out why one week was larger than the next. If he is able to discern why the population grew one week, he will then try to emulate that the next week. This is the type of clerical analysis he does.
3.Pastoral Preparation (15 Hours): While this isn't much of an administrative task, it does involve a lot of book and word study. He spends a good amount of time on the computer and in his library studying.
4.Phone Calls (2 Hours): Sometimes there are members in his church that will want to call and ask about the upcoming service or may have a question concerning a recent fundraiser. These phone calls are random but frequent and take up about 2 hours a week.
Observations: I was actually surprised at how little amount of administrative work that Aaron has to do. He is the pastor at a relatively small church and as a result, there is not much to do in the sense of administration. Perhaps the most trying tasks of his job is actually finding some administrative things to do. If he paces himself, he is able to create a busy week that leaves him feeling fulfilled. But, if he rushes and does to much on the front end, he is left void. There is a balance between the pastoral role and the administrative role, and Aaron handles that balance extraordinarily well.
1.Pay Bills/Financial Records (2 hours): Aaron spends a good amount of his time on dealing with financial records and bills. Everyday he feels as if there was a new bill that came into the mail that day. He usually opens it and makes sure that there isn't any irregularities in the bill and then gives the paper to the treasurer. He doesn't do too much with the bills directly, but he is aware of the financial situation of his church.
2.Attendance (1 Hour): Aaron likes to keep a good record of the attendance in his church. He likes to watch as the attendance both rises and falls from week to week. Because he is an analyzer, he usually tries to figure out why one week was larger than the next. If he is able to discern why the population grew one week, he will then try to emulate that the next week. This is the type of clerical analysis he does.
3.Pastoral Preparation (15 Hours): While this isn't much of an administrative task, it does involve a lot of book and word study. He spends a good amount of time on the computer and in his library studying.
4.Phone Calls (2 Hours): Sometimes there are members in his church that will want to call and ask about the upcoming service or may have a question concerning a recent fundraiser. These phone calls are random but frequent and take up about 2 hours a week.
Observations: I was actually surprised at how little amount of administrative work that Aaron has to do. He is the pastor at a relatively small church and as a result, there is not much to do in the sense of administration. Perhaps the most trying tasks of his job is actually finding some administrative things to do. If he paces himself, he is able to create a busy week that leaves him feeling fulfilled. But, if he rushes and does to much on the front end, he is left void. There is a balance between the pastoral role and the administrative role, and Aaron handles that balance extraordinarily well.
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