ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IN CHURCH Prof. Jintae Kim, PhD Alliance Theological Seminary (845) ext Website:

I owe the content of this presentation to the class notes of Dr. Martin Sanders at Alliance Theological Seminary.

DEFINITION OF HUMAN ORGANIZATION 1. Etymology: The very word organization derives from the Greek organon meaning tool or instrument. 2. A body of persons, organized for some purpose (Webster Dictionary) 3. One of more people seeking to achieve common ends through coordination of activities (Edgar Schien)

THE DEFINING MARK OF AN ORGANIZATION What marks an organization is the fact that the organization exists for the purpose of achieving an outcome.

Church is not ONLY an Organization It is an institution in the sense that it has developed an understood place and role within a larger organization. It is an organism because it resembles a living thing in its complexity of structure or function. It produces, grows, and dies.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHURCH 1. It will have its resources and efforts coordinated in some fashion. 2. People will be a major asset in achieving the shared goals or outcomes. 3. People will have differing opinions about the goals and how they should be achieved, and will seek to advance their ideas. 4. The process of striving will give rise to common experience and shared assumptions among those within the organization.

PATTERNS OF ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITY Organizational Structure Organizational Human Resources Organizational Politics Organizational Culture

LEADER AND ORGANIZATION 1. A leader must understand the organization in which he/she is involved. “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.” (DePree) 2. One cannot define reality unless one understands the nature of one’s organization. 3. Much, if not most of this nature, is found in the interplay of organizational structure, human resources, politics, and culture.