Administration constitutes another type of work for which a head is responsible. In this regard he should commit some tasks to others and reserve some to himself. As much as possible, however, he should avoid and excuse himself form any superfluous duties. Thus Christ put his disciples, including Judas, in charge of obtaining the material necessities of life, while he personally retained the duty of preaching and healing. But when he was asked to divide an inheritance among several heirs, he answered, “Who made me a judge or divider over you?” (Luke 12:13-14).
A good head delegates purely administrative responsibilities to others as much as possible. The ordinary necessities of life must indeed be taken care of, but a head who takes charge of them himself risks losing sight of the more important, nobler part of his job. In his mind’s eye he will tend to see less of the interior realities that are more necessary for salvation.
We see this in Scripture: “Choose able men from all the people, such as fear God, men who are trustworthy and who hate a bribe … and let them judge the people at all times; every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves; so it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you” (Exod. 18:19-22).
And “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:2-4).
Some leaders find it easier to delegate pastoral responsibilities than administrative work; this is a serious error. If the head has no one to whom he can safely commit his temporal duties, it is better that he even risk being defrauded in these matters rather than devote his own attention to them. Christ has given an example of this; knowing that Judas was a thief, he still allowed him to make the purchases for the whole group of disciples (John 12:6).
It is an incomparably greater loss to endanger souls than to lose material possessions.
The head should take personal responsibility for the spiritual concerns of his community. As their pastor and the guardian of their souls he ought to devote his energy chiefly to the things that pertain to spiritual progress and eternal salvation. These matters are at the heart of the shepherd’s office.
These especially are the concerns for which a head will render account before God’s judgment seat:
The head preserves discipline within the community, so that the kind of life to which all are committed is maintained.
He sees to it that the community lives together in peace and love.
He should know the moral condition of every individual in the community and help each person resolve any difficulties. He should foresee and take action against the dangers into which his brethren may be led by their sins. He warns the members to improve their conduct; he throws light on doubts and corrects what must be corrected. He gives each member suitable formation for his work, so that everyone can do what he should for the whole community, and do it correctly, without involving himself in any wrongdoing. But when men cannot be satisfied except by offending God, we owe God our obedience; we owe only patience to men who misunderstand or find fault. “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
For this reason, both the head and the members of a community should avoid preoccupations and excessive involvements with buildings, studies, legal actions, and other matters; these things are foreign to our call and we live more fruitfully without them. When we are taken up with them, not only do we neglect better things, but very often we fall into wrongdoing. The use of exterior things reduces the mind’s ability to perceive spiritual and interior realities, so that our desire for supernatural life grows lukewarm.
When the body suffers a wound, infections that set in at the site of the injury must be treated at once to prevent the development of ulcers or tumors; so too, one who lets himself become wholly taken up by distracting business affairs, which are like untreated and infected wounds, promotes his own spiritual extinction.
The wise head, therefore, ought to foresee the probable consequences of every project and set careful limits both on the business affairs that he lets the community take up and on the degree of involvement in such affairs that he permits. No more should be allowed than is clearly beneficial to the life of the community.
He is a careless steward in the Lord’s house who, when he already bears a heavy load in his proper work, takes on several extra burdens that he could well do without.
-Bonaventure
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