Bureaucracy and the Church

Some interesting thoughts from Steve Bush, currently being republished on The Ooze:

 

"Bureaucratic mentality is pervasive in churches. When we identify a ministry need or opportunity, our immediate reaction is to start a program. We consult a ten-step manual to implement cell groups in the congregation. We create and fill staff positions in such a way that the person who inhabits the position is dispensable and replaceable. The process of ordination consists of jumping through official, formalized hoops. Administrative hierarchies serve as a multi-layered buffer between the congregants and the decision-makers of the congregation.

I hold a theological conviction that churches, rightly conceived, are fundamentally personal. They exist to bring people into personal relationships with each other and with the tri-personal God. I suppose some degree of bureaucratization may be inevitable in today's world, but I wonder how faithfully a bureaucratic scheme can fulfill the theological vision of the church?"