What are some things a good management consultant would advise about church organization? Probably the need for better teamwork and more middle management.
How big should a team be? Are there limits to how many players are needed to make an effective team?
In basketball there are 5; volleyball and ice hockey, 6; baseball, 9; softball, 9-10; football and soccer, 11.
In most situations where a group of skilled and creative people are involved in complex and diverse tasks, there are limits to the number of people a leader can effectively supervise, coordinate, and manage.
In the Bible, a favorite number seems to be 12—the number of the tribes constituting Israel, the number of the apostles/close collaborators of Jesus.
What about the church? Are there limits to how many people are needed to make an effective collaborative and coordinated working church team?
On paper, the organizational structures of the Roman Catholic Church are parish, deanery, maybe vicariate, diocese, province, maybe regional, national, and international conferences, and Holy See.
However, in practice, the effective structures are parish, diocese, and Holy See. Each of them is well defined in canon law and usage; the others, less so.
Suppose that a dozen is a good number for a collaborative, coordinated working team in the church That would imply that:
– a parish team should consist of the pastor and no more than 11 other leaders;
– a deanery should consist of the dean and no more than 11 other pastors;
– a vicariate (or a small diocese) should consist of the vicar (or bishop) and no more than 11 deans;
– a large diocese should consist of the bishop and no more than 11 vicars.
But, in practice, this is rarely the case.
– Increasingly parishes have qualified lay personnel and deacons for support services and various ministries. They function best as a team led by the pastor.
– With younger, less-experienced, and isolated pastors, there is need for a functioning intermediate organizational structure between parish and diocese and for closer supervision and leadership than the bishop and his staff can supply. That’s where deans fit in.
– A dean should be an experienced pastor who coordinates, supervises, and leads his team of pastors in a particular area.
– In a large diocese, the bishop may have auxiliary bishops or senior priests serve as vicars, each coordinating, supervising, and guiding a team of about a dozen deans.
– There should be weekly working meetings of the pastors, deans, vicars, and bishop with their respective teams, and they should regularly personally supervise and visit each of their team members.
– Additionally, everyone should have a current position description providing his/her position title, reporting relationship, basic role, and a prioritized list of principal responsibilities.
Each person’s carrying out of these responsibilities should be evaluated at least annually. Such performance evaluations should be a basis for decisions about remuneration and promotion, as well as retention or termination.
Successful businesses, organizations, armies, and states do these things. Church work shouldn’t be incompatible with good teamwork and management.
13 October 2019