College Union

Staving Off Staff Division

BY: BOB BECKWITH

A ministry colleague once shared with me how his small group based campus ministry, one that involved about 300 students/week, imploded almost overnight as a consequence of a division that worked its way into his staff. The ministry never recovered. Today it exists as a small fraction of what it once was. There were several very destructive dynamics at work in that situation. But underlying them all was the reality that when my colleague sought to intervene his authority as director was neither respected nor honoured.

Campus ministry staff members are generally passionate, idealistic, inexperienced and very young. The former contribute to what makes them so valuable. The latter to what makes them so dangerous. Many have never before been placed in situations where they will be called upon to embrace ministry decisions they disagree with. And yet their role as staff means that their voiced dissatisfaction will bring division and discord to the ministry. Imparting a healthy and biblical concept of authority can be one of the most beneficial investments of our time we can make in our ministry staff.

Authority is one of the topics we’ve found beneficial to cover during our staff training time each summer. In teaching about serving under the authority of another, we are not only training our staff to be more fruitful while they are with us, but we are shaping them to be more effective ministers for the rest of their lives. Usually, I try to touch on the following:

1. Authority is the power to influence behavior. To have authority is to be given charge of a specific arena – often under the authority of another. The purpose of authority is to protect, provide order and make possible the greater collective good that can come from united, coordinated effort.

2. With regard to authority, two things are critical to the success of any organization: authority must be exercised wisely and authority must be submitted to by all within the organization. Only then is real unity and organizational effectiveness possible.

3. As Christians we believe that all authority has been given to Jesus Christ (Mt28:18) and that He has delegated His authority over His United Methodist Church to bishops, superintendents, pastors, campus ministers, church committees and ministry boards per the Book of Discipline. Which means that, for better or worse, He has entrusted His Wesley Foundations to their directors, as overseen by their boards and conference officials. I emphasize the pronouns ‘His’ and ‘He.’ All of this is the Lord’s.

4. To rebel against a ministry director’s decision, who is acting within the authority entrusted to him/her, is to rebel against Jesus, Himself (Ro13:1-5).

5. When there is disagreement with a decision, position, or direction within a ministry go directly to the one in authority to voice your concerns.

6. What is never biblically permissible is to voice one’s displeasure to others in the ministry

7. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, there are three biblically permissible options: accept the decision that has been made, go to those to whom the director is accountable and voice your concerns, or leave the ministry.

But the wise use of authority goes beyond teaching the principals of authority and submission. It also involves using wisdom in the way authority is exercised. This includes:

1. Hire staff who are like minded. I recruit staff members whose giftings are very different from my own, so as to compliment my weaknesses. But the same is not true for theological perspective and sense of ministry purpose. Not every ministry needs to be alike. But every ministry staff that has significant diversity in thought and vision is bound for division down the road.

2. Involve staff in decision making. If we don’t value our staff’s opinions, then we’ve hired poorly. I always try to operate by consensus. If as a staff we can’t reach a consensus, then I will postpone a decision for as long as possible. Rarely, have I had to make a decision that as a staff we couldn’t agree upon together first.

3. Don’t be autocratic. In communicating difficult decisions, let those affected know the reasons for the decision and the process you went through to make it.

4. Be for your staff. Knowing that you are for them will help them to be for you and will help stave off many possible disagreements and opportunities for showdowns.

Bob Beckwith is the Director of the UGA Wesley Foundation. You can reach him at beckwithga@aol.com

Categories: Staff Development
Tags: authority, bob beckwith, division, small group, staff