All for God's Glory: Redeeming Church Scutwork
Louis B. Weeks
Nobody likes scutwork, the unwanted dregs of the working day. Pastors are no exception to this, often dreading the endless e-mails and phone calls, having no heart for putting together one more bulletin or attending one more meeting, all of which feels like so much distraction from the “true” pastoral work to which they have been called. Louis Weeks challenges that paradigm and lifts up scutwork as an integral part of pastoral care and leadership. How can we administer congregations in ways most likely to increase the measure of pastoral care? How can our service, in menial and glorious work alike, build up the Body of Christ? How can all the work and worship in this congregation help God’s work in the world?
Preparation, organization, and other administrative duties are crucial for effective programs and mission in a congregation as elsewhere in society. Preaching, teaching, and pastoral care—three indispensable parts of congregational life—all depend upon competent congregational administration. It is through focused attention to the details of scutwork that pastors are able to build solid relationships within the congregation, and without the trust that comes from these relationships, no true pastoral care and leadership is possible. All for God’s Glory explores ways in which churches are engaged and can engage in practices of administration that deepen care and build a healthy congregational community.
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Praise for the Book
“Louis Weeks uses the practical everyday leadership experiences of a wide variety of pastoral leaders to help us see that ‘scutwork,’ the menial, mundane tasks of ministry, is holy work. This book is filled with a host of faithful, hopeful, and practical suggestions for strengthening leadership—for new and experienced leaders alike.” —Dent Davis, Dean and Vice President for Lifelong Learning, Columbia Theological Seminary
“Louis Weeks offers dozens of good ideas and insights as to how the churches we serve can be more faithful to God through good organization and effective administrative practices. Biblically based and theologically sophisticated. All for God’s Glory is a genuine page-turner. No pastor or lay leader ought to be without it.” —Joanne M. Adams, Senior Pastor, Morningside Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia
“All for God’s Glory takes the common lament about the drudgery of church ‘scutwork’ and turns it into a joyful song of praise. By grounding administration in theology, Louis Weeks offers a fresh perspective on how healthy administration leads congregations to extend their ‘care of souls.’” —Lewis F. Galloway, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
“Whether you are a pastor plagued by the mountain of administrative work or a church administrative leader wondering where ministry is in your daily transactions, this volume will be a redemptive read.” —Rev. Phill Martin, CAE FCBA, Deputy CEO, National Association of Church Business Administration
“For those who practice faithful church administration as stewardship and pastoral care, this book will be both comforting and instructive. For those who indulge a false dichotomy between administration and spiritual work, it will be both challenging and helpful. For all readers, the focus on congregations of ‘best practice’ will prove wonderfully encouraging.” —Anthony B. Robinson, author of Changing the Conversation: A Third Way for Congregations
“Through the lens of congregational studies, every act of administration is permeated with the motives and consequences of ministry” —Carl Dudley
About the Author
Louis B. Weeks is President Emeritus, Union-PSCE, Richmond, VA and Charlotte, NC, and served as a stated supply pastor and as a missionary in the Presbyterian Church in Congo (then Zaire). He has written broadly about church history, ethics, development, administration, the Bible, pastoral care, and ministry. His books include To Be a Presbyterian; The Presbyterian Presence: Bible Words That Shape a Faith; and Making Ethical Decisions. Recently, his books with other writers have included Faith in Words and Vital Signs: The Promise of Mainline Protestantism.
ISBN# 978-1-56699-379-1
Alban No. AL379
paper, 170 pages
2008
In stock
$18.00
($14.40 for members)
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