When Moses Meets Aaron: Staffing and Supervision in Large Congregations

by Susan Beaumont, Gil Rendle

With the number of large congregations rising in the U.S., these congregations are increasingly dependent upon a greater number of staff to meet the needs of their diverse collection of members. As leaders of multi-staff teams, senior clergy must play the dual role of both Moses and Aaron—both visionary and detail-oriented leader—in order for their large congregations to thrive. They need to be skilled with the tools of human resource management, while at the same time setting a vision and inspiring both staff and congregation. Unfortunately, until now there have been few resources for senior clergy who lead multi-staff teams. Working without adequate models and tools, senior clergy of large congregations often find themselves with passionate, dedicated staff members who are moving in different directions, competing over limited resources and attention. They end up with questions of how to evaluate the performance of staff and direct their efforts. They find themselves using time, attention, and resources to care for staff rather than using staff as a resource to care for the mission of the congregation. Longtime Alban senior consultant Gil Rendle and Alban senior consultant Susan Beaumont have developed When Moses Meets Aaron to help clergy responsible for several-member staff teams navigate these unknown waters. They have taken the best of human resource practices and immersed them in a congregational context, providing a comprehensive manual for supervising, motivating, and coordinating staff teams. Rendle and Beaumont give both detailed and big picture guidance on hiring, job descriptions, supervision, performance evaluation, staff-team design, difficult staff behavior, and more. Their combined experience in consulting and training with staff and leaders of large congregations proves invaluable in this manual for today's leadership demands.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2007

Reviews

[Lisa Lewton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential resource for church leaders leading staff. The large church is a mysterious place when it comes to thinking about multi-staff and varying sizes of congregations. I am glad to have this book as a guide for that work. Beaumont is a very wise voice in the large church.

[Melinda Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent overview of necessary details and steps in supervising staff, something not usually taught in seminary. Some helpful guidance and suggestions in process for all staff, but especially in dealing with underperforming staff.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent resource book. Lots of great info and forms for how to handle employee relations in a church.

[Winnie McDonagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent to have read and keep as a resource. Does a very good job of giving guidelines for managing staff modified for the religious environment. Specific examples of various documents are given.

Also a cautionary tale as to what can go wrong when issues are not dealt with.
Excellent information as to how to deal with issues.

The hiring process missed the concept of differing styles which to me is important

[Lyn Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much information

This book is billed as a resource for large congregations, but it is vital for any congregation that has employees. You will learn about management practices common in other realms that are relevant to congregations, and about issues that are special to congregations due to the Covenantal and relational nature of our shared ministry.