The Spiritual Gift of Administration
What It Is and Why It Matters
Blog post by Justin Nash
Administration is not a spiritual gift many people think of, nor one that many leaders aspire to attain. But like every other spiritual gift, administration is critical to the life and health of a local church.
Administration may not be glamorous, but it is essential to a healthy, fruitful and fully functioning church. Any organization left to itself, including the church, will fall victim to the Law of Entropy.
Administration is a spiritual gift meaning "to steer a ship."
Administration is among Paul’s list of the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 (1 Corinthians 12:28) and Romans 12 (Romans 12:8). The word translated administrating in 1 Corinthians 12:28 is κυβέρνησις, which means “to steer a ship.” It presents the image of the work of the helmsman guiding his ship. The early church was often viewed as a ship, and it becomes clear this is what Paul has in view when, among the gifts of grace that God gives individuals in the church, he mentions κυβερνήσεις. “The reference can only be to the specific gifts which qualify a Christian to be a helmsman to his congregation, i.e., a true director of its order and therewith of its life.”[1] No society can exist without some order and direction. It is the grace of God to give gifts that equip for administration.
[1] Hermann Wolfgang Beyer, “Κυβέρνησις,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 1035–1037.
The gift of administration provides structure, guidance and correction for the church.
Administration can be translated ‘government,’ and it was used of the activity of a pilot who steered a vessel through dangerous waters. Times of struggle, distress and turmoil are when a helmsman is most needed. God is the God of harmony and he imparts gifts to keep the life of his people in good order by providing those who can guide the ship of the church to safety.[1]
Administration is organizing, planning, guiding and allocating people, material resources and time to achieve a goal. Administrators are leaders who focus on the details. They thoughtfully consider the course of the ship though rigorous preparation and planning. They constantly monitor progress, evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the journey and correct course when necessary, but only when necessary. Administration may not be glamorous, but it is essential to a healthy, fruitful and fully functioning church. Any organization left to itself, including the church, will fall victim to the Law of Entropy. Therefore, God has given the gift of administration to provide the needed structures, guidance and correction to keep the church from deteriorating into chaos and disorder, and thus ineffectiveness and fruitlessness. God is a God of order, and he is not glorified by a disordered church (1 Corinthians 14:33). Further, a disordered church will lose track of its Great Commission, and thus fail at the primary mission it has been given. In short, those leaders gifted with administration keep the ship of the local church steadily sailing toward the harbor of faithfulness and fruitfulness for God’s glory.
[1] Derek Prime, Opening up 1 Corinthians, Opening Up Commentary (Leominister: Day One Publications, 2005), 113–114.
There are many scriptural examples of the gift of administration.
Scripture is replete with examples of leaders who had the gift of administration. Two examples of administration in Scripture will be considered here. First, in the book of Genesis, Joseph showed himself to be a tremendous administrator. Sold as a salve to Potiphar, Joseph soon proved himself a capable administrator. Genesis 39:3-5 records,
“His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.”
Later, Joseph again showed himself to be an excellent administrator when he was thrown into prison. Genesis 39:22-23 records,
“And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.”
Finally, Joseph’s administrative ability was recognized by Pharaoh who “set him over all of Egypt” (Genesis 41:43) as Joseph enacted his plan to prepare the nation for the coming famine.
A second example of administration comes from the book of Acts. In Acts 6, an administrative problem arose that could have had divisive and devastating effects on the early church in Jerusalem. The Hellenists, Greek-speaking Jews, complained the Hebrew Christians were neglecting the widows of the Hellenists in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1). This problem presented two distinct dangers to the nascent church. First, it allowed seeds of division and discord to be sown. This division could have ultimately ended in the church splintering into various groups, thus weakening the Christian movement. The second danger is subtler, yet the Twelve recognized it, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2). The most important contribution the Twelve could make to the church was preaching the Word. If they had to busy themselves serving tables, the church would be in danger of becoming spiritually and theologically weakened. The solution to the problem was an administrative one. Seven men gifted, perhaps administratively so, were appointed to the duty, which allowed the Twelve to do the critical work or praying and preaching (Acts 6:3-4), thus averting further dissension or weakening of the church.
We can glean six principles from these biblical examples of administration.
Six principles can be derived from these biblical examples of administration. First, like all spiritual gifts, the purpose of administration is to build up the body of the local church (1 Corinthians 13:7; 14:12, 26). This was clearly the outcome of the appointing of the seven in Acts 6. Second, the gift of administration is an ancillary gift given in service to the mission of the church. The result of Joseph’s administration was the preservation of God’s covenant people through whom the Messiah would come. At least in part, the decision of Act 6:1-6 resulted in “the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”
The third, fourth and fifth principles are all related. Administration requires God’s wisdom, planning and discipline. Consider the enormity of the task before Joseph. He had seven abundant years of harvest to prepare for the seven years of famine. He was clear that any understanding or wisdom he had to face this was not his own, but came from God (Genesis 41:25). Second, the logistics of harvesting, inventorying and storing immense amounts of food would have required very detailed plans and strategies. Third, administration requires great discipline. Joseph was involved in executing a plan that would span 14 years. It would require great discipline to stay the course, especially during the good years of harvest. It would have been extremely easy to become complacent and lose focus. One final principle is that the gift of administration is a gift that seems to transcend the context of a church. Joseph exercised his gift of administration in completely secular contexts. In the end, it is clear that administration is critically necessary in the life of the local church.