Pastors Should Be Free For Theological Reflection And Evangelism
Wolfgang Polzer, ASSIST News Service

A leading management consultant advises clergy to concentrate on their commission to preach and counsel. Ministers should be relieved of management activities, says Peter F. Barrenstein, German director of McKinsey & Company. He recommends that local churches hire an executive to take care of managerial and administrative tasks. Pastors should be free for theological reflection and evangelism. Neither should they be restricted to serving a small "core congregation" of faithful worshippers. "They should develop a counter strategy to a shrinking church." Churches are surrounded by other missionary competitors, he explained. In Germany, for instance, Islam, cults and the recreation industry register continual growth, while most churches are losing members. Barrenstein rejects the notion that mission is a thing of the past. There are in fact many missionary opportunities, for example caring for the bereaved. If a pastor delivers an excellent funeral sermon and continues to visit and comfort the mourners, this could result in people re-joining a church. On his initiative McKinsey conducted an extensive survey of Protestant churches in Munich about ten years ago. This started a lively debate about the question which management concepts could be helpful for churches. The management consultant makes one thing clear: "The church is not a commercial venture." The aim of bringing people to faith in Christ could never be achieved by management techniques. Barrenstein: "That is the job of the Holy Spirit."

China:  New Crackdown Underway Against Christians
Charisma News Service

A series of arrests and raids in recent months indicate that a new crackdown is underway against Christians, even as the government professed its willingness to liberalize its policies on religion. Pastor Cai Zhuohua, 32, the leading minister to six house churches in Beijing, was arrested on Sept. 11. Cai's wife, Xiao Yunfei, along with her brother, Xiao Gaowen, and sister-in-law, Hu Jinyun, were arrested Sept. 27 while hiding in Hengshan county, located in Hunan Province, Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) reported. Cai and his wife are currently awaiting trial in Beijing, Compass Direct reported. The government has reportedly labeled their case the "most serious case of overseas religious infiltration since the founding of the People's Republic of China." Authorities were apparently shocked when they found around 200,000 copies of the Bible and other Christian literature in a storage room managed by Zhuohua, VOM said. Chinese officials had publicly declared new changes in religious policy, but the communist regime reportedly issued three internal directives in August calling for much tighter control of religion. According to a report in a Chinese-language magazine, the new directives aim to suppress the conversion of Communist Party members, the growth of religion and religious organizations across the country and the increase of religious activity on university campuses, Compass reported. (http://www.charismanow.com)