The Ministerial Director > Juggling Multiple Hats

In most conferences, the Ministerial Director will carry responsibilities that go beyond just Ministerial. In general, there are three likely possibilities, each with their own unique challenges:

You are responsible for additional departments in your conference or union

If this describes you, it will be important to work out with your administration what percentage of your time and attention is expected for each additional department you lead. Underestimating the expectations of your conference leaders regarding your work in other areas is a sure way for misunderstandings and frustration towards you to arise. Iron this out as soon as possible when you arrive in your position.

You are also an administrator of your conference or union

If you are also an administrator, you are saddled with an inherent conflict of interest between your roles as administrator and pastor's pastor. Pastors will not automatically feel that you can easily put on your Ministerial Director's hat while fully removing your administrator's hat. You will have to work to find ways to help your pastors feel safe and free to come to you with their issues.

Perhaps the best way to help pastors feel they can come to you is to make extra effort to prove yourself safe by specifically nurturing relationships with your pastors. You will have to demonstrate by your demeanor, language, and actions, that even though you are an administrator, you will handle their confidential information appropriately. In order to do this, you will also have to have an understanding with the other officers on your team that there will be times you will choose to be more the pastor's pastor than the pastor's supervisor. That may mean keeping some information confidential that you might otherwise share with your administrative colleagues. IF your fellow officers do not support you in this, then it would be best to not make any pretense that you can function fully as the pastor's pastor.

Many administrators who are also Ministerial Directors can easily think that the sheer force of their past relationships with their pastors, their personality, or their level of skill in pastoral ministry will break down walls that might otherwise separate them from their pastors. But in reality, it's very rare that pastors will free as free as the administrator/Ministerial Director thinks they are. If this is the case, please do not take this personally. It's not about you as a person. It's about you and the important administrative role you carry.

If you sense this might be happening, perhaps you might recruit a field pastor or two whom you trust and ask them to stand in for you when a pastor in your field needs someone confidential with whom to talk. Experienced and highly regarded pastors in your conference can be a tremendous help to you in providing pastoral care to the other pastors in your field. If you do this, make sure to communicate their willingness to talk with a colleague and that you personally support this.

You are a field pastor as well as Ministerial Director

By Steve Evenson, AK Conference

So, you’re a Ministerial Director and you are new to it! (Or you’ve been doing it for a while and want a tune up…). As a Ministerial Director, you have been assigned to the management of people: the pastor. You have become the pastor’s pastor. Yes, you are still a soul winner, but now you will be working with and through others to accomplish the same outcome.

And it's also possible, perhaps even likely, that you will have other assigned roles as well. So…

1.How do you manage to get everything done?

2.How do you keep your sanity?

I have had to face these questions myself. I am in a small conference. In addition to Ministerial, I also pastor a church with an elementary school, Adventist Community Services warehouse, an FM radio station, a church building program etc. While this article is not comprehensive, it will begin to give you, the Ministerial Director, some insight into how you can manage the processes for which you are responsible.

So how do you accomplish being an effective Ministerial Director with other assignments that belong to you?

First of all, you must keep your priorities straight.

a.God first

b.Family second

c.Job third

If you don’t keep these priorities straight you will fail at some point in your relationships:

You will fail in your time with God

You will experience difficulty in your family

And ultimately you will falter in your job performance

Analysis

Begin with a look at what you do:

1.List your overall responsibilities

2.List who you are responsible to, or where the report goes, etc, for each area of responsibility

3.Do a time study of each item for which you are responsible. Use your normal activity over the span of two weeks to one month to gather your base line from

4.Ask yourself: “Are there areas that overlap in my responsibilities?” If so, can you track, and establish data multiple ways?

Action

1.After you have finished compiling the data for the time study, review all areas of responsibilities. Evaluate the data and put the time that will be required beside each area of responsibility

2.Rank your responsibilities in order of highest priority to least priority

3.Review your findings with a colleague/superior to gather their perception of priorities. (yes this can be a bit of an uncomfortable thing, but good to get others’ perceptions)

4.After you receive feedback, evaluate (using your best judgment) your priorities and discipline yourself to a workable time management layout, using your time study as its basis

5.You will have the greatest chance at managing the multiple expectations that come from multiple roles if...

a.You’ve collected the time study

b.You’ve received feedback from others

c.Implement a plan that will work for your situation

6.Communicate your findings, areas of responsibility, and your time management plan to those for whom you work and to whom you answer. If they understand the scope of your responsibilities, chances are they will be less demanding of your time and attention when you are attending to your other duties

7.Nothing will change unless you make change a priority

Prayer

Lastly, make prayer a priority in this process. Allow the Holy Spirit to impress you as to what should be done and how to do it. Remember, nothing is too hard for God.