Elders: The Care and Feeding of Elders in a Progressive Congregation: Micromanagement

* Don’t whine about micromanagement

I know this will sound terribly cynical — largely because it is. But in my experience (not speaking of present staff), when a minister complains of “micromanagement,” he’s actually complaining of management. But elders are charged by God with being overseers, and “overseer” is the Greek word for supervisor. It’s the word used for middle management.

Yes, yes, yes, good managers don’t micromanage. If you delegate a responsibility, you should also delegate enough discretion to do the job. Elders shouldn’t be about second guessing too many decisions by the minister.

On the other hand, ministers aren’t God and therefore they sometimes make mistakes. Many are extremely young, and a college degree in Bible plus three years of youth ministry experience (I pick on youth ministers because they are the most common second minister, not because I have a beef with our current youth ministers) does not make one an expert in much of anything.

Yes, youth ministers probably do know more about youth ministry than the typical elder, but some elders were once youth ministers. They are all parents. And they are authorized by God to disagree with the youth minister. You see, the youth minister is indeed entitled to broad discretion in his ministry. But he is not entitled to autonomy. Indeed, the wise youth minister wants to avoid autonomy, because it’s not a scriptural model.

As Joel Spolsky writes, “Managers today are taught not to micromanage their employees. But there comes a time in every business when you need to step in and master the details.” That’s true. And that’s not micromanagement; it’s management. Regardless of someone’s management theory, there comes a point where you just have to get the job done. And when a minister falls off the track, the elders have to help him get back on by helping him learn how to do better and not mess up the next time. Intervention is the nature of the relationship. Call it “mentoring.”

I suppose there are elderships that actually micromanage, but it’s the rare eldership that has time and energy to try to run a youth ministry. These men have jobs and families. They don’t have time to micromanage. They barely have time to manage. Indeed, it’s my experience that lack of management is a bigger problem in churches than micromanagement. And that means young ministers don’t get taught by older, wiser men. Rather, they get hung out all on their own with precious little support. And that’s not good for them or the church.

* Ask for oversight

I know and have known many ministers. The best ones ask for oversight. They also want a clear chain of command so they know for sure whether or not they have permission and support.

We appoint an elder as a “liaison” to each major ministry. If the youth minister talks to his elder liaison and gets an idea approved, it’s approved. The elder liaison might tell the youth minister that he needs to consult with his brother elders. Or he may know our hearts well enough to make the call on the spot. But we stand behind the elder liaison without fail, and therefore stand behind the youth minister — when he takes care to ask the elder liaison in advance.

This works much better than the hurried conversation with a random elder in the hall before Sunday school class. Ministers need a way to get a decision made.

But the role of the liaison elder is broader. He should encourage and support the ministry, lending his wisdom and experience to it without undermining the authority of the leader. He’s there to help and mentor, not to run the show.

But “help and mentor” often means correcting and redirecting. I think I need to tell a story.

Some years ago, we elders were asked to teach a class on leadership. My topic was “mentoring.” The material I was asked to use was by a preacher. To him to “mentor” meant to encourage, support, and affirm. I introduced the topic to the class and read the definition of “mentor” from the book. One of the students — one of our most effective and committed deacons — nearly lept out of his chair to make a comment.

“When I first started in business, I thought I knew everything. But I had a mentor. One day he called me aside and told me I wasn’t worth — well, I can’t say what he said here in class — but it was harsh. He spelled it out for me in terms I couldn’t misunderstand. He told me what I was doing wrong, he told me to change my attitude, and he told what I needed to do to do better. And it was a hard thing to hear, because I thought I was hot, hot stuff!

“But he was right. And I took his advice. And I’ve been very successful ever since. Every single day I thank God for that chewing out. I hated it at the time, but I needed it. And that’s a real mentor!”

And, indeed, it is. There may be exceptions, but I think we all need a good chewing out now and again. And anyone who’s been in the business world for long has been chewed out. Sometimes with great tact and sometimes utterly without tact. But we all have to learn, and learning — real learning — doesn’t come easy. It’s not all affirmation and hugs. Sometimes it’s being forced to confront your weaknesses so you can go to work on them.

That’s mentoring. At least, that’s the only mentoring worth anyone’s time.

And the wise minister wants a mentor, seeks out a mentor, and asks the mentor to help him grow up and do better. And he gives him permission to tell him what he needs to hear.

Do you ever wonder why so many ministers burn out and fail? There are lots of reasons. One is a failure of mentoring. We are so nice we’d rather avoid the confrontation — even if it means the man fails as a minister and leaves the ministry. And that’s not nice at all. Not really.