Administration is an inescapable part of most of our lives and one that is often likely to raise a grimace at the mere mention of the word. The phone calls that have to be returned, the emails that have to be sent, the meetings we have to attend, rotas to organise and budgets to complete are all part of everyday life for many of us. This, of course, all takes time, patience and organisation. It is easy for us to lose sight of the ‘bigger picture’ and feel overwhelmed by administrative affairs and forget the true purpose behind it all. We may even hark back to a time when everything seemed so much simpler …
In religious life there is a particular temptation is to see these day-to-day affairs not as simply taxing but as an actual impediment to the spiritual dimension of our lives. In 1 Corinthians 12:28, however, we learn that this is far from the view we should hold and that the spiritual gift of administration is indeed vital in building, strengthening and maintaining the Church on earth:
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
It is clear from this passage that it is the Spirit that furnishes us with the ability to build up the Kingdom and that administration has been a vital component of the Church since its very inception. We must also recognise that there are those especially granted with the gift of being able to administer effectively. Whilst it is vital that we all play our part we must recognise those among us with special talents in this area, and ensure that they are encouraged and productively employed and supported, for without them the task of building the Body of Christ would suffer immeasurably. It is important, therefore, that we remember our duty to use our spiritual gifts to carry out Christ’s plans on earth.
In religious life there is a particular temptation is to see these day-to-day affairs not as simply taxing but as an actual impediment to the spiritual dimension of our lives. In 1 Corinthians 12:28, however, we learn that this is far from the view we should hold and that the spiritual gift of administration is indeed vital in building, strengthening and maintaining the Church on earth:
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
It is clear from this passage that it is the Spirit that furnishes us with the ability to build up the Kingdom and that administration has been a vital component of the Church since its very inception. We must also recognise that there are those especially granted with the gift of being able to administer effectively. Whilst it is vital that we all play our part we must recognise those among us with special talents in this area, and ensure that they are encouraged and productively employed and supported, for without them the task of building the Body of Christ would suffer immeasurably. It is important, therefore, that we remember our duty to use our spiritual gifts to carry out Christ’s plans on earth.
Prudence, as a cardinal virtue, is essential for an effective administrator. As St Thomas makes clear in the Summa this virtue of the practical intellect is required to make the assessments that take us from the end desired through possible means of choice and thence to command or precept. In other words deliberation, judgement and command are vital in effective administration. If we can cultivate this virtue in particular we shall find, with God’s grace that we are ever more able to labour productively as Christ’s co-workers in helping to build the reality of his kingdom on earth.
Sitting here on a lovely Bank Hoilday, surrounded by paperwork and feeling completely overwhelmed...
ReplyDelete"Blessed are the paper-pushers?"
No, no, no.
( When I'm feeling less stressed I will re-read the post!)
Isn't the danger nowadays, though, that we ignore S.Paul's approach - that there are those who have gifts of administration - and assume that this is something which EVERYONE can do ?
ReplyDeleteSurely the Pauline reality is that there are those who can do administration - just as there are those who can preach, or teach, or heal - and those who can't; and we run the risk of causing problems (both for the individuals, and for the organisations in which they operate) by forcing people into charisms which they don't possess.
One of the problems is, of course, that there is so much admin work nowadays, that it's hard to see it as service; it's more often viewed as an unnecessary evil, an interruption, getting in the way of the real job (such as nursing or teaching).
ReplyDeleteThat's sort of what I was trying to say : that Teachers should teach, and nurses should nurse - and that they should NOT be made to do administration as well - leave that to the administrators !
ReplyDelete(Equally, of course, we need to get round the modern obsession with creating administrative activity for the sake of it : I've never been convinced that anyone has a vocation to do the demonstrably unnecessary !)
There is also the danger of administering remotely by email and computer and not meeting people as real people!
ReplyDelete