Shepherding with Administration
This article appears in the November edition of Tabletalk magazine.
No insult is meant to this honorable profession, but most of us would quickly grow bored with an accountant lecturing us on his work. Similarly, speaking of administration may cause readers to bypass this article. Yet please keep reading.
Just as keeping the books is vital to the financial well-being of an organization, so is exercising proper administration in the local church. As elders engage in the triune God’s work of overseeing Christ’s church, they must see that Christ wants them to pay careful attention to the administration of the congregation.
In describing the glorious work of redemption of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the church in Ephesians 1, Paul concludes by stating that Christ is the Head of His body (Eph. 1:22–23). To that end, he says that our salvation is “a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10). The Greek word translated “plan” (oikonomia) means “administration” or “stewardship,” and it is where we get our word economy. Paul is conveying that everything in the church is to be watched over so that Christ is honored.
