The Office Curmudgeon

One church measurement I thought of while listening in on Brent’s session at Leadership Institute was how much square footage of the church building is used by staff and storage, vs. outreach events, members, small groups, food storage, etc. All of Resurrection’s building’s compromise about 300,000 sq. ft. and we store a lot of operation materials off-site because we “don’t have enough space.”

I thought through how much “space” we have, and how little of it is used to run the church. I don’t know the ratio, but I know it’s heavily offset toward ministry, and against staff and storage. I think this is a good thing.

One of the topics that permeated both the Spring and Fall CITRT (Church IT RoundTable) events was whether Information Technology in the church is a ministry. For some, the answer to that was simply yes, while many seemed unsure, and a few others said no.

As I typed this post, I was sitting in a Q&A session with my boss, Clif Guy, and his boss, Brent Messick. Brent is the executive director over operations, one of two executive directors at Resurrection. We were there with a group of interested guests, who were visiting in connection with Leadership Institute, a leadership event Resurrection holds annually. Without my prompting, this topic came up! Brent mentioned that some people have asked if he considers operations a ministry. Brent restated his answer to us, “It is a ministry. Absolutely. I say that unabashedly!” He marked some obvious points of contact such as guest services or finance.

Here’s how I’ve thought about it. If work roles that support ministry are inherently ministry, such as information technology roles, then where does ministry stop? Are the vendors who sell us equipment and supplies performing ministry? Without vendors we couldn’t perform ministries the same way right? Banks. Are banks performing ministry when they assist finance to get invoices and salaries paid? Is supporting ministry inherently ministry too? Or is work a ministry only when it directly impacts the lives of people, such as discipleship and service? It seems to come down to the interpretation of ministry and where you draw the line.

Much like my friends at Resurrection, Clif, Ian, I was filled to overflowing by the opportunity and honor of serving, shepherding, and worshiping with our CITRT ministry partners. It was a blessing to me! There was no one thing during our time together that made the event; it was the event in whole. Being able to host all who attended brought me back to my core of being the servant, being the shepherd, doing everything I could to bless everyone’s time and let God work through me. I think everyone on our team experienced scripture lived out. Isaiah 40:31

I just wanted to say a heartfelt thanks to all, and I’m eager to build new relationships, and continue to renew the existing.