The organization of religious congregations: Tackling the issues

Abstract

This article considers responses to the practical problems of organization that arise in religious congregations. Accumulated research findings on the organizational features and issues of congregations are synthesized and discussed under three themes: purposes and goals, the role of clergy, and growth and change. Theoretical frameworks that have been used to analyze congregations are reviewed, and it is suggested that further useful insights can be obtained by conceptualizing congregations as nonprofits and by building on knowledge about their organization and management. At the same time, the author argues, there are distinctive features of congregation organization that demand the development of more specialist theory.

The understanding of internal control principles by pastors

“…A few studies have examined the effect of accounting practices on the spiritual aspects of religious organizations (Abdul-Rahman and Goddard, 1998;Booth, 1993;Laughlin, 1988Laughlin, , 1990. Others have reported on the impact of the minister as the organizational leader of a church (Butler andHerman, 1999, Berlinger andTe'eni, 1999;Harris, 1995;Peacock, 1999;Stanford, 1999). Gallagher and Radcliffe (2002) reported specific effects of internal control failures on a nonprofit organization.…”

Leaders' Attitudes and Computer Use in Religious Congregations

“…The focus of the current study is religious congregations. There has been little research on how congregations are or should be responding to pressures caused by scarce resources and demands for accountability (Smith, 1984;Cormode, 1994;Harris, 1995Harris, , 1998. This article begins to address these issues by examining clergy and staff attitudes toward computers.…”

Does managers' motivation matter? Exploring the associations between motivation, transformational leadership, and innovation in a religious organization

“…This study was conducted in a religious organization (congregation) that can be seen as a distinct form or a special case of a nonprofit organization (Billis, ; Harris, ). Involvement in a congregation is essentially voluntary, and members will leave if their expectations of social needs are not met.…”

“…Religious organizations have much in common with nonreligious organizations. However, their distinctiveness lies firstly in the notion of religious organizations such as congregations as being gatherings of worship and with no main goal or aim in which other organizations have them (Harris, ). Second, the authority structure in religious organizations is “external and theologically defined rather than internal and organizationally defined” (Torry, , p. 39).…”

“…Taking into account that leadership studies are context and culture specific (Askeland, ), we explore the link between managers' motivation, their transformational leadership behavior, and innovation in a religious organization, The Church of Norway. In line with Harris (), we conceptualize religious organizations (congregations) as nonprofits, and the empirical setting in this study, the Church of Norway, is considered the largest religious organization and the largest nonprofit organization in Norway, where approximately three quarters of the Norwegian population are members of the Church.…”