The Book
While leadership books abound, practical advice on administering and nurturing a congregation or other church-related institution—its programs, finances, staff, and assets—is rare. This comprehensive guide, from two experienced and thoughtful churchmen, treats each aspect of congregational governance not as a bad imitation of business techniques but as a sacred calling with an overriding religious mission.
Church Administration lays a biblical and theological foundation for leading congregations and church-related organizations, and it offers a wealth of practical information and examples of “best practices” in key areas. Topics include governance and working with boards and committees, planning, personnel supervision, office management, budget development and financial administration, teamwork and networking, as well as strategies for good communication (including amidst crises), dealing with conflict, and steering a faith community through the increasing legal complexities that impinge upon any religious entity. The coauthors bring to bear their combined experience of over a half-century in various administrative callings, as well as insights gained in consulting with hundreds of congregations and church organizations.
Written for an ecumenical readership and informed by current insights into program development, and a dose of humor, the book takes account of today’s complex institutional, cultural, and legal realities. It also provides tools for self-assessment and concrete advice on what to do in the unlikely event that things go wrong.
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About the Authors
Robert N. Bacher is formerly assistant to the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, where he was chief administrator of the churchwide organization, and is coauthor with Ken Inskeep of Chasing Down a Rumor (2005). With a doctorate in public administration, Rev. Bacher served as a parish pastor in Colorado, developing a new parish there, headed leadership training in the LCA Youth Office, and then led research, planning, and budgeting in the Division for Parish Services, where he also served as Executive Director.
Michael L. Cooper-White is President of Gettysburg Seminary and author of On a Wing and a Prayer (Lutheran Voices, 2003). Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his past service includes inner-city ministry and chaplaincy, synodical and national denominational administration, and involvement in public-policy.
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