This month we’re talking about our staff. In Exodus 17:11 we read:
11 As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage.
Here we have a picture of Moses being instructed by God to uphold his staff as he surveyed the battle before him. It was a physical sign of Moses being visible, watching, and prayerfully upholding the Israelite army before God. Moses’ role was not to be fighting, but to be looking out for the men who rallied to his call. It was a spiritual relationship between a team and its captain; between crew and pilot; between a community and its leader who was following God.
God commands us similarly to uphold our team before him in our thoughts and prayers – overseeing what is going on, and not to put ourselves amid the battle that is ensuring. It might have been Patrick Lencioni who began to teach clearly on organisational health, but here is the original blueprint in action for making the focus of the leader be the progress and wellbeing of the team.
It is tiring work – and as Moses’ arms ached and fell, the battle turned against the Israelites. Moses did not have the strength to keep on upholding the staff no matter how hard he tried. Aaron and Hur see what is happening and we read:
12 Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.
Exodus 17:12
It is not the leader’s role to be involved in the everyday nitty-gritty demands of how church runs and advances. It is to survey across the battle and uphold the army in prayer. Whether they are paid, supported, or volunteering, they are the church, and their well-being and progress should be the leaders’ focus.
For you as a church administrator or operations manager, it may not be your job to look after staff well-being and HR, but it is your job to make sure that someone is doing so.
As adverts start re-appearing on our website for administrators across the church in the UK, church leaders are taking stock of how well their staff and congregations have fared through months of isolation and restrictions. We are seeing that Christians are not immune to mental health problems, fears, and irrevocably changed work patterns. Many have even lost their jobs as their church has had to make redundancies to survive.
Now is a perfect time to ensure that in your church, it is clear who is upholding “the staff” – for the team you need in place to make church function and thrive. Who is going to be mindful of the wellbeing and health of those who bring the lay congregation to life?
John Truscott equips us with 2 key resources for a smooth functioning staff team. Firstly, how to define and create a team to look after your staff HR and employment matters. Secondly, how to carefully and thoroughly handover job responsibility and knowledge to someone else – whether they are appointed yet or not.
On Thursday 20th May, all UCAN+ subscribers have access to our next RoundTable virtual event, with Douglas Mullen from Anthony Collins Solicitors speaking on Employment matters, and being grilled in a live Q&A session with delegates. If you aren’t yet a UCAN+ subscriber, now’s a good time to upgrade ready for this – e-mail us at info@churchadministrators.net to find out how to do this.
May our Lord who intercedes for you and upholds you before the Father, teach you also to intercede and uphold those who work on behalf of the church.
Julian Mander
Executive Director of UCAN